THE COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS OF THE SEA; OR, MARINE CONTRIBUTIONS TO FOOD, INDUSTRY, AND ART. " By P. L. SIMMONDS, " EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL OF APPLIED SCIENCE," AUTHOR OF ANIMAL PRODUCTS AND WEST CORNER OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD, LONDON. Sm MDCCCLXXIX. [1979] PREFACE. HAVING published a series of papers in the Art Journal, under the title of "Marine Contributions to Art," and some other articles on various products obtained from the Sea in my serial publications, The Technologist and The Fournal of Applied Science, it occurred to me that they might be conveniently collected into a volume, which would form a companion to books I had previously published on "The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom," and on “Animal Products: their Preparation and Uses." Hence the appearance of the present work, which, I believe, will supply a want, by furnishing accurate details respecting articles and products of considerable importance in a commercial point of view. Although some works have been published from time to time on special fisheries, none have treated the subject as a whole, or gone over the field of research in a systematic manner, so as to show the importance of the Commercial Products of the Sea to various countries. I have endea voured to bring down the official statistics in the several chapters to the latest date, and therefore I trust the work may be found a useful and readable handbook for all those interested in marine productions. While I do not claim any merit for originality in this book, I may state that I have taken every pains to consult all published documents treating on the subject that have come under my notice, especially those issued in the United States and on the Continent, and also the official publications printed by different Governments. As the book professes to deal only with the Products of the Sea, I have necessarily had to exclude much interesting matter relating to the River and Lake Fisheries of various countries. 29, CHEAPSIDE, London, October, 1878. P. L. SIMMONDS. |