Dry 



TJnsalted 

 Pish. 



FCENICULUM 



PROVINCIAL INTERCHANGES VULOARB 



Fennel 



and in 1906-7 to Rs. 15,64,747. The " Dry Unsalted Fish " goes usually 

 in almost equal proportions and value from Bombay and Madras (in 

 1906-7, the Bombay share came to 1,206,665 lb., valued at Rs. 1,20,490; 

 and the Madras to 4,162,854 lb., valued at Rs. 2,94,235). In the " Dry 

 Salted Fish " trade Madras takes by far the most important position. 

 Out of the total exports of 1906-7, Madras supplied fish of this class 

 to the extent of 9,934,728 lb., valued at Rs. 10,44,465, and these went 

 almost exclusively to Ceylon. 



Coastwise Traffic. But to attain a fairly comprehensive conception Internal. 

 of the location and extent of the Indian fisheries, it is necessary to con- 

 sult the returns of coasting trade. It is unfortunate that no particulars 

 are published of the fish carried by rail and river, as these might 

 have afforded some data upon which to judge of the transactions in the 

 more interior tracts. So far as is known, there are no large fish-curing 

 centres connected with the fresh-water fish and fishing, so that the coast- 

 wise traffic may be accepted as fairly representing the local trade. The 

 coastwise transactions are recorded under two headings " Dry Unsalted " 

 and " Dry Salted." Under each the traffic has fluctuated considerably, 

 but on the whole forward. During the under-mentioned years the "Dry 

 Unsalted" has manifested a satisfactory expansion, viz., Rs. 19,85,869 in 

 1899-1900 ; Rs. 29,30,971 in 1903-4 ; and Rs. 25,61,334 in 1905-6 ; while 

 the " Dry Salted " have practically remained stationary Rs. 7,87,774 

 in 1899-1900 ; Rs. 7,80,301 in 1903-4 ; and Rs. 7,50,975 in 1905-6. By 

 far the most remarkable features are the immense traffic towards the town 

 of Bombay in cheap fish, and the fairly large supplies drawn by Rangoon Bombay r*u* 

 of highly priced fish. Thus, for example, in 1905-6 Bombay imported ] 

 coastwise " Dry Unsalted Fish " to the extent of 15,040,751 lb., valued 

 at Rs. 6,43,159, and Burma 7,219,489 lb., valued at Rs. 18,10,459. The 

 Bombay town supply was procured from British ports within the Presi- 

 dency (Rs. 2,92,757) ; from Kathiawar (Rs. 2,60,698) ; from Daman 

 (Rs. 66,044); and from "Other Provinces" (Rs. 22,660). The Burma 

 supply was drawn from Bengal (Rs. 5,03,765) ; Madras (Rs. 7,24,770) ; 

 " Other Provinces " (Rs. 1,94,453) ; and from the British ports within 

 the province of Burma itself (Rs. 3,86,946). Turning now to the subject 

 of the coastwise traffic in " Dry Salted Fish," the total for 1903-4 Dry Salted 

 came to Rs. 7,80,301, and in 1905-6 to Rs. 7,50,975. But by far the 

 most remarkable aspect in this traffic may be said to be the circumstance 

 that the exports are almost exclusively into Bombay, Madras and Burma, 

 in equal proportions and from their own provincial ports into their 

 chief towns. 



Location of Fisheries. It may, in conclusion, be inferred, from 

 these observations, that the fisheries of India are mainly along the west 

 coast from Kathiawar to Travancore ; that Burma is the least self-sup- 

 porting of all the provinces and demands from external sources a superior, 

 not an inferior quality of fish ; and lastly that Bengal, while it takes very 

 little share in the export traffic in fish, produces apparently enough for 

 its own necessities, since it practically imports no fish either from foreign 

 countries or from other Indian provinces. 



FCENICULUM VULGARE, (itici-tn. ; Fl Br. Ind., ii., 695 ; D.E.P., 

 Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind., i., 200 ; iii., 64, 220 ; Duthie and Fuller, Field and 

 Garden Crops, iii., 43, t. Ixxxii. ; Duthie, Fl Upper Gang. Plain, 394 ; 



551 





