The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1888-09-01
THE sARpINE INDUSTRY.
4 business That Has Flourished for Many
Years ga the brittany Coast.

Years on the brittany Coast.
Apropos of the new regulations just
; issued by the French Government, tho
, RCrUc dos DtNr MoRdcS has published
an interesting account of the sardino
industry, which has so long nourishcd
ON the coast of Brittany. As but littlo
| is known about the trUe sardino, even
| I'm France, and OF course much less in
this country, our readers may like TO
see tho facts.
When it reaches its full growth tho
true sardine is II little smaller than the
herring; at this stage IL Is fat, oily
and OF n mediocre taste, II weighs be-
tween a quarter and third of a pound.
/ This fish, which on the coast OF Corn
wall is known as the pilchard, and in
/ Brittany rs the "wiutc- sardino." ap-
pears toward the close of the cold sea-
son and vanishes by Juno. Ii is then
moro than two years ole. This sardino
Is saltcd, but mover preserved in oil.
| IL Is the so-callod symmcr sardino
which is fried in boiling oil, packed in
tin boxes. and shipped all over the
world. This is tho Sane fish rs tho
| pilchard or winter sar0inc, only il H. u
| year younger. IL arrives of the Breton
coast in vast shoals during juno, and
thenccforwnrd until November Il is
taken in nets, the bait used being tho
| saltcd roe OF the Goldfish or IA minute
species Of shrimp procured in tho
neighborhood. Whittier IL goes and
/ whore il passes the cold season Is un-
| known, but il Is believed 10 be IA docp-
water fish. which only in the months
mentioned comes TO the surface. This
Is certain, however, that IL is met with
only noarly that section OF The Atlantic
coast of Europe which extends from
| Cornwall 10 Portugal.
Tho sardinc industry has OF late
years passed through n severe crisis.
The take was small during tho whole
period from 1880 TO 1886, with tho cx-
ccption of the yoar 1888 In 1886 the
value Of the sardine In oil exported fell
! 10 s., SOC, ,OOO or less than half OF what
| IL was seven years before. Last year.
! on the other hand, was oxtremoly
profitable to thc canning factories. nj
though the prices paid for the fresh
| sardincs per thousand ranged from
! sixty cents 20 ten dollars. The COM
| petition 10 which thr French manu-
facturers are subjected comes not only
/ from the United Statcs, where the fish
used is not tho true ssrdinc, but also
/ from Portugal, whore the genuine fish
| Is procurable and whctc extensive can
ming establishments have been recent
! ly inaugurnted. NIyortholcss, there
are certain French Gamers whose
| trademarks are widcly-known
and whose products everywhere
command prices relatively high.
| Their control OF n market Is
probably due 20 the fact that thcy arc
careful 20 employ nothing but vcritablo
olive oil OF n superior quality. Tho
vast quantity OF cotton-sccd oil annual
| ly shipped from Alexandria 20 Mar
scille- raises the suspicion that some
| French sardino Gamers may expose
themselves 90 tho same charges that
| have been lcvclcd ut their American
/ llNdlN, ~ an events, IL IOllOWS lnuL
the exquisite flavor Of certain French
product is owing partly 90 the quality
Of the oil, and partly 20 the fact that
only genuine sardlncs are used; and
moreover, that they are washed, owls
ccratcd and fried within an hour or
two after they are caught. No fish do
tcrioratcs moro rapidly after removal
/ from the water than tho sardinc.
The French Government has recently
| forbidden the M, Of the large, capa-
cious and improved nets, by which
! hugo multitudcs Of the summer snr-
dine could Doc drawn in NJ stroke.
! This prohibition was issued in con-
| formity with the wishes Of the Breton
/ fishermen, who ascribe tho crisis 90
which their industry has been subject,
ed 90 tho sweeping reduction Of tho
fish by tho ncw-fanglcd implements
But ~ the largo scincs are employed
| by their Portuguese competitors, tho
| French Gamers naturally protest
l.agaiust this Interference Of the state.