The herald., 1896-10-09
MARKETS Of THE WORLD
Local, Eastern AMI Foreign
Commercial Dealings
WALL STREET SPECULATION
The Sardlne Industry Of Western
France
There Are One Hundred Factories Cateh-
ing and Curing the Fis'h-Each
employs Many Women.

The sardne industry in the provinces Of
Brittany and Vendee employs large pop
ulation of men. women and children. Nam
tes is the most important center for the
preparation of canned sardines, though
La Rochelle and several other maritime
towns are able to rival the Brittany me-
tropolis today.
The sardine manufacturers of Nantes
own over 100 important factories, scattered
along the coast between Les Eabes d.
Olonne, st. Gilles and Belle Isle. 1t is from
lne first of June that sardines begin to
flock along the Brittany coast. Like cod,
they are season fish, and their favorlte
abiding place is at great depths, among
marine grasses, two or three miles from
the shore, where they assemble in large
numbers. The sardine. is fished In the same
manner as the cod. excepting that the net
Is made with smaller openings. These nets
are termed 'manets' in Brittany.
Every year thousands of fishing smacks
start out sardine fishing. The vessels are
OF light contraction, and only fit for a calm
sea. II overtaken by squall they often
haye nay barely time ,o seek refuge in some
these craft is from rs to 30 feet. They are
fitted out with number OF cars, the use
Of which Is indispensable TO manage the
boats on their return to port AS a rule
the captains of these fishing boats ara the
owners owner as as well, but IN the past ten years
ing fleets of their own. The crew Of an
average sarddne boat consists of between
seven sa and ten men, only three Of WHOM
mate, and one sailor boy, The remainder
are peasants. who make use of the fishing
tine me- to till up the farmers dHl season.
place every morning; the boats leave port
at low tide and sail to the spot where the
ssaardatnsss raas have been signaaIed: As soon as
which are oyer acoO feet long, are thrown
overheard. Thess nets have all been black
ened beforehand with smoke, so as not
fishermen scatter, bait around them; the
favorite bait is called 'rogue, and Is made
G FISH bs bos the Is .na ed is aaw o
again. The sardins spoils' very easily, and
the fishermen are, IN consequence, obliged
e rspn eon say Ss Il Sda s TsaR @ ds hs
"remandeuses," as the "sardine women"
are termed. seize the nets. stretch them
along the beach and mend them II neces-
Meanwhile. the captains sell their fish
either to fish merehants or to the sardine
the Ssardine w, women' % in nj the @ service of The
factories flock to the harbor and clean the
FISH; the scene then is most typical, and
painters brush: Conversation at once be,
gins between these sturdy hshwiyes.. and
the fishermen, and. the merits Of the days
cleaned, the fishermen go to the neighbor
ing "cabaret'' to settle the days pay: the
first proceeding is to deduct from the days
gross income the several expenses, such
as cost of bait; the days food, etc What
remains is divided into certain number of
portions. of which the captain has gener-
orally two, the mate one-half or one-quar-
ter, and the rest of the Grew what re-
mains. When the fishing has been good
the days profits are considerable; but on
bad day the men are often In distress, as
they have no regular pay
The preparation of sardines In oil Is as
follows: The fish are first washed In salt
water, beheaded and cleaned They are
then salted and dried in the sun, or IN aer-
ated rooms, specially prepared for the pur-
pose. They are then slightly dipped into
boiling oil and when cooled off they are
placed In tin boxes, which are made In the
factory. These boxes are filled with OIL
hermeticaly sealed, and dipped into boil
ing water to prevent fermentation taking
place, This last operation finished, the
boxes are placed In wooden cases. filled
with sawdust and are then all ready for
sale.
$50 women. 20 children and as many men.
thesd latter being tinsmiths for the most
part. The women employees. receive very
small pay-a or cents per hour. Those
employed in the boiling process receive
slightly larger salary, this work being
more dangerous and dfficult.-New York
Times.