102 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Aug. 2, 18864 



^(xYvespj^Tidmoe. 



To the Editor of the " Ceylon Observer." 



THE CEYLON FISH-CURING ENTERPRISE. 



New Peacock, Gampola, '28tli June 1886. 

 Dear Sir,— An important industry has lately 

 been inaugurated, in tlie island, viz., Fish-curing. 

 Having had several cwt. of said Hambantota fish, 

 from Messrs. J. Auwardt & Co., Colombo, in behalf 

 of my coolies, I am very favourably impressed 

 with their quality. I found them a wholesome, 

 good food, when compared with the rarau-addij, 

 our poor coolies usually have to • put up with 

 (simply sun-dried without salt and in a high state 

 of fetor before reaching Ceylon from India). With 

 yoiir permission I would make a few remarks on 

 this industry. I weuld first like to offer a few 

 hints to the promoters of this industry which, if 

 attended to, would improve the quality of the fish : 

 Fimtlii. — Thoroughly wash the fish and free them 

 from all blood (sea water is sufficient for this 

 purpose.) 



SfconcVy. -Take the head off, and two thirds of 

 the backbone. 



Thirdhj. — The mltiiui of the fish, should be 

 carried out as follows : -When the head and 

 backbone have been removed, and the fish 

 thoroughly washed, then carefully begin in laying 

 the fish singly, head and tail, into neat two or three 

 feet squares, giving each layer an abundant supply 

 of salt, carefully sprinkled over every part ; over 

 each three feet square heap, place a layer of boards, 

 and on the top of the boards, put over each 

 heap, five to six cwt. of stone ; the pressure pro- 

 duced, has the effect of causing the salt to per- 

 meate throughout the fish and at same time the 

 fish gives off the fatty or oily matter more or less 

 in all fish, which is found to be impreservable, 

 even hi/ salt. All the fish I had contained the rancid 

 oil in "them, because no pressure was applied, or, if 

 applied, the head and backbone being left on them 

 prevented an even pressure on the substance of 

 the fish, and consequently the non-expression of 

 the oil or fatty matter. The pressure should last 

 for five or six hours. Then turn the squares (and 

 re-salt) for other three or four hours. Nothing 

 more is wanted, but three or four days of Ham- 

 bantota sun, to make a perfectly wholesome food, 

 cheap wooden presses on the lever or screic princi- 

 ple would be better than heaps of stone, if to be had. 



I presume the retention of the head and backbone 

 (although unfit for food, and most detrimental to 

 speedy and safe curing of fish in a tropical country) 

 is on the score of economy, not to loose weight. 

 Does it not strike the promoters of Fish-curing, were 

 they to well salt heads, backbones and offal 

 and allow the sun to dry the last particle of 

 moisture from them, that they would prove a 

 valuable fertilizer if sent to Colombo and placed 

 under our now silent coffee peelers for trituration. 

 I beUeve they would soon be in demand, at R50 

 to R70 per ton, when the value of such a promoter 

 of tea leaf became known. 



I most candidly believe the Fish-curing 

 industry, if fostered and promoted all around our 

 seaboard, would be of far greater value to the 

 natives of the country than tanks and roads in 

 districts where there are no population, and where 

 sickness in the form of fever render's life a misery, 

 while the whole seaborde ©f Ceylon is healthy for 

 natives, as seen by their robust health, while 20 miles 

 inland you come to the poor wretched fever-stricken 

 villager, i)Qt-helUed by enlnrpcd splrm, emaciated 

 and spmi\e-i{]ianked from the want of nourishment. 



Would it not show wisdom and humanity in our 

 rulers, if some of the large sums of money annually 



squandered on irrigation works (which never have 

 nor ever will pay), were used to promote Fish- 

 curing. We never can rob the " vasty deep of its 

 wealth, while every RIO taken out from it is real 

 wealth without the slightest drain on the national 

 store. I have known a small seaport town on the 

 east coast of Scotland draw a quarter of a million of 

 money from the sea in six weeks' time, which 

 when divided among the 7,000 inhabitants showed 

 itself in their wellbeing and social condition. That 

 there are splendid fisheries all around the seaborde 

 of Ceylon with an abundant supply of naturally formed 

 salt for the preservation of fish, it has long been a 

 wonder some of our wise rulers never thought of 

 devoting the planter-earned sums to such a purpose. 



Let the Powers-that-be think of the poor 

 planter and cooly, who will soon again be export- 

 ing their 60,000,000 to 100,000,000 lb. of tea, and 

 giving the C. C. S. another chance of raising their 

 pay all round, off their hard earnings, the coolies' 

 and planters' jDay being an uncertain quantity, vary- 

 ing with the times, but the C. C. S. once increased 

 (let the times be ever so hard) never alters. 



Dear Editor, I could give you many more hints, 

 how the poor native could be benefited, were the 

 wild irrigation mania, once cured. .lust think of 

 Kandoila and Rugam, &e., and now Ellahara to be. 

 —Yours truly, W. SMITH. 



TEA MACHINERY. 



Lunugala, 29th .June 1886. 



Dear Sik, — In your Saturday's issue I note Mr. 

 •Jackson's letter dated London, 1st .Tune 1886, also 

 "Notes and Comments" on same. Mr. Jackson quotes 

 from an article of mine written for the " Ceylon 

 Advertiser," on fuel for tea estates, in which I wished 

 particularly in the first place to show how real was 

 the difficulty which planters would have to contend 

 with in obtaining fuel on many estates, and in the 

 second place recommending the uses of petroleum 

 as the cheapest fuel, easiest of transport, and the 

 least liable to burn out fire-bars and plates or any 

 other iron, especially cast-iron, brought into im- 

 mediate contact with a dead white heat such as is 

 produced by coke or anthracite coal. I have in no 

 way criticised Mr. Jackson's machinery, but if Mr. 

 Jackson has succeeded in getting cast-iron tubes which 

 will for any lengthened time stand the direct action 

 of a fire at white-heat in contact with the iron, 

 he has achieved a great success. I have had heavy 

 iron tubes or pipes in a Clerihew house burned 

 through very quickly, and I have had the heavy 

 fire-bars of an engine burned in one day by bad 

 stoking. Of course there is a great deal in stoking 

 as everyone knows. 



I have not in any way criticised Mr. Jackson's 

 machinery, but it is by no means perfect yet : in 

 fact the last roller which I have not had an op- 

 jDortunity of seeing, I am told, is a departure al- 

 together from the double action of two planes 

 working at right angles, and the box or chamber 

 for the tea in the new machine is rotai'y whilst 

 the table is stationary. As I told Mr. Jackson the 

 last time I had the pleasure of seeing him and 

 talking with him on these matters, my objections 

 to his machines were first the excessive cost which 

 placed them beyond reach of the great body of 

 tea planters, and second the power required to drive 

 them. JAMES IRVINE. 



THE PROPOSED CEYLON TEA SYNDICATE. 



Louisa, HOth -June 1886. 

 Sir, — I presume it is generally understood by the 

 Committee who have the above scheme under con- 

 sideration that, to introduce Ceylon teas into foreign 

 countries, each agent must have recourse to his 

 own method of action. 



