^51 



regards the products, for in the brine bath the Internal 

 temperature of the cans cannot be raised above 212° 

 without danger of their bursting, whereas In the steam 

 cookers the pressure of the external steam balances that 

 from within, so that higher temperatures up to, say, 255° 

 F. can be reached with perfect safety and with conse- 

 quent inestimable advantages to the quality of the goods. 

 For sardines in oil open baths may be used and will 

 be tried, but the steam cooker is necessary for general 

 goods. Moreover, It is desirable to take a step in 

 advance, and not to be content with open, low tempera- 

 ture baths, but to introduce modern methods which are 

 at the same time more rapid and more safe than the old 

 ones. More rapid, for with a steam heat in the processor 

 of 240" or 250° F. the goods are processed in half the 

 time required in open baths at 212° F., with consequent 

 great saving of fuel and with the ability to deal with 

 double the number of cans and double the amount of 

 fish In the same time, a matter of the first importance In 

 this climate. More safe also, as explained above In this 

 paragraph. At the same time the open bath system will 

 be in use so that small caj)italists may utilise the simple 

 and (initially) cheaper system. 



Hence the total cost of plant for both can- making 

 and canning should not exceed ^300 delivered on the 

 West Coast, to which would have to be added the cost 

 of the very simple buildings required and of etceteras 

 bought locally.* 



16. A motor boat as carrier, costing perhaps Rs. 3,000, 

 will also probably be necessary in the near future, but 

 this may stand over till next year when work develops ; 

 without such boat it miorht be difficult to bring in a 

 sufficiency of fish In a perfectly fresh state to keep the 

 factory at work, since the sardines are capricious In their 

 visits both as to time and locality ; moreover when the 

 fishlnof extends to off-shore areas, a motor boat will be 

 necessary to bring the fish In rapidly. The Mahe canner 

 recently bought a kerosine motor boat, but it Is said to 

 lack power and size and to be therefore unsuccessful. 



17. So also it may be found advisable to obtain a 

 small Linde ammonia refrigerating plant, costing about 



* A small plant on the above lines was accordingly bought and eventually put 

 in operation (see previous footnote), with such success that a larger "sanitary can" 

 (solderless) plant haj now (1915) been set up at Beypore and will start work in 

 August. 



