CHAPTER VIII 



THE MARKET 



I. Various modes of sale : sale on board, sale by sample, sale by 

 auction The fish markets of Boulogne and La Rochelle. 

 II. The taxes upon sales imposed by the municipalities The 

 octroi dues of the city of Havre. III. Critical examination of 

 municipal taxes ; their prohibitive nature ; monopolisation of 

 the sale of fish by the cities The octroi dues of inland cities- 

 IV. The increased retail prices of fish Middlemen Effectual 

 remedies : producers' co-operative societies and companies. 



THE market value of fish is determined by a number 

 of considerations. The two prime factors are the 

 abundance of fish and man's habit of consuming it. 

 But fishing is a fatiguing labour, and even though, as 

 Franklin affirms, he who fishes picks a piece of money 

 out of the sea, he has at least the trouble of finding it 

 and carrying it home. The value is thus determined 

 partly by the labour involved, and finally by the cost of 

 butcher's meat. At Geestrminde, for instance, the ton 

 of fish, which usually sells for 12 or .14, rose to 20 

 in 1905 on account of the dearness of beef and mutton. 



I 



The cutters of Douarnenez have not time to enter the 

 harbour before their catches of sardines are bought by 

 the buyers posted on the breakwater.; The manufacturers 

 are kept apprised of the fluctuations of the market price 

 over the telephone. At Gujan-Mestras the sardines are 

 delivered on the quay sometimes direct to the manu- 



sia 



