“The fish-manure fetches about 8s. per cwt. in the locality, and is eagerly sought after by the farmers, who expect the most signal results to agriculture from the extension of the manufacture; while the oil which, as already remarked, constitutes about 2½ per cent of the raw fish, would be worth from 3s. to 3s. 4d. per gallon. These figures show at once that the manufacture must be profitable—a fact which is fully guaranteed by Messrs. Payen and Pommier, who, as a commission sent from the Agricultural Society in order to report upon the project, had the privilege of examining the books of the concern, and of thus satisfying themselves of its commercial success.
“The factory of Concarneau, as we have already noticed, was only founded in order to serve as a model, not alone for those which may be established on different points of the French coast, but also in foreign countries. In addition to the factory established under the superintendence of M. de Molon junior, in Newfoundland, and which in its actual condition is capable of furnishing from 8000 to 10,000 tons of manure annually, it is proposed to establish others on the same coast, and also on the coasts of the North Sea, on such a scale as will furnish sufficient manure to completely replace the guano now imported from Peru.
“When we recollect what a large amount of offal has hitherto been wasted upon our coasts, the vast quantity of coarse fish which have been rejected and thrown again into the sea; but above all, when we consider the enormous extent of ocean, teeming with animal life, which has contributed so little to the sustenance of mankind, we cannot help thinking that at Concarneau has been laid the foundation of a great branch of industry, which is destined to renovate the worn-out soils of the richly-populated countries of Europe.”
II. LIST OF AUTHORITIES.
Having been frequently asked by correspondents for a list of the chief authorities on fish, I beg to subjoin the titles of a few of the works I have had occasion to consult while preparing this volume:—
A Review of the Domestic Fisheries of Great Britain and Ireland, by Robert Fraser, Esq. Edinburgh, 1818.
A Short Narrative of the Proceedings of the Society appointed to manage the British White Herring Fishery, etc., by Thos. Cole. London, 1750.
A Treatise on Food and Diet, by Jonathan Pereira, M.D., etc., 1843. London: Longman and Co.
A Treatise on the Management of Fresh-Water Fish, by Gottlieb Boccius, 1841. London: Van Voorst.
An Account of the Fish-Pool, etc., by Sir Richard Steell. London, 1718.