K. GOPINATH 125
nhancing the keeping quality of the packed
material, provided the tins are properly and
carefully sealed in partial vacuum.
Ordinary godowns where the cured materials
are stored ready for market are usually kept
intidy. They are not cleaned after each con-
signment is removed for disposal and hence parti-
cles and pieces of previous consignments are allow-
ed to accumulate inside the sheds. These pieces
infect every fresh consignment subsequently
introduced and stored there. Besides this, as
ointed out in an earlier part of this paper, every
ole and crevice in these buildings are infested
with mites which may infect all consignments
taken in. Thorough cleaning of these godowns
and fumigation with sulphur dioxide and other
mild disinfectants was found to be very effective
a controlling mites inside the godowns.
Except in the case of air tight containers, in all
ther cases it has been possible only to restrict the
action of the mites to the minimum and not to
prevent their attack completely. The jute
eags in which the cured and finished products are
stored, are very unsuitable since they do not afford
efficient protection against the mites. Since it
is also seen that flies play an important part in the
afection of cured material under local conditions,
he most suitable method of packing and storage
will be the use of airtight containers. The produc-
ion of cured shrimps in this part is so great that a
every large number of containers is necessary if the
hole quantity is to be properly packed. But the
present scarcity of tin containers and the restric-
tions imposed on their use do not permit the con-
emplation of such a scheme. If therefore better
ality of cured shrimps is to be ensured, the only
alternative left at present is the adoption of improv-
ed methods of preservation as suggested in the
preceding paragraphs.
In all the experiments so far conducted no
chemical preservative other than common salt has
been used. But by using some of the well known
chemical preservatives, it may be possible to render
the shrimps immune to the attack of the para-
---es, thereby improving the keeping quality.
Many chemicals are used in foreign countries for
the preservation of fish and meat, subject to the
restrictions laid down in the food laws of the
respective countries. Thus in Great Briton and
British Empire there is a great restriction in the
use of such chemicals, whereas in Germany and
candanavian countries there is comparatively
treat freedom. In the United States of America
there seems to be greater freedom in the use of
chemicals at least in the case of fish.
Both boric and benzoic acids and their sodium
salts have been employed with success in all the
above countries for preservation of fish and sodium
salts of benzoic acid have been found to be by far
superior to all other chemicals used [Tarr and
Sunderland, 1939]. This aspect of the problem
is reserved for a subsequent paper.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to Dr K. L. Moudgill, Director of
Research, University of Travancore for having
given me all facilities for carrying on the investi-
gations and to Dr C. C. John, Professor of Marine
Biology and Fisheries for kindly suggesting subject
and also for his helpful guidance. My thanks are
also due to Rai Bahadur Dr S. L. Hora, Director
of Fisheries, Bengal, for kindly going through the
manuscript and making valuable suggestions.
REFERENCES
Chopra, B. (1936). The Cape Crawfish Industry of
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Chopra, B. (1939). Some food Prawns and Crabs of
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Ewing, H. E. (1935). Manual of External Parasites,
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Panikkar, N. K. (1937). The Prawn Industry of the
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Prince Rupert, No. 39
APPENDIX I
Caloglyphus mycophagus (?)
These are minute mites ranging from 0.2 mm. to 0.45
mm. The body is about twice as long as broad and has
neither folds nor many bristles as in the other members
of the family. Even the few bristles present are
simple. Segmentation of the body is absent except
for a well marked groove separating the pro-podo-soma
from the hysterosoma. It possesses typical acarid month
parts and the scutal plates appear to be well chitinised
since that portion is much thicker and brownish in colour.
It has four pairs of structurally similar legs, each five
jointed and ending in a well developed recurved claw, the
tarsus of each leg having a complement of strong setae on
it. These organs of attachment are further supplemented
by one or two pairs of suckers on the ventral side, the male