4S INTRODUCTORY 



authorities for leprosy in Scandinavia, on the 

 south coast of Africa, and elsewhere. The 

 modern British palate is entirely unused to the 

 taste of salted (pickled) herrings ; it is doubt- 

 ful whether those who have been accustomed 

 all their lives to fresh fish would eat salt fish, 

 at least until the herrings have been well 

 soaked before use and the strength of the pickle 

 thereby greatly reduced. The proper distri- 

 bution of fresh fish is therefore all the more 

 important, and, generally speaking, the advan- 

 tages of cheap, wholesome fish as food have 

 never really been brought home to our working 

 people in our inland villages and small towns 

 away from the coast. This is owing to the want 

 of adequate means of distribution and cheap 

 railway rates, and the failure to preserve the 

 fish perfectly fresh till it reaches the consumer. 

 There should be a system of cold storage to 

 cope with gluts of herrings ; there is no reason 

 why a refrigerator should not be placed in 

 every railway station throughout the country, 

 to be supplied daily with fresh fish so that 

 they could be available for local distribution. 

 This would serve two purposes, placing sound, 

 varied and nourishing food at the disposal of the 

 population in places removed from the sea 

 and at a distance from large cities, and replac- 

 ing butchers' meat, should it be, as is very 

 likely, as dear and scarce after the war as it is 

 now. It is interesting to recall in this con- 

 nection that " the opening of new and distant 



