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FiSH-CUEING AND NATIVE 

 IN CEYLON. 



INDUSTEY 



Mr. C.J. A. Man-iiy, A. G.A„ Ilambantota District. 



FISH-CUlUNG — rOOD SUPPLY —A NEW INDUSTRY. 



FiSH-CTliviNO. — Annexed is a copy of my report on the 

 Fish-curing industry in this district: — 



It was decided by Government, on the recom- 

 mendation of the Auditor-General (Mr. Ravenscroft), 

 to give some encouragement to the tish-curiug in- 

 dustry in this country by the sale of salt at as low 

 a rate as possible. Early in May the Auditor-General 

 visited the District, and after inspecting some of the 

 principal fishing stations along the coast, and making 

 inquiries from the headmen about the quantity of fish 

 caught and the number of canoes engaged in fishing, 

 it was arranged -to make a start at Hanibantota. A 

 yartl was accordingly opened on the 15th October, in 

 which the salt was retailed to curers at the reduced 

 price of 80 cents per cwt., instead of at the Govern- 

 ment price of R2 36, on the condition that the curing 

 was to be carried on inside the enclosure. The dimen- 

 sions of the yard were "200 foet by 100 feet wide. Three 

 sheds were built for the carers to work in and store 

 their fish, and also an oiSce and a store for the salt, the 

 whole being placed in charge of a Government Officer, 

 ■with a salary of R30 a montk, and two watchers at 

 R12-50 each. 



Unfavourable winds continued for a longer time than 

 usual, preventing many of the larger boats from com- 

 ing down from other gtations along the coast ; and this, 

 combined with adverse currents, accounted for the 

 small quantity of fish caught at first. About the erd 

 of January, however, things took a favourable tu^n : 

 more boats began to arrive, and fishinfi commenced in 

 earnest. The number of canoes of all kinds engaged 

 in fishing amounted to twenty-seven. The annexed 

 statement (marked A 1) gives the result of work in the 

 yard up to the 15th of April, 1,207 cwt. of fresh fish 

 were admitted, which turned out 835 cwt. of cured 

 fish. A detailed statement of e.'jpenses, amounting to 

 E514'93, connected with the yard during the same period 

 is given in return B 1. 280 cwt. of salt realised 1122 1, 

 at 80 cents a cwt.; but as this sum only covers the cost 

 of collection and transport, it cannot be counted as profit. 



Encouraged by favourable reports from another fish- 

 ing station, called Patanangalla, thirty-eight miles up 

 the coast townrds Batticaloa, I was induced to open 

 another yard there on the 16th March, with the sanc- 

 tion of Government, and up to the present it has 

 worked most satisfactorily : boats continued to arrive 

 day after day until they numbered about nineteen. The 

 amount of fresh fish admitted in'^o the yard up to the 

 15th April was 300 cwt., turning out 120 cwt. of cured 

 fish. 'Iheamouutof salt sold at Kl per cwt. realised 

 K65'20, and the cost of establishment, which is the 

 fame as at Hambantota, amounted with incidental 

 charges to lvt32'50. Fishermen resort there for two 

 mouths in tlia year, taking with them as much food 

 as will last for that time. It is an isolated spot with 

 no population, and nothing but jungle for miles around. 

 A small bay affords some protection to the boat.'! from 

 the N.E. wind, and the sloping beach enables tho 

 canoes to be easily pulled up, Two small subsidiary 

 statioDB were opened at Potana and Anvadui to "he 

 right and lift of Patanangalla, and were placed under 

 the ?ame officers. There were four boat.s at each place. 



An English company started curing in this Dis- 

 trict on their own account in December, and sent 

 down a manac:er to .supervise all arrangements. It 

 Vfaa thought advisable not to launch out into heavy 

 expenditure at first, until some practical knowledge 

 of the work was gained, and the quantity of fish 

 that could be caught ascertained. The manager 

 therefore confined himself simply to buying all fish 

 at a paying rate, and salting and drying it accord- 

 ing to the native method. The profits were not 

 great, but tho experience gained this year will no 

 doubt be turned to good account next season, and 

 produce some more tangible results. 



The fishermen were the class who beuefited most ; 

 fox they sold their lish at once, and tUe competition 

 60 



among tho curers raised the prices appreciably. 

 Next come the native curers, who also derived a 

 good profit, and this is proved by the large num- 

 ber (over 300) down in the register. They got their 

 salt at a minimum price, the cost of watching was 

 saved to them from the protection afforded by the 

 yard, and the improved means used in salting and 

 drying brought them a better price. They also took 

 their cured fish to villages in the interior and to 

 bazaars along tlie road to Badulla, getting a far 

 higher price for it there than they would have obtained 

 if it had been sent to Colombo. As far as I can 

 ascertain, the cost of curing fish is 1111-31 a cwt. 



One cwt. of fish when dried is reduced to one-third 

 its former weight, and the result must there!ore be 

 multii)lied by three, making HU 33 as the prioie cast 

 of one cwt. of dried fish. All native curers send th^ir 

 fish to the markets along the Balulla road, such as 

 Wellawaya, Koslanda, &c., where the prices range from 

 R15 to K20 per cwt., and often as hiirh as R3U. After 

 deducting one rupee per cwt. for cost of transport, the 

 curer reaps a profit of from R3 to Rl a cwt. aul 

 where the fisherman is his own curer, the profits to 

 him are double. Colombo is not a good maket at pre- 

 sent, as it has to compete with foreign importations, 

 which tend to keep dowu prices. 



FooD-SurPLY. — Annexed is a memorandum show- 

 ing the yield of paddy and tine grain in this District, 

 which, according to the last census, would give ten 

 bushels per family. This is small compared with 

 the supply of previous years, and is accounted for 

 by the fact that a severe drought in Giruwa Pattu 

 destroyed a good deal of paddy before it matured. 

 The large yield of paddy at Tissa in Magam Pattu 

 has produced a most marked change for tho better 

 in the condition of the villages lying near it ; the 

 inhabitants of which, intead of subsisting entirely 

 on kurakkan and jungle produce, as formerly, have 

 now a large proportion of rice for their food. Each 

 village contributes a certain number of cultivators, 

 who, after the harvest is over, bring back their 

 labourers' share of the crop for themselves and their 

 families. The paddy of this place even found its 

 way to the Tangalla market, forty-seven miles off, 

 in consequence of the supply there running short. 

 The crop of jak-fruit in the gardens of Upper Giruwa 

 Pattu was fair, and formed an important article of 

 food among the poorer classes. Large quaniitia^ of 

 the fruit are plucked when green, cut up and dried, 

 and exchanged for paddy. 



MrscEiiL.vNEOus. A new industry— that of making 

 pith-hats — has heea started in the jail. Tiie plant 

 which furnishes the pith grows in abuudauoa in the 

 tinks. It is cut into broad strips, and parted over 

 a mould of the required shape. The hats h^vo been 

 made, though not as neat as one could wish, haye all 

 heeu bought. I hope to induce the Malays in the 

 town to take this industry up, as they show a peculiar 

 aptitude f >r faucy work of this kind. 



Sand Hilis, A good deal of attention has heeu 

 bestowed on the planting up of the sand hills durin.j| 

 the year. There has been no further advance to .vard? 

 the town owing to the spike grass planted a year ago 

 having taken root, and spreading so tiiickly as to 



freveut the sand f rom hoiug blown along the surf '.C0< 

 speak only of the hill which threatened to over' 

 whelm and bur}' the town ; but for two miles down 

 the ro,id, towards Ambalantota, much hai yot to 

 be done in the way of planting spike graes. The 

 pirallel rows of live fences planted last year hiv^hnen 

 either killed by the intense heat or covered witli smd.- 

 They have, however, undoubtedly been thu moms of 

 checking the onward movement of the hills, and I have 

 this ye.4r erected cadjan barriers to an.^werthe ."^anla 

 purpose until the grass spreads and renders them UU' 

 necessarj'* To give some idea of tho rapi lity with 

 which everything is covered, I may state tha''. the. 

 outermost barrier, fifteen feet high, was comi) e ely 

 buried in a month. A shirp-pointcil ridge of sand novy 

 mirks its site. But I have to chronicle a moresncces.sful 

 experiment in covering thes3 hills with vegetation, and 

 that is, the planting of palmirahs, This paliu fioui irihefi ia 

 BJmilar soil in tho Northern Province, and I fjaw uy 



