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Appendices to Twenty-fifth Annual Report 



the duty is about 12s. per barrel, whereas in a green state, with merely 

 pickle as a preservative, the duty is 3s. To save the higher tariff, a 

 large quantity had been preserved in the former way after arrival at 

 Hamburg. On this occasion I visited Altona and Schluput. At the 

 former place there are 26 fish preserving factories, and at the latter 19. 

 Besides, there are 8 at Harburg and 3 at Lubeck. Altogether, there 

 are 56 herring and sprat preserving factories within a radius of 30 miles 

 of Hamburg. Altona and Schluput make large purchases of fresh her- 

 rings for smoking and preserving. I am indebted to one of the importers 

 for the following statistics of fresh herrings imported from Scotland, 

 England, Sweden, and Norway since the beginning of the year : — ■ 



Up to 

 12th Sept., 

 1906. 



Scotland. 



England. 



Sweden. 



Norway. 



£-Oan Packages. 



67,821 



\-Cran P adages. 

 48,301 



h-Cran Packages. 



60,062 



l-Cran Packages. 



111,990 



The total import from all places up to 12th September was 144,087 

 crans. The total for 1905, for the four countries, was 275,171 crans. 

 As a result of the increased communication with England, the import for 

 the current year will probably exceed these figures. The packages from 

 Scotland and England varied slightly in size, but it has been agreed 

 by the English, Scottish, and German exporters of fresh herrings from 

 Great Britain to Germany, that on and after 1st January, 1907, all 

 packages be new and of a uniform size, with a capacity of half a cran 

 each. 



The trawling industry at Altona, which is the landing place for 

 white fish at Hamburg, is annually increasing, with the result that the 

 auction mart there, already a large and spacious building, is to be 

 enlarged to about double its present size. Four years ago there were 

 only some 30 trawlers belonging to Altona and Hamburg. At present 

 there are 51, and at the close of the current year, with the number in 

 course of construction, there will be a fleet of 70 trawlers. Four of 

 these vessels are being built at Aberdeen. Although new markets are 

 being constantly opened up, both in the manufacturing and mining 

 countries, the great demand for fish is due to the high tariff on almost 

 all kinds of live and dead meats imported. 



Stettin. 



On leaving Hamburg I proceeded direct to Stettin. On my arrival 

 there I made the acquaintance of the principal herring importers, who 

 were all most courteous, and ready to welcome me as the Board's repre- 

 sentative. Previous to my arrival 5000 barrels of herring were 

 destroyed by fire. From inquiries on the spot and from the effects of 

 the fire which I had witnessed, I learned that 1000 barrels of these were 

 Norwegian vaar herrings, the balance being Scottish. The loss, exclusive 

 of erections, amounting to about .£7000, was covered by insurance, the 

 greatest losers being the Government, who had to refund the duty. 

 Unbranded herrings were coming in in large quantities, but as yet very 

 few branded herrings had arrived. Although the imports showed an 

 increase of 17,000 barrels, as compared with the corresponding period 

 of 1905, there was a good demand. Unfortunately the early Shetland 

 and East Coast herrings had not given satisfaction, and buyers only 

 purchased for immediate requirements, the result being that of 20,000 



