3if 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Nov. 2, 1885. 



FISH-CUEING EXPERIMENTS IN THE 

 MADEAS rRESIDENCY. 



Now that the Ceylon Government is about to 

 initiate tlie system of issuing salt at a cheaiJ rate 

 for the ijurpose of encouraging fish-curing on 

 a larger scale and on better princijjles than have 

 been hitherto adoptetl by the fishermen, we naturally 

 regard with more interest than ever the very in- 

 teresting reports prepared by Mr. Bliss, the Salt 

 Commissioner of the Madras Presidency, and which 

 we owe to the courtesy of the Madras Govern- 

 ment. While good, well-cured fish is a wholesome 

 and nutritive article of diet, it is pretty well 

 established that the use of putrid salt-fish, often 

 badly cured with salt earth or mud, is the cause 

 of leprosy, elephantiasis and other loathsome dis- 

 eases. It is of much importance, therefore, that 

 all legitimate encouragement should be given to the 

 capture and improved curing of large quantities of 

 the numerous and varied fishes which swarm round 

 our coasts. We trust the example of the Madras 

 authorities will be followed in liberality which led 

 at the outset to some loss of money which 

 is now being rapidly made good. Officers of the 

 Government, too, have been successfully employed 

 to teach the fishermen a better way of curing, 

 by which means and the experience gradually ob- 

 tained, the proportionate weight of salt to fish has 

 been ]n-etty accurately ascertained. The result is 

 that somewhat under 14 lb. (about the consump- 

 tion per caput of the population of Ceylon) is sufficient 

 for the curing of a maund weight of fish. We 

 suppose that in this case the usual Indian maund 

 of «0 lb. is meant. If we are right, then it would 

 appear that the proper proportion of salt to fish is 

 about 17 per cent. Some fish, such as shark, will 

 require a large supply of salt, while long thin 

 fishes recjuire quantities below the average. The 

 natives have to be corrected in their wasteful and 

 inefficient modes of curing. We hoj^e that some 

 one acquainted with the best modes of (ish-curing, 

 will be appointed to aid the experiments in Ceylon. 



Mr. Bliss states that the demand for the superior 

 fish cured by his officers cannot be met. The 

 apathy and the ignorance of the people have to 

 be combatted, and seasons will be unfavourable 

 for fishing, while in the latter portion of 

 1883, cyclones, floods and a violent monsoon 

 destroyed curing yards, boats and nets, and 

 in some places put a stop to fishing oper- 

 ations. But in the face of all difficulties, the 

 first quarter of 188.') gave most satisfactory results 

 as compared with the corresponding quarter of 1884, 

 the number of yards worked shows an increase 

 of 14, viz., 123 against 109, and, in spite of the 

 damage by floods in some portions of the 

 Southern Division, there has been an increase 

 in the quantity of fish brought to be cured of 

 ()2 per cent. .namely, 14,844 tons against 9,141 tons. 

 The applications for cheap salt had been 83,838 

 against ril,883 ; weight of hsh brought to be cured 

 404,074 maunds against 248,83(i ; weight of salt 

 issued ri."),(i80 maunds instead of 42,24li ; value of 

 salt sold K43,.524 against R28,027 ; salt to each 

 maund of fish 13-33 lb. against 13-!)7 ; expenditure in- 

 curred by Government E13,622 against E12,701. 



We may quote a few suggestive passages from 

 the Commissioner's lieport : — 



Chicacolc J)irision. — Compared with the correspond- 

 ing half of the previous year, the result of the di- 

 vision as a whole, are very encouraging, the number 



of application.s, thequ.intity of fish brouglit to be cured 

 and the weight of salt issued having mo[ e than doi-ibled. 

 The most remarkable feature of the half-year under 

 report, however, is tlie fact that all th>" yards 01 the 

 division, without a single exception, have made a start. 

 This result is doubtless duo to the greiter efficiency 

 of the preventive operations of the deparlnient, as 

 already explaiucd inMr. Willock's letter prined with 

 the Board's Proceedings, No. .311, dated iiythJauuary 

 1385. The difficulties experienced in this division, more 

 especially in the Vizagapatam District, in stiirting the 

 industry on the new basis, are now in .a fair way of 

 being overcome. The proportion of salt issued to fi.sh 

 cured has decreasea, being 9 05 lb. per mauud against 

 11'35 lb. in the corresponding half of the proceeding 

 year. This is mainly due to the fact that for about 

 two months of the half-year under report, the greater 

 part of the takes of fish along this part of the coast 

 consisted of a long narrow fish, the name of which 

 is apparently unknown, which required little more than 

 drying in the suu, and for the curing of which, there- 

 fore, very small quantities of salt were used. The in- 

 crease under expenditure was due to the increase in 

 the number of yards and to the expansion of operations 

 generally. 



Masu/ipatrtm iJivision. — The reason for the comparat- 

 ive failure of the yards in this division appe.irs to be 

 the want along the coast of the Godavari and Kistna 

 districts of a fishing population provided with adequate 

 appliances for the capture of a larger quantity of fish 

 than can be consumed locally while fresh. The yards 

 cannot, however, for this reason be closed, as such a 

 course must either endanger the salt revenue or prove 

 oppressive to the fishermen. B.ickward thuugh the 

 yards are alt but two yards have advanced, and the 

 quantities of fish cured and of salt issued in the di- 

 vision have more than double since last year. 



A'dlore Division, — The resjlt have been satisfactory 

 in all but two yards, Kottapatam and Kundurpalam, 

 where the season is reported to have been unfavorable 

 for fishing. On the wliole, the division shows a marked 

 advance, the quantities of fish brought in and of 

 salt issued having be»u 7.633 maunds and 938 maunds, 

 against 4,(557 mauuds, aii.l .392 maunils, respectively. 

 The opTations in the northern part of this division 

 are, however, still but small ownig to the poverty of 

 the fishing classes, Some Jlussalmen have lately started 

 a wholesale curing business at Pakala, however. This 

 may stimulate the industry. The proportion of salt 

 issued to fish cured was 10 12 lb. per maund, against 

 91 lb in the corresponding half of the previous year. 

 This proportion is still low. Still, it goes to show that 

 the successful experiments conducted by Inspector 

 Mr. Beeson in this division have had a good efTeet. 

 The meaning of this is that under European 

 superintendence fish had been better cured with 

 a much smaller proportion of salt than the waste- 

 ful natives used. In one case the method adopted 

 by the fishermen was 



Sprinkling the fish with salt and shaking the latter 

 off before the removal of the fish. The fishermen, 

 it would appear, decline to use the refuse sjU a 

 second time for fear of maggots and prefer its 

 perinilicnl destruction by the Inspector. 

 To quote again : — 



Ctiiti-al ])iv$ion. — The progress made by this di- 

 vision, which comprises considerably more than lialf 

 the operiitiens of the whole presidency: is exceed- 

 ingly satisfactory, tbeve bping an increase of tver 60 

 pet cent under all heads. 'Ihe bulk of the opera- 

 tions is, as usual, in the tMalabar district, all the im- 

 portant yards in which shov,^ a steady advance. 

 The quantity of fish cured in the yards had risen 

 from 1,33(1 tons in 1880-81 to 20,108 tons in 1884-85. 



THAT HUSBAND OF MINE 

 Is three times the man he was before he began 

 using Wells' Health Renewor." Druggists. W. E, S.MITH 

 & Co., Madras, Sole Agents. 



