Tombstone epitaph., 1892-11-16
TRENCH SARDINES.
One of the Leading Industries of
 Brittany.
How the Toothsome Deiicscies Are Cap- tured and Prepared for ship ment to Foreign
 Countries.

In paper upon Finistere, read by F. $. Dellenbaugh before the American Geographical society, he describes the sardine industry as it is praeticed off Pontayen. on the coast of Brittany. At times, he says, there are as many as twelve hundred fishing boats collected at this point, where the sardine, while on its northward journey, attains its most desirable size for taking and pack ing. The boats are about thirty feet long, entirely open, except for short deck at the stern, and carrying two masts that can readily be taken down. The net, about twenty feet long and six or eight feet broad, is weighted on one long edge and buoyed with cork floats on the other. so that when it is in the water behind the boat it assumes an up- right position like a wall, and in this position is lowed through the water by one end as the boat moves slowly along. The captain mounts the little deck at the stern with bucket of bait called rong, the eggs of codfish, under one arm and his practiced eye ranges the water. When he discovers the proximity of the fish he scatters little of the rong on one side of the net and they rise in school to take it This is the critical moment. He throws quantity on the opposite side, and the fish. mak- ing a dart for it, are entangled in the meshes. When the sardines are numer- ous the boat does not halt to take the net on board; by means of certain pull the meshes are frightened and. with buoy to mark it. it is cast of and left till a full catch is made. Another net is put out and the opera tion is repeated til all the nets are used. Then comes the picking up and ex- traction of the fish, the latter work being performed with great care, be cause handling the fish injures them. The net is caught up at the ends and seesawed till all the fish drop into the bottom of the boat. where they remain until the arrival in port. There the fish are counted by the two hundreds into coarse baskets and dipped in the water beside the boat to free them from loose scales and other matter. Thence they are carried to the factories and thrown upon long low tables, on each side of which is a row of women and girls. who. with short knife, prepare them for the salt vats, where they remain for two hours. After that they are placed in coarse baskets and given bath of sea water under a pump. Then they are put to dry in the open air on wire racks When the fish begin to shrivel the racks are taken to the oilroom, where four or five tanks of olive oil are constantly boiling. Each rack is plunged for moment or two into the hot oil and then set aside to drip, after which the fish are selected and care. fully laid in tin boxes cf various sizes.
 When the box is full 1t is passed along to the oil tap, where the space remain ing is filled with oil The box is now ready for sealing, and passes along to the solderer. After the soldering a hole is punched in the cover to let out the imprisoned air and immediately closed with solder. Next the cans are placed in huge iron crate and lowered into tanks of boiling water. If there is still air in the can it will explode or bulge out, and the trouble can be corrected before the final packing in wooden boxes for export to all parts of the world