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general manipulation are far easier. The problem is 

 two-fold, viz., {a) the preservation offish in a fresh state, 

 {b) its proper curing. The arrival of the fish on shore 

 free from taint is postulated. 



23. {a) Fish to be sold fresh. — Where the market is 

 of moderate size and close at hand, there is no difficulty 

 worth consideration ; it is the fault of the consumers if 

 they buy tainted fish. But there are the cases ( i ) of very 

 large seaside markets such as Madras, (2) of inland 

 markets ; in the first case the local supply is insufficient 

 and fish is brought from afar, as for instance from 

 Pulicat to Madras, a distance at present requiring at 

 least 5 hours of canal and road journey ; in the second 

 case the fish is necessarily transported to a varying 

 distance ; 10 or 12 miles from the coast is almost the 

 ordinary road limit, at which distance the fish, as at 

 present brought to shore, sold, roughly packed — without 

 ice, of course — and carried by coolies (occasionally by 

 jutka), is usually high if not' putrid ; if sent by rail to 

 large stations such as the Nilgiris, Bangalore, Salem, 

 Trichinopoly, it is packed in ice if sent from Madras or 

 Calicut, or without ice from other fishing ports ; for such 

 goods high prices are paid often with unsatisfactory 

 results ; even in Bombay I hear that fish packed in ice 

 and sent from northern ports during the monsoon is 

 largely condemned by the Bombay market inspectors. 

 As for fresh fish packed without ice and sent some hours 

 journey by rail in an ordinary van, it has no claim 

 whatever to be called " fresh" on arrival. To make iced 

 fresh fish an article of regular trade requires above all 

 things organization ; the present individual, haphazard 

 methods are useless ; the organization must begin at the 

 very beginning and organize (i) the catching, collection 

 and transport of fish to shore in such a way that it 

 shall enstire the fish being alive or absolutely sound 

 on arrival ; (2) it must organize so that the fish shall be 

 brought direct by carrier to the market or to the place 

 where ice or proper preservative methods are available, 

 and not collected by slow land transport from distant 

 fishing villages ; for up-country trade such place must 

 also be a railway station whence the packed goods can 

 immediately be despatched ; (3) it must organize agents 

 at up-country stations in such wise that the collective 

 orders shall always be fairly constant, so that the 



