The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-04

lowers his nets and two men Of the crew,
with great oars, work steadily TO keep the
boat stationary, while The others lower the
nets Standing a the stern of the boat the
captain throws the chum overheard. This
chum is a bait made of The eggs of the
Goldfish, and il keeps the fish in the desired
place A spot that is well baited in this
way is called Harden in French, and the
casting of the chum is called bailler.
In a few moments, if the fish are plenti-
full. new quantities of scales float upon the
surface and the net itself is agitated by
the struggles of The immense number of
fish. Then il is Fitted and while the sails
are again hoisted and the boat pointed for
shore the men of the crew shake the nets
and toss the fish upon the deck
A curious thing about this kind of fish
ing IS that one rarely sees a living sardine
out of the water The fish make little
squeak when taken from the water and
die instantly. of the go or 800 fishing
boats fitted out at Belle Isle about 200
belong to Palais and the others to SauZon.
II is in these two ports that the fishermen
sell their fish. An ordinary catch of sar-
dimes gives to each boat from $500 TO TO-
0CO FISH, and the price is regulated by the
quantity brought in by the first corners.
Upon the docks the representatives of the
great preserving establishments hail the
fishermen, who tell them that they alone
caught enough worth mentioning and that
the other boats caught nothing. Then
they enter into discussion regarding the
price.
How many thousand have you, Jan
nic?"
About 5000"
Then 1 will give you seven francs
thousand"
"Oh, no. that Is not enough cannot sell
at that price"
But as the rest of the hotilla appear ali
the first corners consent TO sell their fish
at seven francs per 1000, and in an hour
afterward the later arrivals can get only
90 centimes per 1909, and sometimes they
can get no sale whatever for their catches
and are obliged to throw the sardines over
board because the little fish remain fresh
for only two or three hours at most.
On the other hand if the run is not ex-
ceptiOnaIy numerous, all the fish are
bought at from 30 to 40 francs per 1909,
and sometimes even at 20 francs per 1000.
Sardine fishing is more or less danger
Gus. Often boats that put to sea in rough
weather never come back. When the sar-
dimes are sold on the docks they are TAX
en- in baskets to the cannery. Each bas-
ket contains 200 fish. In addition to the
price which is Immediately paid to him on
the dock, The captain usually gets about
haN a gallon of wine for himself and his
crew.
During the sardine season about 800 wo-
men and fifty men auxiously await the ar
rival of the first boats. If there are no fish
there is no work for them. When the news
arrives that the boats have their wei
come cargoes, the women, in their pic
tuTesque costumes, rush 10 the cannery
like flock of frightened sheep, and each
takes her place in the great room where
the fish undergo their first preparation.
Here the sardines are spread upon the ia
bic and sprinkled with salt. Then they are
cleaned. and when that operation Is fin
ished they are sorted by little boys accord
ing to their size and carried into another
part of the establishment, where they are
put in pickle.
The length of time required by this op-
GRAFTON varies according to the size of the
fish. After this the fish are washed and
placed one by one. with great care upon
wire nets, called girls, and put out to dry
in the open air. If the weather is wet or
even foggy this operation becomes impos-
sible, and the fish spoil and become worth
less, except for fertilizer.
This serious inconvenience has been
| avoided lately by the construction of a
mechanical drier, a sort of immense ven
tilator run by powerful machinery. For a
few moments the sardines are exposed to
a strong current of air. and Immediately
afterward, while stlll upon the girls. they
are plunged into tanks of boiling olive oil
This bath lasts from three to five min
utes, according to the size of the fish In
order that the olive oil may retain its nat
ural taste, the tanks do not come in d.
| rect contact with the fire, but are heated
| by steam tubes. After this cooking, the sar~
| dimes, still upon the girls, are left to cool,
1 and, when cold, the work of placing them
! in boxes is begun. That work is done by
| special female employees. The boxes are
! carried to the oiling room, where the last
/ manipulation consists of filing them with
OH II Is in this part Of the establishment
that the tomato sauce and the spices are
! placed in the boxes which give to the
| French preparation of sardines their uni
versal renOwn. Then the boxes are closed.
/ Little wagons running on tramways bring
| the boxes TO tho soldering room, where
about thirty workmen with soldering irons
seal up the boxes.
In order to destroy the microbes the
allowed to remain there during the time
! prescribed in the formula. When taken
from the water they are dried in sawdust
, and finally inspected. If one little flaw in
the soldering appears the box is at once
1 thrown aside. When the boxes are all pro-
| nounced good they are put into eases of 100
EACH and it is in this way that they reach
the consumers.
In any one of those important establish
| mcnts the sardines are prepared and ex-
| ported ten hours after coming out of the
] water.
/ Gourmets should never cat newly prepar-
ed sardines They have neither the per-
fume nor the flavor of those which have
lain In the boxes for year.
-s-%s-S-
THE PITCH LAKE.