43 



15 horse-power Dan engine, was lent to the Pearl and 

 Chank Department at Tuticorin for use in the absence 

 of a survey and dredging boat. She occasionally fished, 

 however, and though her nets were very small and 

 insufficient, she attracted attention by catching seer in 

 fair quantities in her nets, a result never before seen at 

 Tuticorin, insomuch that the fishermen borrowed her 

 nets on a quarter-share basis, and attempted to use 

 them ; owing, however, to the feebleness of their boats 

 the result was disappointing. 



19. The prices obtained by auction for the station 

 fish were higher than those of ordinary cures ; for fish 

 supplied to the jails and for the few outside parcels, I 

 found that after charging for salt, labour, etc., at con- 

 siderably higher rates than those obtaining in the local 

 trade, a charge of 50 per cent on the cost of fresh fish 

 gave, as a rule, a 20 per cent profit, e.g., I paid the 

 Ratnagiri boats on contract Rs. 10 per 100 for fresh fish 

 and charged Rs. 15 for the cured fish, this was con- 

 siderably higher than local rates which were about 

 Rs. 13-8-0. I found, in fact, that by fixing Rs. 15 as 

 my reserve price at auctions, I was unable to sell any 

 except prime parcels. Since 20 per cent is the profit 

 on a transaction in which capital was turned over in a 

 few days or so and not once in a year, it is a high 

 rate ; probably the local trade is content with 10 per 

 cent on the transaction which, with them, lasts but a 

 week; Rs. 13 to Rs, 13-8-0 cannot give much more 

 than a ten per cent profit. I note, from recent trade 

 journals, that the wholesale fish merchants in the United 

 States of America are content with or obtain profits 

 cut very fine ; " fish, for instance, are handled by the 

 big New York fishermen at a profit of one-quarter 

 cent (i-| pies or a half farthing) a pound," or 4 per cent 

 if the wholesale price is only 6 cents per pound. 



Dried and gutted sardines were sold at about Rs. 85 

 to 90 per ton, or less than 8 pies per lb. of dry food. 

 As explained in paragraph 14 supra the whole of this 

 was clear gain in cases where the expenses were paid 

 by the oil and guano derived from the guts of the same 

 individual fish. But even putting aside oil and guano, 

 a rate of Rs. 93 (8 pies per lb. of dry gutted fish) 

 gives good profit, e.g., five tons of small sardine, when 



