matanzas," or

For the last seven or eight years the takes of tunny, at Tunis have proved very equal and good, Were the fish to exceed 14,000 in one season, they would be beyond the preserving and curing capabilities of the establishment. The nets are laid jutting out to sea for upwards of a mile, and are so placed as to form several chambers; the outer compartments are made of esparto grass-rope nets, of very large meshes, which gradually decrease in size as the "corpo," or slaughtering compartment, is approached. The nets in this part are made of the finest hempen cordage.

The tunny, in their annual spring migration from the ocean to the Archipelago and the Black Sea, follow either the southern or northern shores of the Mediterranean in all their windings. A tonnara is so constructed off a promontory or headland as to offer an obstruction to the fish, which, in endeavouring to avoid it, enter compartment after compartment. Their migratory instinct is so strong, that they never appear tempted to retrace their course, but always endeavour to find a way out towards the east, which is barred to them.

On a sufficient number of tunny fish being noted in the "corpo," a net is lowered at its entrance, and the net, which forms the bottom of it, is gradually drawn up towards the surface, so as to bring the fish within the reach of the men, the majority of whom, about 160 in number, are in two immense lighters, armed with harpoons and boat-hooks, by means of which the tunny are killed and drawn into the barges. A few of the men are also in small boats in the centre of the enclosure. As many as 700 fish are occasionally secured in a single “matanza,” but more usually from 400 to 500. From 30 to 35 days are expended in laying down the nets and otherwise preparing for work.

The first "matanza" of the season generally takes place about the 10th of May, and the last on the 30th of June, or thereabouts. To secure the high prices of an early market, the first "matanza" is hastened as much as possible, and takes place if even 200, or only 150, tunny have entered the "corpo."

The fish are killed and landed in the morning, and allowed to drain until the evening, when they are cleaned and cut up. The "scabeccio "-tunny preserved in oilis boiled for an hour, and then allowed to cool and dry, when it is quickly packed in barrels already prepared for its reception, and about a third of a "metal" of oil (13 imperial gallon) is poured into each barrel, great care being taken that it should permeate the whole contents, and that no vacuum should exist when closed. The same process is observed for the tunny preserved in tin cans, only that the air is more thoroughly excluded and exhausted by steam power. The operation of salting the fish is more expeditious, for, whilst the "scabeccio" to be prepared requires from four to five days, the salting takes but a day or a day and a half. The oil extracted from tunny is much used by curriers and in the tanning trade, and is extracted from the heads, dorsal and other bones, and refuse, the whole being placed in an immense cauldron, capable of holding 800 heads and 400 skeletons at a time, and allowed to boil for 24 hours. The bones after boiling are subjected to compression in powerful presses, and thus but little of the oil they contain is lost.

In a good season the Sidi Daud fishery, Tunis, furnishes from 10,000 to 14,000 tunny, but they vary considerably in size from one year to another. In 1870 the fish were larger than those of 1871, although some of the tunny caught measured eight and a half feet in length, and four feet in

diameter at the neck, the widest part of the body. From 2000 to 3000 fish are sufficient to pay the whole of the expenses of a season. The average yield is for 1000 fish to produce 120 barrels of "scabeccio."

In 1871, 3200 barrels of "scabeccio" were made, and sold at more than £6 10s. the 100 kilogrammes; and 90,000 kilogrammes of tunny were put up in tin cans, which realized more than £8 the 100 kilogrammes. Eight thousand barrels of salted fish were sold at about £1 4s. per barrel ; and 40,000 kilogrammes of oil (65,460 imperial gallons) · produced more than £40 the 1000 kilogrammes. Two thousand "metals" (about 10,250 imperial gallons) of the best olive oil were expended in the preservation of the above quantities of fish.

Very few of the fish are sent in a fresh state to the Tunis market; about 50 only are presented by the proprietor to the Bey, local and foreign authorities, and other Tunisian officials. The roes, milts, hearts, sounds, and all other coarse parts of the fish are the perquisites of the fishermen, and are preserved and sold on their own account. The roes are chiefly sent to Italy, and are there sold at from 2s. 6d. to 4s. the pair. Upwards of 200 barrels of inferior parts of tunny were salted on account of the men in 1871.

It appears, moreover, that the demand for preserved tunny is at present limited to the countries bordering on the Mediteranean, and the ten tonnaras in Sicily, one in Calabria, six in Sardinia, and one or two in France, Spain, and other parts of Italy, produce sufficient for actual requirements. In Germany tunny is beginning to be known and called for, but it took six months last year to dispose of 200 tin boxes that were sent to England as a commercial experiment. Nevertheless the best qualities

of tunny only require to be better known in England to be highly appreciated. 1870 and 1871 proved disastrous seasons for the Italian tonnaras, the tunny fish having, unaccountably, almost entirely failed to make their accustomed appearance, and the two most famed tonnaras of Trapani only secured 2000 fish each in 1871, whilst others were forced to break up their establishments from want of success, before the season was half over.

Tunny fish preserved in oil ("scabeccio ") is much used; the price is about £3 5s. the cwt., and the produce of the fishing in 1871 was

The export of tunny fish from Tunis in 1873 was:

This fishery might be profitably carried on in Algeria. Arzeu has one small madrague, where on some days as many as 300 tunny fish have been taken. 400 or 500 persons could be profitably occupied in this fishing. A madrague established at Sidi Feruch, or at Cape Matefou, would give during the season, at each lift of the nets (an operation which might be renewed several times during the week), 300 or 400 tunny fish, weighing from 60 lbs. to 600 lbs. It might be salted or marinated, and as this fish will keep fresh for a week, it might be shipped to supply the Marseilles market. It could only be carried on during the months of March to June.

CHAPTER VIII.

CRUSTACEA.

Useful or food-supplying crustacea-The lobster-The British fishery-Size to which lobsters grow-Technical names by which they are sold in Billingsgate-Supply of crabs—Crab-pots-Lobster fishery in America—Change of colour in boiling-Statistics of the trade in canning lobsters, etc.— The Norway lobster fishery.

AMONG the crustacea we have the useful or foodsupplying kinds, such as the boiled lobster and the canned or tinned lobster; the edible crabs of the market, used for food, and the king-crab for manure; large prawns, used in place of the lobster on the west coast of America; those sold in the markets of Europe, at New York, and the east and south coasts of America; the smaller shrimps and prawns, held in esteem by various nations, and many of which serve for bait. The liquid fat of the hermit-crab (Pagurus sp.), under the name of "manteca de ladron," is used in Venezuela to cure laxations of the bowels.

The shell of the king-crab (Limulus polyphemus) is used on the American coasts as a boat-bailer.

Of the crustaceans, the lobster is that which is most in demand, although the more common crab is, of the two, most digestible and nourishing. But the lobster has always been held in estimation as a food delicacy, and from being so sought for, leads to a very extensive commerce. Besides