THAI-, vi.] THE SARDINE FISHERY. 253 



of salt and fish. During the process of curing a large quan- 

 tity of useful oil exudes from the heaps. The salting process 

 is called " bulking/' and the fish are built up into stacks 

 with great regularity, where they are allowed to remain for 

 four weeks, after which they are washed and freed from the 

 oil, then packed into hogsheads, and sent to Spain and Italy, 

 to be extensively consumed during Lent, as well as at other 

 fasting times. The hurry and bustle at any of the little Corn- 

 wall ports during the manipulation of a few shoals of pilchards 

 must be seen, the excitement cannot be very well described. 



The pilchard is, or rather it ought to be, the Sardinia of 

 commerce, but its place is usurped by the sprat, or garvie 

 as we call it in Scotland, and thousands of tin boxes of that 

 fish are annually made up and sold as sardines. I have 

 already alluded to the sprat, so far as its natural history is 

 concerned. It is a fish that is very abundant in Scotland, 

 especially in the Firth of Forth, where for many years there 

 has been a good sprat-fishery. We do not now require to go 

 to France for our sardines, as we can cure them at home in 

 the French style. The sprat-fishery for sardine-making is 

 still, however, a considerable maritime industry on the coast 

 of France. In 1864 about 75,000 barrels of sprats were 

 taken on the coast of Brittany, besides those sold fresh and 

 the quantities done up in oil as sardines. The process of 

 curing with oil is as follows : The fish must be well washed 

 in sea-water, after which they are sprinkled with clean salt. 

 The next process is to cut off the heads of the fish, and take 

 away the intestines, etc., after which they are again rinsed in 

 the sea-water, and hung up or laid out to dry in order to 

 beautify. After this they are placed for a very brief period 

 in a pan of boiling oil, which completes the cure. Before 

 being packed in the neat little tin boxes in which we find 

 them, the sardines are laid down on a grating, in order 

 to let the oil drain off the finishing process being the ex- 



