The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1866-10-04
How Sardines are Caught and Pre-.
pared.


How Sardines are Caught and Pre-
pared.
A correspondent of the London Times, in
an article on the French fisheries, has the fol-
lowing:
The great French sardine fishery is con-
Quoted in way that is quite remarkable for
the extravaganza it involves. The sprat
fisheries on the British coast-indeed, all the
net fisheries of our coasts-are carried on in
the most primitive way, and with very great
success. The French sardine fishery Is con.
Quoted in way altogether different from
ours: it presents this anomaly, namely, that
the French have made it bait fishery, re-
quiring the annual expenditure of an enor-
nous sum Of money for the substance with
which to entice the fish, this substance being
the roe of the coda fgurative whale to
catch q sprat. On the shores of the North
Sea fisheries have been established solely for
the purpose of providing the eggs of the cod
fish as bait for the sardine catchers of Con-
carneau.
This roe. which is prepared costs 80 francs
per barrel; each boat employed in the sar-
dine fishery will use about Is barrels every
season, and as there are about three thou
sand sardine boats on the coast of Brittany
the money paid for bait cannot be much
under fl0O,00O per annum. The number Of
Goldfish which must be killed, or at least are
killed for the purpose Of obtaining this
craQnd bait is therefore enormous; and if
the fishery exhibitions now open in France
achieve nothing more than the teaching of
the Concarneau to catch their sardines as
the British fishermen catch their sprats they
will indeed be great success.
The capture and cure of the sardine is q
great business in France, and especially at
Concarneau, where as many as thirteen
thousand men aid in the fishery. 1t is not
easy TO obtain accurate statistics Of the bust
ness done in sardines. In the first place
there 10 a large quantity sold fresh-that is,
packed in dry salt in little baskets made Of
rushes. and sent wherever there is u mode
OF outlet. Then there is an enormous guam
tity sold in those familiar tins. 1t is said
that beside the quantity exported, which is
large, there are US many as 4,0O0,OO0 boxes
cured in oil and prepared for the home mar
ket: then, besides these, large number are
sold loose in barrels and also pressed in
barrels.
1t is an interesting sight to witness the
arrival of the boats, and to see the rush to
the curing establishments Of the men, women,
and children interested in the sales. How
their sabois do clatter as they prance over
the stones. The curers just buy from day
to day what sardnes they require, and no
more; generally speaking, they do not, as in
the Scottish herring fishery, make contracts
with boats. and only one or two firms have
boats of their own. When the curers are in
want of supply of fish they put up a flag
at their curing establishment, and the fish
ermen hurry to supply them, the price va
rying from day to day according as the fish
cry has been abundant or the reverse. As
soon as the boats arrive the fish are put in
train for the cure by being Quilted, beheadcd,
sorted into sizes, and washed in sea water
chiefly by women, who can earn from IF
to 20f. week at these curing establish
ments.
The cure is begun by drying the fish on
nets or willows, generally in the open air but
sometimes from stress OF weather it must be
done under cover. After being dried they
are ready for the process Of the pan, which is
kept over furnace, and is filled with boil
ing oil. Into the cauldron the fish are
plunged, two rows deep, arranged on wire
gratings. In this pan OF oil THE very finest
olive OILY they remain for brief period, till,
in the judgment of the cook, they are done
sufficiently. Then they are placed to drip,
the drippings of oil being, Of course, care
by women and girls into the nice little clean
boxes in which they are sold. Again they
are allowed to drip by the boxes being
sloped; then each box, by means Of tap, is
filled carefully up to its lid with pure olive
oil, when il is ready for the next process,
which is the soldering on of the lids or, us it
may be called, the hermetical sealing up of
the box, most particular part of the pro-
cess, at which the men can earn very large
wages, with this drawback that they have
to buy all the fish that are spoiled.
After the soldering has been accomplished
the boxes have to be boiled in u steam
chest. Those that do not bulge out after
the boiling are condemned as dead" for
when the process is thoroughly gone through
the perfection of the cure is known by the
bulging out of the boxes which are Of Va.
rious sizes, according to the purpose for
which they are designed. There are boxes
of six pounds weight and two pounds weight
az also half and quarter boxes, with from
about twenty.four 10 twelve fish in them
according to size. Little kegs are also filled
with sardines cured as anchoyies. The fin
ishing process of the sardRe cure Is IL
stamp the boxes and aiiix the thin brass
labels WHICH are always found upon them
There are little incidental industries con
nectcd with the cure which may be noticed
The debris is sold for agricultural purposes
as is the case at home here, where the curer'
get few pounds annually for their olGl
then large quantity of oil ia exudod from
the sprat during the process Of the cure, ahd
on the total fishery this oil is OF considers
BILE value. The dead" fish, as we have
said, are sold 70 the men, but the success Of
the cure is usually SO great that the dead
form but very small percentage of the
total number Of boxes submitted to the test.
SUFFERING IN ALABANA-REIssl'g or RA-
TIoSs.-In consequence Of representations by
Governor Patton that many thousands Of
persons in Alabama are suffering for want Of
food Secretary Stanton has modified the or,
der Of August %, so as 70 permit the re-
issue Of Government rations in that State