lOO 



to 12 shillings per ton. In Madras the cost of produc- 

 tion — including all charges — is between Rs. 14 and 

 Rs. 20 per ton according to the large or small size of the 

 machine, factory wastage is large owing to climate, and 

 ice supplied in small quantities to boats at some distance 

 from the factory and kept in the necessarily inferior 

 storage of comparatively small boats, would largely be 

 wasted. Hence even if supplied at 80 lb. per rupee or 

 Rs. 28 per ton, the cost would represent at least ^ anna 

 pjer lb. of fish cooled, even on normal catches, and more 

 on short catches. While the small or special trade which 

 intends to sell only prirae fish at 2^ to 5 annas per lb. 

 either in Madras or up-nountry, could afford this outlay 

 which would simply fall on the consumer, it would be out 

 of the question in tiie general trade in which the rise of 3 

 pies per lb. would be prohibitive, so that the catamaran 

 men would out-sell and crush such an enterprise. More- 

 over ice is only available, and at dear rates, in Madras 

 and Calicut, and it is unlikely that other centres will start 

 large factories at any early date. Ice for fishing boats 

 may, for the present, be put aside. 



But for carriers there is less difficulty ; the carrier's 

 sole duty is to collect fish as rapidly as possible in 

 voyages of short duration ; it would be fitted solely for 

 the purpose with a proper ice room and could almost 

 always be sure of collecting enough to utilize her ice ; 

 there would be little wastas^e as her ice room would be 

 always at a low temperature so that there would be little 

 daily loss. The quality of fish (gutted on the fishing 

 boats) would be superior and condition perfectly sound, 

 so that it could be sold in Madras or sent up-country 

 with the practical certainty of good prices ; the up- 

 country market is at present small because consumers 

 will not risk buying at high prices fish which frequently 

 turns out soft and uneatable. Even moderately priced 

 fish may, if the carriers are of good size with good 

 storage rooms, be placed in ice as the bulk of the cost 

 will be paid by the high priced fish, and that charged to 

 the second class will be small. Hence the supply of ice 

 to carriers will be a matter of early experiment. 



22. Point (d) of parailraph 16. — The question of 

 preserving fish after reaching shore is of the greatest 

 importance but presents less difficulty than the former 

 question, in that facilities for storing, handling, and 



