The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-08-14
CATCHING SARDINBS.
This is the Chief Industry
of the People on the
Coast of Brittany.
THE PROCESS OF CANNING.
Those Prepared for the New York
Market are Called "Bone-
less Sardines."

Satdlue catching anu canning is the
chief industry of the people on the coast
of Brittany. Consul II. ia Sallier-D u-
pin, at Nantes, gives the following de-
s~cription of the Industry
This industry originated at Nantes in
the year 1884, and the best brands are
initiated III Spain aud Portugal, but are
OF inferior quality. owing TO tho use OF
Spanish. instead OF Italian, oil. During
the ssrdine fishing season, which lasts
about five months, 1850 boats. equipped
with from $4,000 to $1,000 sailors, are
employed. The employees of the factories
number about 10.0 900 women and children
ard from 1900 to 1000 men. The annual
expenditure for labor, material, etc. /.
amounts TO about So. 875. 900.
The sardine is a migratory fish which
first appears on the COAST of Africa. pass
ing northward in large shoals, folio wing
the coast of Portugal, crossing the Bay
If Biscay, aud striking The coasts OF
Vendee In the Month Of April or May.
Here the sardine ~ met by fishermen
stationed at the seaport town of PIsle-d'-
Yeu, and In the bays OF the Sables-d'
Oionne and of Saint GILES, 10 assemble
from all parts of Brittany and follow the
fish toward the north. retarding its pro-
gress with q special Dait called rogue"
THE THROWING OF THE E
Before dayureak the fishing boats leave
many leave in the evening aud anchor
Mt sea. When a peculiar bubbling Of the
| wafer reveals the fish, the nets nre i'm
| mediately thrown. Each net Is from 600
to 1000 yards In length, about three yards
In width. y black in color. On the
| upper part of the net are cork hoa,s. Oh
the lower part leaden K To keep the
net in an upright position.
The oarsmen, generatly two in number,
row always either against the wind or
the tide. One man casts the net AZ this
boat advances. while the other thro ws
tho rogue" into the water. This bait is
an important feature OF the sardi ne
catch, as it is quite expensive, and fish er-
men often lo.e a considerable quantity.
1t Is made of the egg Of Goldfish or mack
eral mixed with clay aud costs from 81
to SIT per barrel. That made of mackeral
eggs is superior. This bait is thrown
Into the water In small balls, which
slowly dissolve and sink. AT nfghtfall
the boats return Co port, where they sell
their fish 10 gamers at prices varying
according to the abundance OF the catch
aud the size and freshness OF the fish.
Sales are made by the "thousand," but
this term does not always indicate ex-
actIy a Thousand sardfnes. For example,
at Belle Isle s, 1910 fish make a thousand.
Factories for preserving sArdines are To-
Gated at all the ports, for the fish spoil
easily and cannot bear transportation.
TIE fishermen convey The sardines TO the
factories in baskets.
THE PROCESS Oh CANNING.
The process OF canning the little dsh
for export to this country Is quit inter-
esting:-Ths sardlnes are spread on the
floors and sailed and the heads removed.
They are then thrown into brine. where
they remain half an hour. They are next
washed IN clear water n dried on
screens. This work Is I'M almost en-
tirely by the wives nj children of the
fishermen, their united wages during the
fishing season enabling the family TO
subsist during the following winter.
Af.er the fish have been thoroughly
dried they are cooked by dipping them
degrees F. They are again drained and
handed over to workmen. who pack
them in small tin boxes. which are filled
with pure olive oil aud then soldsred.
The oil used Is imported from the
province OF Bari. Italy. The boxes
are next thrown inso hot water,
| where they remain from two TO. three
hours, according to the size of the boxes.
When Withdrawn the boxes are first
| cooled, then rubbed with sawdust t.
cleanse and polish them, and packed Ia
wooden cases of one hundred boxes for
shipment. During their immersion in
boiling water oil will escape from. all
boxes not properly soldered. In such
| cases the loss is sustained by the solderer.
A good workman rarely misses more
than two or three boxes per hundred.
THOSE TOT THE NEW YoRK MARKET.
A quality Of sardine cailed s.Doneiess
sardines" is prepared especially for the
New York market by fatories at Concar.
mean and Douarnenez. Their D
tion requires special care. and they COM
mand u high price. Sardines in oil are
sometimes mixed with truffies. They ar,
also prepared with tomatoes and sent IL
small quantities to the New York mar.
ket, but the chief export in this form is
TO Mexico. Sardines are also preserved
in butter and in vinegar. During the
last year the quantity of canned sardines
shipped 10 this country amounted in salel
to $3.50. 148 SO.