Pilchardsarealsoputupin

Pilchards are also put up in .oil in the same way in Cornwall, and there is a factory at Deal where sprats are tinned. The pilchard fishery is of great importance commercially. It commences in August, and is carried on till the April following. The fish which are not required for home markets are salted in vats, pressed, and packed in hogsheads for exportation. A hogshead weighs nearly 500 lbs., and contains from 2,500 to 3,000 fish; and some 15,000 hogsheads are annually sent to the Mediterranean ports. The pilchards feed upon small crustaceans and other minute marine organisms. The spawn is quite transparent, and is shed on the surface of the water, where it floats till the eggs are developed.