Situated all-around the fish market are dozens of fish hongs, whose cwnors buy the fish in Jarge eonsignesents fagd re-sell ie to smaller hongs and private traders. From these hongs come the fish-brokers, dressed in the Foughest and dirtiest clothing who ferable about the fishing Loots appraising the catch, Then the bidding and bargaining commences. Each broker tries to purchase a. choice consignment at the lowest possible price, while the fishermen fare equally desirous of securing the greatest amount of money they can for their fish. In the case of a portly cularly good catch, the bidding from the various brokers reaches a fever pite; quotations are offered and taken amid shouts and wild gestteulations, while the language occasionally would put even a Billingsgate porter to sham 'At last, one broker outbids the rest. He' summons his porters, and the laborious task of unloading com merices. Baskets, stilt damp from the previous day's" consignment, their bottoms almost hidden beneath a coating of fish-scales, are brought by the dozen, Each basket is lowered Into the hold, where a couple or more of sweating fishermen slip and slide amidst the catch as they All it up. Holsted on deck once more, each basket is weighed under the eagle Heart and followed by a civil service at HM, Consulate-General at 11 am. Miss Elizabeth Irene Bahr and Mr. Robert Kirkwood Tarbet were united in_ marriage on Saturday.
The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L J. Bahr of Shanghai and Mr. Terbet is the son of Mr, and Mrs. Robrr{ Tarbet of Greenock, Scotland.
"The bride was given away by her father and her sister, Miss Emily Bahr was her only attendant. Mr. Peler Bahr was the best man and Mr. Peter Semple and Mr. J. Vincent Hourthan were the ushers, feyes of the brokers, who examine it] with eyes rendered' keen by *zperifence. "One of them reaches forward, and drags out a fish that docs not meet with his approval; another is flung up from the hold' to take its A rope is slung around the basket, and two porters gingerly walla along gang-plank to the shore and their fish-hong.
The Crowd Grows Meanwhile, the crowd of pur chasers has swollen considerably with the arrival of a large number of hawkers and private " tradesmen, whose shouts and vociferations equal In intensity those of the brokers and their sing-song porters. Competition even keener amongst these smaller fish merchants, who purchase no more than a basket or two of fish ata time, for each fish that ie, subsequently found to be unsaleable mears a much greater decrease in what are really very small pratts, By 11 o'clock in the morning, market day is over. Bveryone's needs have been satisfied, and the market place begins to quieten down. The place is more or less perfunctorily cleaned up by street cleaners and" a horde of scavengers, who seraznblo and fight for the few Ash that lo about on the wet and thy round, to be trodden under foot and times rendered almost unrecognizable, When the demand exceeds the supply. the majority of the tching oats sre able to sail away the same day for the shing grounds. to return two or three days later with a fresh Jsupply for the local market." More. often than not, however, most of the oats find that they have disposed of mere than half their catch, which means that they have to idle another day away in port.
Tu order to preserve the fish that} leit over as much as possible, the jerudest form of refrigeration Is used. Cheap native ico is thrown down into the hold and mixed with the fish which are shielded as much as poss-bie from the sun and heat of hot Occasionally, fish which is fust on the point of turning is salted, and quite a large amount of trade is done in native salted fish. This fs the score that has taken place in the Nantao fish market almost since its inception, and despite ts handicaps, it was perhaps a marvel that the) bulk of the $80,000,000 worth of native and foreign fish could be transacted under such conditlots.
The New Market The new fish market on Point Islana, however, has been planned to Jserve as a model for other cities 10 copy. The Ministry of Industry has issued orders to the effect that to-day is to be the last day of business in the old market. Beginning to-m>trow, the marketing of fish is to be conducted under "Government—fuper~ vision, The new market is to receive jeargees from trawlers and importers, fand will sell them to the authorized brokers, obtaining a 6 per cent. commission' on common verities of fish, which is shared evenly with the buy: Ing brokers.
By means of the now market's large cold storage and refrigerating plants, it is hoped that an evenly-Fegulsted scale of supply and demand will prevail, this scale being adjusted the Government so as to be at the best advantage commensurate with conditions, Its main aim is for the setting of the Chinese fishing industry on a sound and profitable basis, and the small commission charged is only enough to meet the annual running expenses,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.