91 



qiiantity bat. often nil ; moreover small fisli tuint rapidly. Hdncc, as 

 stated in my West Coast Report, the Jt^'rencli caimer at Mahe is said 

 to be finding it necessary to have a motor boat in order to secure a 

 sufficient supply of fresh sardines Secondly, as regards fish which 

 may be cured in salt or smoked ; it may be necessary to secure 

 supplies of such, either from boats at sea or at some distance from the 

 factory ; e.g., near Teliicherry there is splendid fishing at Sacrifice 

 .Rock some 10 miles out at sea, but the canoes take several hours row- 

 ing or running home in the afternoon; or again, it might be neces- 

 sary to visit comparatively distant fishing centres. 



ilence I propose the purchase shortly of a sea-going steam or 

 motor boat, of 7 or S knot sea speed and with a consequent radius of 

 action for fresh fish of, say, oO miles even without ice ; much more 

 for goods which she can keep in salt. Iq America the small petrol 

 fishing boat — not merely the pleasure boat or yacht — is already greatly 

 in evidence and there are also a number of fishing boats with petrol 

 engines of considerable power ; kerosine motor boats, especially with 

 " Dan " engines, are also now available and are already very numer- 

 ous, as fishing boats, in Scandinavian waters; in July (19u7) there is 

 to be held at Bergen an exhibition of motors and motor boats with all 

 kinds of fishery equipment which I expect to visit, and this will afford 

 an excellent basis for starting an enquiry with a view to purchase. 

 The " Margarita " is not only required by the Inspector of Pearl 

 Fisheries, but is too large and too slow for the purposes of an experi- 

 mental station and burns far too much coal to be economical anywhere. 

 The ascertained cost of fitting the yawl " Pearl " with a motor is 

 prohibitive and the job would only be an unsatisfactory makeshift. 



192. The fifth object is the better curing of the fish. The jDrevious 

 paragraphs deal with the obtaining of greater quantities of fish and 

 the bringing of it to shore and factory in better condition than at 

 present ; but State hygiene demands that the food thus provided shall 

 be placed before the people in as wholesome a condition as possible. 

 Possibly it will be found easier to improve the curing process, a more 

 or less mechanical art, than to introduce larger boats and longer 

 voyages and salting at sea, and much weight will therefore be given in 

 the station to experiment and demonstration in curing processes. In 

 my West Coast Report I have mentioned obvious faults or defects in 

 the curing yard, and others may be added as observation in other 

 countries has taught me ; a first duty of the station will be to endea- 

 vour to correct these faults and teach better practice especially in the 

 methods of drying the fish. 



That, however, is not all ; we need new methods of curing and 

 preservation for market, such as fish pickled wet in barrels, a process 

 crudely begun in the barrelled mackerel prepared at Cochin for 

 Colombo ; hard dried fish hke the Norwegian stock- fish, which will 

 keep good even in the rainy weather now so fatal to West Coast salted 



