93 



Malabar and South Canara ports in addition to the smaller 

 quantities used in India itself on coffee and tobacco plantations. 



60. Table of the quantities of sardines and mackerel treated 

 in the fish-curing yards on the Malabar and South Canara coast 

 from 1896, also of the quantities of sardines cured on the East 

 Coast of the Madias Presidency since 1900. 



(Compiled from fish-curing yard returns.) 



In 1907 sardines were more abundant than they had been 

 since 1896, and it is noteworthy that the mackerel fishery 

 was a failure in 1897 and 1906, in the one case a year suc- 

 ceeding, in the other, one preceding a phenominally good sardine 

 season. 



61. During the Margarita's cruise particular attention was 

 paid, so far as circumstances would permit, to the lines of 

 enquiry enumerated above ; a large number of observations, 

 experiments and collections were made at sea and much infor- 

 mation collected from Salt Department officers, fishermen and 

 curers when in port, which has enabled a considerable amount 

 of progress to be made in clearing up a number of important 

 preliminary questions, so that we are enabled to see much 

 more clearly the chief lines of investigation on which work 

 in future should be concentrated. 



62. The large bulk of material collected, plankton, stomach 

 contents, and samples of sea-bottom, will require considerable 

 time to identify, analyse, and tabulate, and little can be said 

 in detail about them at present ; general facts and observations 

 are more easily dealt with, and in order that a foundation be 



