It 



in oyster growth, etc. Work was continued there 

 from I St April to 20th October but under many un- 

 foreseen difficulties, chiefly (i) very poor supply and 

 dearness of fish owing to the proximity of Madras and 

 the inefficiency, etc., of the fishermen ; (2) impossibility 

 of exact experiment owing to the uncertainty as to 

 freshness, or, rather, to the possibility of taint ; (3) 

 inefficiency of labour and want of interest due to the 

 poverty of the local men and absence of any local curing 

 industry. Certain successes in operation required that 

 the experiments should be conducted on a larger or 

 commercial scale ; other experiments were impossible in 

 the absence of cheap and abundant fish, especially shoal- 

 ing fish such as sardines (for food, oil, guano, etc.) and 

 mackerel. Hence a new station was opened at Canna- 

 nore under the sanction of Government contained in G.O. 

 No. 2267, Revenue, dated 17th August 1908 (see also 

 G.O. No. 3488, Revenue, dated i8th December 1909) ; a 

 good site for canning, etc., operations was obtained from 

 the Military authorities but not till February 19 10, too 

 late for work ; a small piece of land was, however, leased 

 for general work in November, shedding was put up, 

 and operations carried on for the rest of the year. 



6. Cannanoi'e station. — This locality is well suited 

 for large experimental work : it has numerous fishermen 

 and abundance of fish, a large fish-curing yard, and a 

 number not only of intelligent curers, but of fish 

 merchants and master curers who cure for Ceylon and 

 other parts, many possessing capital and much business 

 capacity and experience. For about four and a half 

 months numerous experiments were made in catching : 

 in keeping fish untainted without ice {a) to shore, {b) for 

 one or two days on shore : in ordinary salting and drying ; 

 in smoking, especially of the lighter classes similar to 

 kippers, bloaters, and haddocks ; in the cure of sardines 

 as pilchards ; in the preparation of fish oil and guano 

 from sardines ; in preliminary work on fish paste making. 

 A young man of some means, from Travancore, was also 

 trained in the various operations. 



7. Catching. — The two sanctioned fishing boats 

 mentioned in paragraph 4 of my last year's report, were 

 both built during the year, one, a sailer on Scotch lines, 

 of about 12 tons, named the "Sutherland" — after the 

 Chairman of the Scottish Board by whose courtesy I 



