96 



(i) she may carry a little Ice if ice is accessible as 

 at Madras and Calicut, for there would be little wastage 

 in the case of a mere carrier on a short voyage ; 



(2) she can be kept perfectly clean and even 

 sterilized by the use of the disinfectants invariably used 

 on fish carriers and fishing boats in Great Britain, and 

 without which, as Billingsgate and Grimsby owners 

 assured me, they would ran. great risks in summer ; 



(3) her crew can gut and clean the catches (if not 

 already gutted) on board during the return voyage , if 

 ice is not taken ; 



(4) the carrier may be fitted up with live chests 

 or wells in which to bring fish alive to the shore and 

 thus obviate all question of taint. 



The experimental station will deal with the carrier 

 question by practical experiment. 



18. Now carriers require organization either amongst 

 the fishermen, which is unusual, or among the buyers, 

 and considerable local markets or the demands of a 

 factory are usually presupposed when carriers are used ; 

 they will be needed at Madras and other large centres 

 either of population or communication. But when car- 

 riers are not established and boats work independently 

 there are other means of preserving fish from taint as 

 far as the shore — 



(i) Absolute cleanliness. — There is no fault to find 

 with the catamaran here ; it is washed incessantly by the 

 sea, and it is at once hauled up in pieces on the shore 

 and exposed to thorough disinfection by insolation in a 

 tropical sun. The dug-out is occasionally washed but 

 nev^er disinfected, and often fairly reeks with " an ancient 

 and fishlike smell " ; this should be counteracted by 

 thorough washing and the frequent use of a cheap 

 disinfectant, e.g., Pearson's. 



(2) The gutting and cleaning of the fish on the 

 boat. — For this and all following methods the neel for 

 larsfer boats is obvious, since elbow room and storage 

 room are necessary. At Billingsgate, Grimsby, Lowes- 

 toft, etc , practically the whole of the fish, except 

 herrings, coming to market have been gutted and 

 thoroughly cleaned in the fishing boats ; herrings are 

 the exception as they are too numerous and bulky, 

 and gutting is not practised at all for bloaters. All 

 other fish are gutted for the simple reason that the 



