Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-10-08
they FISH FOR sARDiNEs.
q Great 1nauskry. which Gives KnapAey,
menr TO Many People.

Tx FkSr1 TN e4ksAstAN@<9N
q Great Induskry. which ssIres Esap ley-
menr 10 Many People.
The sardsne industry IN the prOvincea
Of Brittany and Vendee employs large
population Of men, women and ehil-
dren. Nantes is the most important
center for the preparation of canned
sardines. though La Rochelle and sev.
eral other maritime towns are able &C
rival the Brittany metropolis to-day.
The sardine manufacturers OF Nantes
own over 100 important factories, seat
Stables d'Olonne, St. Giles and Belle
Isle It is from the beginning of june
that sardines begin to flock along the
Brittany coast. Like cod, they are sea
son fish, and their favorite 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 E-manets" in Brit.
tany.
/ Every year thousands of fishing
smacks start out sardine fishing. The
i vessels are of light construction and
/ only fit for a calm sea. If overtaken by
/ a squall they often have barely time
/ to seek refuge in some friendly harbor.
/ The average length of these craft IS
from 25 to 80 feet. They are fitted out
with a number of large oars, the use OF
which is indispensable to manage the
/ boats on their return to port As a rule
( the captains of these fishing boats arc
/ the owners as well, but in the past ten
| years many factory owners have start
| ed fishing fleets of their own The
crew of an average sardine boat consists
| of between seven and ten men. only
| three of whom are professional sailors
the captain, his mate and one sailor
| boy. The remainder are peasants,
who make use of the fishing time to I'LL
up the farmers dull season
| The start for the days fishing takes
| place every morning; the boats leave
! port at low tide and sail to the spot
| where the sardines have been signaled.
| As soon as the fish have been seen the
/ nets, many of which are over 1000 feet
| long, are thrown overheard. These
nets have all been blackened before
| hand with smoke. so as not to frighter
/ the fish. At the same time the fisher.
men scatter bait around them; the fl.
vorite bait is called rogue" and is
| made of fish roe. Once the net is filed
! it is drawn into the boat, emptied and
| thrown out again. The sardine spoils
very easily, and the fishermen are, in
! consequence, obliged to return early in
| the evening at high tide. As soon as
/ the boats reach the docks, the ''remar-
! deuses,'' as the "sardine women" are
| termed. seize the nets, stretcA them
along the beach and mend them If nee.
essary.
Meanwhile, the captains sell their
/ fish either to fish merchants or to the
sardine factories direct. Once the sales
| are made, the ''sardine women in tbs
service of the factories flock to tbs
| harbor and clean the fish; the scene
then is most typical and has often beez
made a subject for the painters brush
Conversation at once begins between
| these sturdy fishwiyes and the fisher
| men, and the relative merits of the
| DAYS catch are discussed and com
| mented upon.
Once the boats are emptied and tbs
| fish cleaned the fishermen go to the
neighboring cabaret" to settle tbs
| days pay; the first proceeding is to de
| duct from the days gross income tht
| several expenses, such as cost of bait
the days food, etc. What remains j:
| divided into certain number of por
tions, of which the captain has gen
orally two, the mate one-half or one
I ~ 81 ylral
| remains. When the fishing has beer
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
i are then sailed and dried in the sur
| or in aerated rooms, specially prepared
for the purpose. 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 filed with oil. Theoretically sealed
and dipped into boiling water to pre-
vent fermentation taking place. This
| last operation finished, the boxes are
| packed in wooden cases, filed with saw
| dust, and are then all ready for sale.
Every factory employs on an aver
age $50 women, 20 children and as many
men. these latter being tinsmiths fc-
the most part. The women employees
receive very small pay three or fo,n
cents an hour. Those employed in the
| boiling process receive a slightly larger
/ salary. this work being more dangerous
and difficdlt.-N. Y. Times.