20 



cured with unwashed salt ; the magnesium and calcium 

 salts however are, of course, unaffected by washing, and 

 I have had to experiment largely with English salt. It 

 has been found that in a tropical climate salt "strikes" 

 much harder and more quickly than in temperate 

 regions ; British practice is consequently apt to be 

 misleading as to the quantity and period of salting. It 

 has also been proved by numerous experiments that 

 ungutted sardines roused with salt in such small quanti- 

 ties as I to 12, I to 1 6, and even i to 20, wmII keep good 

 for many hours ; in one case salt at i to 16 preserved the 

 fish perfectly for above 36 hours ; hence fish can be kept 

 from putrefaction while awaiting gutting, etc. 



14. Utilisation of waste. — Pits were dug at one end 

 of the yard and lined with wood, mats, etc. These were 

 gradually filled with offal from gutted fish, failed 

 experiments, etc., with a modicum of ash from the 

 municipal cinerator and of quicklime. The result after 

 several months has been a quantity of manure which has 

 been dried and bagged ; its analysis has not yet been 

 obtained. Except on rare and very temporary occasions 

 the presence of such pits in the yard was absolutely 

 unnoticeable by the senses, so that we got rid of our 

 offal — and much more — not only without nuisance but 

 with considerable gain. The quantity of offal available 

 in the vicinity is shown by the fact that a wood- lined pit 

 holding about 130 cubic feet was filled to the brim in 

 one afternoon of large catches with sardine offal from the 

 neighbouring gutting places, and much more was avail- 

 able. As shown above, however, sardine offal should 

 first be boiled for oil before consignment to the manure 

 pit, and this has been effected in the Experimental 

 Station with very notable results. By the common 

 methods of gutting, 10,000 tons of valuable stuff con- 

 taining large quantities of oil and fertiliser are available 

 for every 20,000 tons of sardine caught ; this as per 

 actuals should yield at least 1,000 tons of oil, worth 

 Rs. 12 lakhs, besides guano. This at present is almost 

 entirely wasted, besides the manure contained in immense 

 quantities of other fish offal, fish bones, etc. 



15. Prices of fish f^'esh and czired as ascertained by 

 practice at the Experimental Station, etc. — Fish, mostly 

 prime, were, according to contract, brought in by the 

 Ratnagiri boats at rates w^hich were usually 20 to 25 



