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of marked poverty — the prosperity of coastal villages in 

 this district having- suffered considerable diminution 

 through the competition of the East Coast railway with 

 the coasting trade and with the Buckingham Canal, 

 formerly the highway of traffic up and down the coast. 



(d) Salt-pan channels. 



One of the most promising openings for sea-fish 

 culture, properly so-called, appears to lie in the utilisa- 

 tion of the salt water feeder channels at certain of the 

 many Government salt factories dotted along the East 

 Coast. The channels in question usually connect by 

 means of well-built sluices with neighbouring tidal 

 creeks ; their function is to convey sea water to all 

 sections of the salt pans within each factory. Very 

 commonly the channel makes the circuit of the pans 

 which it feeds by the intermediary of smaller channels 

 at a higher level ; this main channel has the form and 

 appearance of a moat surrounding the salt pans. On 

 the outer margin through a great part of its length it is 

 bounded by a substantial embankment rising usually 

 to 2 feet or more above the highest flood level of the 

 adjoining creek and considerably more than this height 

 above high water of spring tides. The principal channel 

 is maintained several feet in depth, nominally 6 feet, 

 I understand. Somewhere in its course the channel 

 usually widens into a pond-like expansion of varying 

 depth or there may be several of these. 



From the channel and its branch ponds water is 

 raised by various kinds of lifts into the high level 

 gutters. It is used solely as a canal to furnish the 

 supplies of salt water required for the manufacture of 

 brine ; provided this function be maintained it does not 

 matter to the salt lessees what secondary use be made 

 of the channel. Fish-culture in the main waterway of 

 many factories can undoubtedly be carried on without 

 detriment to the manufacture of salt ; it may, where 

 considered necessary, be restricted to particular sections, 

 permeable barriers being placed where needful to pre- 

 vent fish entering the sections where water is being 

 taken out for brine making. What the salt makers want 

 is an ample supply of clean saline water ; in fish-culture 

 the same need prevails, hence it follows that being 



