FISH.

More than two-thirds of our globe being covered by the waters of the ocean, and of the remaining third a great part being washed by extensive rivers, or occupied by lakes, ponds, or marshes, these watery realms, teeming with life, furnish man with a great variety of food. Some of these have already passed under consideration in the reptilia, and others in the great class mammalia, as seals, morses, and manatees, which can remain at no great distance from the sea, together with whales, which never leave it, though constantly obliged, by the nature of their respiration, to seek its surface.

Mollusca, crustacea, annelides, and zoophytes are almost peculiar to this element, having but few scattered representatives on earth; but, amidst all its varied inhabitants, there are none more exclusively confined to its realms, none that rule them with such absolute sway, none more remarkable for number, variety of form, beauty of colour, and, above all, for the infinite advantages which they yield to man, than the great class of fishes. In fact, their evident superiority has caused their name to pass as a general appellation to all the inhabitants of the deep. Whales are called fish, crabs are called shell-fish, and the same term is used to denote oysters; though the first are mammalia, the second articulata, and the third mollusca.

Milton has well described the abundance of fish—

The modes of preserving fish are various; they are salted and dried, smoked and potted, baked or marinated, preserved in oil, and pounded in a dry mass.

Several savage nations possess the art of preparing fish in a great variety of ways, even as a kind of flour, bread, &c.

Dr. Davy, commenting upon the remarkable facts respecting the exemption of fish-eating persons from certain diseases, suggests that there is undoubtedly something in the composition of fish which is not common to other articles of food, whether vegetable or animal. He believes this consists of iodine. He says, that in all instances in which he sought for this substance in sea fish he has found it; and also traces of it in migratory fish, but not in fresh-water fish.

The trials he made were limited to red gurnard, mackerel, haddock, common cod, whiting, sole, ling, herring, pilchard, salmon, sea-trout, smelt, and trout.

The experiment was as follows.—He dried and charred, lixiviated, reduced to ashes, and again washed from a quarter of a pound to a pound of fish.

A good deal of limy matter was afforded from the washings of the charcoal of the sea fish.

The saline matter was principally common salt, had a pretty strong alkaline reaction, and by the blue hue produced by starch and aqua regia, afforded a clear proof of the presence of iodine. Only a slight trace was detected in the fresh-water salmon, sea-trout, and smelt. In the spent salmon descending to the sea, only just a perceptible trace was observable, and no trace in either parr or trout.

Dr. Davy states further, that he has detected it in an unmistakable manner in the common shrimp; also in the cockle, mussel, oyster, crab, &c.; nor is this remarkable, considering that it enters into the greater part of the food of fishes.

He observes, also, that cod liver oil is well established as an alterative or cure of pulmonary consumption, and as this oil contains iodine, the inference is, that sea fish, generally, may be alike beneficial. The practical application of this inquiry is obvious. A suggestion is also made as to the efficacy of drying fish, even without salt, the drying being complete to the exclusion of even hydroscopic water, for the use of the explorer and traveller.

The inference as to the salutary effects of fish depending on the presence of iodine, in the prevention of tubercular disease, might be extended to goitre, which it is known has already yielded to iodine. This formidable complaint appears to be completely unknown to the inhabitants of sea-ports and sea-coasts. Respecting another and concluding question, viz., the different parts of fish, it is to be remarked that, so far as experiments have gone, the effects will not be the same from all parts of the fish, because the inorganic elements are not the same. The examples chosen are the liver, muscle, roe, or melt. In the ash of the liver and muscle of sea-fish, Dr. Davy always found a large proportion of saline matter, common salt, abounding, with a minute portion of iodine, rather more in the liver than the muscle, and free alkali, or alkali in a state to occasion an alkaline reaction, as denoted by test-paper; whilst in the roe or melt there has been detected very little saline matter, no trace of iodine, nor of free alkali; on the contrary, a free acid, viz., phosphorus, analogous to what occurs in the yolk of an egg, and in consequence of which it is very difficult to digest either the roe or melt of a fish, or the yolk of an egg. The same conclusion on the same ground is applicable to fresh-water fish, viz., the absence of iodine.

A very common North American dish is chowder, which is thus prepared:—

Fry brown several slices of pork; cut each fish into five or six pieces; flour, and place a layer of them in your pork fat; sprinkle on a little pepper and salt; add cloves, mace, and sliced onions; if liked, lay on bits of the fried pork, and crackers soaked in cold water. Repeat this till you put in all the fish; turn on water just sufficient to cover them, and put on a heated bake pan lid. After stewing about 20 minutes, take up the fish, and mix two teaspoonfuls of flour with a little water, and stir it into the gravy, adding a little pepper and butter. A tumbler of wine, catsup, and spices will improve it. Cod and bass make the best chowder. In making clam chowder, the hard part of the clam should be cut off and rejected.

Fish glue consists almost wholly of gelatine; 100 grains of good dry isinglass, containing rather more than 98 of matter soluble in water.

Isinglass may be obtained from many fish. Jackson states, that the sounds of cod afford it; and that the lakes of America abound with fish, from which the very finest isinglass may be obtained. This substance is best prepared in summer, as frost impairs the colour, and deprives it of weight and of gelatinous principle.

It is made into jellies and blanc-manger, by the cook and confectioner, and with some sort of balsam, spread on silk, forms the court-plaister of the shops.

Fish maws are the dried stomachs of fishes, like our cod’s sounds, which being considered a great luxury by the Chinese, and as possessing strengthening and aphrodisiac properties, are brought over in the junks from the Indian islands.

Crawford states, that they often fetch upwards of £14 per cwt. in the Canton market. The exports of fish maws from Bombay average from 1500 to 2500 cwts. per annum; from Madras, about 50 cwts.; and from Bengal about 4,000 lbs.

Caviar is the common name for a preparation of the dried spawn, or salted roe of fish. The black caviar is made from the roe of sturgeon, and a single large fish will sometimes yield as much as 120 lbs. of roe. A cheaper and less prized red kind is obtained from the roe of the gray mullet, and some of the carp species, which are common in the rivers, and on the shores of the Black Sea. Caviar is principally consumed in Russia, Germany, and Italy, by the Greeks, during their long fasts, and also in small quantities in England. Inferior caviar is made into small, dry cakes. One thousand cwt. of caviar has been shipped from Odessa in a single season, and from Astracan, about 30,000 barrels. The produce of caviar from the Caspian sea, some years ago, was as much as a million and a half of pounds.

A preparation called botargo is made on the coasts of the Mediterranean from the spawn of a kind of fine mullet of a red color. The best is said to be made at Tunis, but it is also common in Sicily.

The dried roe of an enormous species of shad, which frequents the great river of Siak in Sumatra, constitutes an article of commerce in the East. According to Dr. Richardson, very good bread may be made from the roe of the pollack, an ocean fish (Gadus pollachius), found on both sides of the Atlantic, and in the Indian seas: on the British coasts it is often termed the cod-fish; and when young, the whiting pollack. In North America, this fish is so plentiful that it is salted and sold by the quintal like cod or ling.

The Chinook Indians of the Columbia rivers are very fond of herrings’ roes, which they collect in the following manner:—They sink cedar branches to the bottom of the river, in shallow places, by placing upon them a few heavy stones, taking care not to cover the green foliage, as the fish prefer spawning on anything green, and they literally cover all the branches by next morning with spawn. The Indians wash this off in their water-proof baskets, to the bottom of which it sinks; this is squeezed by the hand into little balls and then dried, and is very palatable.

The large roe of the Callipeva fish, already alluded to, is considered a delicacy in the West Indies. The mode of curing it differs widely from that in which the roe of the sturgeon and the sterlet is prepared.

The following is the account given by Goldsmith, in his History of the Earth and Animated Nature, of the way in which the latter is manufactured:—

‘They take the spawn, and freeing it from the small membranes that connect it together, they wash it with vinegar, and afterwards spread it to dry upon a table; they then put it into a vessel with salt, breaking the spawn with their hands, and not with a pestle. This done, they put it into a canvas bag, letting the liquor drain from it. Lastly, they put it into a tub with holes at the bottom, so that if there be any moisture still remaining, it may run out; then it is pressed down and covered up for use.’

Very different is the manner adopted by the Spaniards in Central America in curing the roe of the callipeva. They do it in this wise:—First, they rub the roe well with salt and a little nitre, then they put a number of them one upon another, and compress them by means of a heavy weight. After this, they make an altar of green boughs, covering the top also with green branches traversing each other. The inside being filled with straw and fresh leaves, which are ignited, they place the roes on the top and cover them well up likewise with green boughs. They are allowed to remain there six or seven days, during which time the fire keeps smouldering and sending up a thick smoke which is concentrated upon the roes by the upper layer of branches. This they call barbecuing. The membraneous covering of the roe is not taken off, consequently it will keep for a long time, the air being entirely excluded from it. When the roe is eaten, it should be cut in very thin slices. The outer coating should not be taken off, but rubbed clean with a dry napkin.

In New Caledonia, the natives are said to eat the roe of the Salmo scouleri mixed with rancid oil, which, in their estimation, gives the savoury morsel additional flavour. The smell alone is said by a traveller to be so nauseous as to prevent any but a native from partaking of it, unless severely pressed with hunger.

Dr. Richardson tells us that, when well bruised and mixed with a little flour, the roe of the methy (Lotha maculosa) can be baked into very good biscuits, which are used in the fur countries as tea-bread.

Among the Anglo-Saxons and in the middle ages, fish of almost every kind were eaten, including many now thought unwholesome. Whales, when accidentally taken on our coasts, appear in those early times to have been also salted for food; an allowance is entered, amongst the other expenses of John de Lee, Sheriff of Essex and Herts, for guarding a whale taken off Mersey Island; for emptying of casks to put it in; for salt to salt it; and for carrying it to the court of Stamford.

Brand states porpoises to have been sold for food in the Newcastle market as late as 1575. Sturgeon, and in the northern nations, whales, were early reserved as royalties; and in England, whales and great sturgeons taken in the sea were, by the Act 17 Edward II., to be the king’s, except in certain privileged places. In the dinner bills of the Goldsmiths’ Company, besides the ordinary fish, we find blote-fish, jowls and middles of sturgeons, salt lampreys, congers, pike, bream, bass, tench, and chub, a seal, and porpoise mentioned.

The red herring is included in an inquisition 28 Henry III.; and the Act of Parliament 31 Edward III., called the Statute of Herrings, shows the great request in which this most useful article of food was then held by the English.

Herrings by the last, or 10,000, were sent from Hull to London, and from Yarmouth to Hull, as also red herrings, in the time of Edward I.

The tariff of prices of fish, fixed by the same king, acquaints us with the rates at which the various kinds were sold. It limits the best soles to 3d. per dozen; the best turbot to 6d.; the best mackerel in Lent to 1d. each; the best pickled herrings to twenty the penny; fresh oysters to 2d. per gallon; a quarter of a hundred of the best eels to 2d.; and other fish in proportion. ‘Congers, lampreys, and sea-hogs,’ are enumerated. Mackerel are first mentioned in 1247, as allowed to certain religions on the third day of the Rogation, and are noticed as a metropolitan cry in the ballad of London Lickpenny;[20] and ‘stokfish, salt fische, whyt herring, réde herring, salt salmon, salt sturgeon, salt eels, &c.,’ are mentioned as common provisions in the Earl of Northumberland’s household, in the reign of Henry VII.; and then formed part of every meal. Thus, ‘for my Lord and Ladie’s table,’ is to be bought, ‘ij pecys of salt fische, vj pecys of salt fische, vj becormed herryng, iiij white herryng, or a dish of sproots.’ And these breakfasts of salt fish extended through the household, whose separate departments, and the way they were to be served with this article, both in and out of Lent, are particularized, and afford a curious picture of the style of living in the ancient Catholic periods, and of the amazing use and consumption of salt-fish. In short, it formed part of the allowances of the King and the Nobility, of monastic establishments, and of all ranks of society.

The fish ordinaries still kept up at the taverns at Billingsgate, where all kinds of fish in season may be partaken of for a moderate charge at fixed hours, are but a continuation of a very old practice, although the locality is removed; for Stow tells us that Knightrider street, was famous ‘for fish and fish dinners;’ and he derives the name of Friday-street from fishmongers dwelling there and serving the Friday markets.

Philip II. of Spain, the consort of Queen Mary gave a whimsical reason for not eating fish. ‘They are,’ said he, ‘nothing but element congealed, or a jelly of water.’

The broth or jelly of fish, which is usually thrown away, will be found one of the most nourishing animal jellies that can be obtained. It is a pity that those who find it difficult to obtain a sufficiency of nourishing food should not be aware of this, as they might thereby make a second meal of what otherwise yields but one. Supposing a poor family to buy a dinner of plaice, which is a cheap fish—the plaice would be boiled and the meat of the fish eaten, and the liquor and bones of the fish thrown away. Now, let the good housewife put the remains of the fish into the liquor and boil for a couple of hours, and she will find she has something in her pot, which, when strained off, will be as good to her as much of that which is sold in the shops as ‘gelatine.’ This she may use as a simple broth, or she may thicken it with rice, and flavor it with onion and pepper, and have a nourishing and satisfying meal; or, should she have an invalid in her family, one-third of milk added and warmed with it, would be nourishing and restoring.

Dr. Davy, in his Angler and his Friend, tells us, ‘There is much nourishment in fish, little less than in butcher’s meat, weight for weight; and in effect it may be more nourishing, considering how, from its softer fibre, fish is more easily digested. Moreover, there is, I find, in fish—sea-fish—a substance which does not exist in the flesh of land-animals, viz., iodine—a substance which may have a beneficial effect on the health, and tend to prevent scrofulous and tubercular disease, the latter in the form of pulmonary consumption, one of the most cruel and fatal with which civilized society, and the highly educated and refined are afflicted. Comparative trials prove that, in the majority of fish, the proportion of solid matter—that is, the matter which remains after perfect desiccation, or the expulsion of the aqueous part—is little inferior to that of the several kinds of butcher’s meat, game or poultry. And, if we give our attention to classes of people—classed as to quality of food they principally subsist on—we find that the ichthyophagous class are especially strong, healthy, and prolific. In no class than that of fishers do we see larger families, handsomer women, or more robust and active men, or greater exemption from maladies just alluded to.’

In the pastry cooks’ shops of Russia, the tempting morsel offered to Russian appetites is the piroga, an oily fish-cake. Little benches are ranged round tables, on which the favourite dainty is placed, covered over with an oily canvass, for it must be eaten hot. A large pot of green oil and a stand of salt are in readiness, and, as soon as a purchaser demands a piroga, it is withdrawn from its cover, plunged into the oil, sprinkled with salt, and presented dripping to the delighted Muscovite.

‘In some countries, fish, when tainted or even putrid is preferred to that which is fresh. The inhabitants of the banks of the Senegal and Orange rivers pound some small fish of the size of sprats in a wooden mortar, as they are taken from the stream, and afterwards make them up into conical lumps, like our sugar-loaves, which they dry in the sun. In this state, they soon become slightly decomposed, and give out a most unpleasant odour; notwithstanding which, these people consider them a luxury, and eat them dissolved in water, mixed with their kouskoussoo, or dough. Fish, prepared in a somewhat similar manner, is eaten by the Indians on the banks of the Orinoco.[21]’

In Beloochistan, the inhabitants feed almost entirely on fish; and their cattle are also fed on dried fish and dates mixed together.

No one who has observed a boiled fish upon the table can have passed unremarked the spinal column with its upward and downward processes, and the four transverse strips of flesh, adjusted alternately in different directions with strong semi-transparent tendons between. The spinous processes, proceeding from the vertebræ upward, support the dorsal fins, whilst the transverse processes downward, with curved bones, encircle partially the bulk of the body. Without being ribs, these latter resemble ribs. Those placed far forward represent the proper thoracic ribs of fishes, but have no direct connexion with the spine. There are other rib-like bones behind. These are abdominal appendages; very numerous in some fishes, such as the herrings, and very few,—and those few conveniently large,—in others, such as the perches and labruses. They are wanting in several of the osseous tribes, such as the Diodons and Tetradons, and are altogether non-existent in the cartilaginous fishes. It is from this fact—that so many of the West Indian fishes belong to the Percoid and Labroid families—that persons are so seldom troubled with what are called by the cook, ‘bony fishes.’—Hence, very little annoyance is experienced from the bones in the fish dishes there.

Very serious consequences have often arisen from eating fish or molluscs, which are poisonous or in an unhealthy state. All Ostraceans, Diodons, and Tetradons, are deleterious, and are to be treated as objectionable, if not absolutely dangerous fishes.

Every one acquainted with the bad reputation of the common mussel (Mytilus edulis) knows also the symptoms produced by the hurtful qualities of it, even when cooked—for it is not generally, like the oyster, eaten raw.

The mussels would seem to owe this injurious quality to feeding on the spawn of the star-fish (Asteria).

There are many persons who break out with irritative eruptions after eating certain descriptions of shell-fish, though they injure no other idiosyncrasies—others again are subject to diarrhœa from fish-diet, though the same food be harmless to other persons.

Almost all fishes are unwholesome at certain seasons, and hence the regulations laid down for the vend of oysters, lobsters, salmon, &c., only in prescribed periods. Science, in searching to determine the reason why this is the case, encounters certain wholesale occurrences which are due to some general, but at the same time, very specific causes. Mackerel sold in the New York market occasionally produce poisonous effects; and London is sometimes supplied with unwholesome salmon in large quantities.

Dr. Burroughs, in a paper on Poisonous Fishes, published last year in a Jamaica journal, remarks:

‘There are five obvious circumstances to be taken into consideration in the incidents of fish-poison.

‘1st. The existence of a sanies, from some disorder indicated in the living tissues of the animal.

‘2ndly. A natural deleteriousness in the flesh, without reference to a state of disease.

‘3rdly. The adventitious presence of something deleterious in the fish, from the food recently eaten.

‘4thly. The injury resulting from cooking fish with such large organs as the liver unextracted,—the liver being at all times dangerous as food in some particular fishes.

‘5thly. The poisonous putrefaction known to prevail in some fishes after 24 hours keeping. Morbid action set up in the healthy animal body that receives the putrefactive poison being indicated by oppression, nausea, giddiness, and general prostration.’

We might add a 6th,—the known existence of an irritating fluid,—issuing from the surface of some fishes of peculiar structure.

We know that fish liver contains an enormous quantity of oil; that fish oil is an important article of commerce, and fish liver oil is a valuable medicine; but we know beside, that these oils, in a corrupt state, are active poisons. Hence, we may infer that the liver is a great operator in the injury done by the deleterious fishes, and if we but knew all the genera in which the gall bladder is wanting, we might arrive at some rule for estimating the possible development of those prejudicial fluids that mingle from the liver with fish-flesh in cooking.

We must not overlook, when speaking of fish-liver, the adventure of Tobias and the Angel at the River Tigris, in chap. vi. of the Apocryphal Tobit. The heart and liver of the fish they took were a charm against evil spirits, and the gall was a salve for blind eyes; the one was used successfully in the nuptial chamber of Sarah, the daughter of Ragual, and the other as an ointment in restoring the sight of the blind Tobit. The two incidents are thus related. Ch. viii.—‘Tobias took the ashes of the perfumes, and put the heart and the liver of the fish thereupon, and made a smoke therewith—the which smell when the evil spirit had smelled, he fled into the utmost parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him.’ Ch. xi.—‘Tobit stumbled, and his Son Tobias ran unto him, and strake of the gall on his Father’s eyes, and when his eyes began to smart, he rubbed them, and the whiteness pilled away from the corners of his eyes.’

There are but few natural orders of fishes—and they divide themselves for the purposes of our enquiry chiefly into the Acanthopterygii, or those that possess bony skeletons, with prickly, spinous processes on the dorsal fins, such as the perch, the mullet, and the gurnard; the Malacopterygii, or soft-finned fishes, including the carp, the salmon, &c.; and the Chondropterygii, with cartilaginous spines and bones, embracing such fish as the sturgeon, shark, and skate. Instead of describing or specifying them in consecutive order, it will perhaps be better to take a glance at the fishes of different seas, at least, as far as they are held in any repute as food. Many of the most common must, however, be passed over without notice.

It is strange how little attention, (comparatively speaking,) is paid even to our coast fisheries, and especially those of our colonies. Fisheries have been called the agriculture of the sea. Raleigh attributes the wealth and power of Holland, not to its commerce or carrying trade, but to its fisheries. Mirabeau was of the like opinion; De Witt held the same; and Franklin seemed to prefer the fisheries of America to agriculture itself. A great nursery of the marine is by this means best supported, from whence a constant supply of men, inured to the perils of the sea and the inclemency of the weather, is always ready for the maritime service of their country. Fishing has been celebrated from the earliest times, as being the prelude, and if I may be allowed the expression, the apprenticeship of navigation; offering, from the line to the harpoon, more amusement with less fatigue than perhaps any other species of pursuit, and occupying the smallest boat up to ships of great burthen; thus drawing forth the means of subsistence and profit to an infinite number of persons.

The ocean fish are generally very dry eating.

In eating the flesh of the bonito, it is necessary to lard it well, as its flesh is very dry.

The flesh of the tunny of the Atlantic is something like veal, but dryer and more firm.

That of the dolphin was formerly held in great esteem. It is also, however, very dry and insipid; the best parts are those near the head. It is seldom eaten now at sea, except when the fish caught happens to be young and tender.

In the Maldive Islands, the bonito is preserved in the following manner:—

The back bone is taken out, the fish laid in the shade, and occasionally sprinkled with sea water. After a certain period has elapsed, the fish is wrapped up in cocoa-nut leaves, and buried in sand, where it becomes hard. Fish thus prepared is known in Ceylon, and perhaps over all India, by the name of cummelmums. The pieces of this fish brought to the market have a horny hardness. It is rasped upon rice to render it savoury.

The Havana is, I believe, the only place where the flesh of the shark is exposed for sale in the markets, although it is often tasted at sea by the curious.

The shark, judging by an European palate, is not good eating; the flesh is dry and of an acid taste. The fins and tail are, however, very glutinous, and are the portions most relished by the seamen; and dried, they form an article of commerce to China, where they are used in soups, and considered an excellent aphrodisiac.

‘How thankful we ought to be to a bountiful Providence, who has created all things for us richly to enjoy,’ observed an alderman at the last great city dinner, whilst sumptuously regaling on turtle soup, crimped cod, with oyster sauce, and other delicacies. ‘The beasts of the earth, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea,’ he continued, ‘were all created for the use of man.’

‘Very true,’ replied his next friend, ‘but if you had witnessed the hair-breadth escape which I experienced of being devoured alive by a shark, when in the West Indies, you would have been satisfied that the horrible monster entertained just the opposite opinion. He believed that man was created for him!’

Sharks, which are very numerous there, form a common article of food with the Gold Coast negroes, and hippopotami and alligators are occasionally eaten.

Mr. George Bennett informs us, that ‘the shark is eaten eagerly by the natives of the Polynesian Islands; and I have often seen them feasting on it in a raw state, when they gorge themselves to such an excess as to occasion vomiting.’

It is not an unfrequent source of illness among these islanders, and they suffer so much in consequence, as to lead them to suppose that their dissolution is nigh: but they cannot be persuaded that the eating of raw fish is the cause. An emetic soon removes the symptoms by removing the cause, and the sufferer considers the cure as almost miraculous. Sharks are caught on the New Zealand shores in great numbers, during the months of November, December, and January, by the natives, who use them as an article of food.

Shark hunting is most exciting sport.

He who has hooked the fish holds tight—like grim Death on his victim; and if you watch his face you will see powerful indication of excitement, mental and muscular; his teeth are set, his colour is heightened, the perspiration starts on his brow, while something like an oath slips through his lips as the cord, strained to the utmost, cuts into the skin of his empurpled fingers: he invokes aid, and with his feet jammed against stretcher, thwart, or gunwale, gradually shortens his hold. Meanwhile, the others, seizing lance and gaff-hook, stand by to assist the overtasked line, as the monster, darting hither and thither in silvery lightnings beneath the translucent wave, is drawn nearer and nearer the surface. ‘My eyes, he’s a whopper!’ cries the excited young boatman. ‘He’s off!’ shouts another, as the shark makes a desperate plunge under the boat, and the line, dragged through the hands of the holder, is again suddenly slackened. ‘He’s all right, never fear—belay your line a bit, sir, and look here,’ says the old fisherman. And sure enough there is the huge fish clearly visible, about ten feet under the keel of the boat, and from stem to stern about the same length as herself. ‘Now, sir, let’s have him up.’ And the instant the line is taut, the shark shoots upwards, his broad snout showing above the surface, close to the boat. Then comes a scene of activity and animation indeed. The fish, executing a series of summersaults, and spinning, gets the line into a hundred twists, and if once he succeed in bringing it across his jaws above the chain links—adieu to both fish and tackle. But, in the midst of a shower-bath, splashed up by the broad tail of the shark, both lance and gaff are hard at work. He is speared through and through, his giant struggles throwing waves of bloody water over the gunwales of the little boat; the gaffs are hooked through his tough skin, or within his jaws—for he has no gills to lay hold on; a shower of blows from axe, stretcher, or tiller, falls on his devoted head, and, if not considered too large, heavy, or dangerous, he is lugged manfully into the centre of the boat, and, threshing right and left with his tail to the last, is soon dispatched. A smart blow a few inches above the snout is more instantly fatal than the deepest stab. The school-shark is dealt with as above. But if the ‘grey-nurse,’ or old solitary shark be hooked, the cable is cut, or the grapnel hauled on board, and he is allowed to tow the boat as he darts away with the line. The tables, however, are soon turned upon him; and after being played (as this cruel operation in fishing is blandly styled) for a while, until some portion of his vast strength is exhausted, the line is drawn over a roller in the stern of the boat, the oars are set to work, and, towed instead of towing, the shark is drawn into some shallow cove near the shore, where his bodily powers avail him less than in deeper water; and after a fierce resistance, and some little risk to his assailants, he falls a victim to their attack. Man has as innate an horror of a shark as he has of a snake, and he who has frequented tropical climates, felt the absolute necessity of bathing, had his diurnal plunge embittered by the haunting idea of the vicinity of one of these sea-pests, and has occasionally been harrowed by accidents arising from their voracity—feels this antipathy with double force. There is, therefore, a species of delightful fury, a savage excitement, experienced by the shark-hunter, that has no affinity with the philosophy of Old Isaak’s gentle art. He revels in the animated indulgence of that cruelty which is inherent in the child of wrath; and the stings of conscience are blunted by the conviction that it is an act of justice, of retribution, of duty, he is engaged in, not one of wanton barbarity. These were precisely my own sensations when, drenched to the skin with showers of salt water, scorched to blisters by the burning sun, excoriated as to my hands, covered with blood, and oil, and dirt, and breathless with exertion, I contemplated the corpse of my first shark. Tiger-hunting is a more princely pastime; boar-hunting in Bengal Proper the finest sport in the world; fox-hunting an Englishman’s birthright; the chase of the moose is excellent for young men strong enough to drag a pair of snow shoes five feet long upon their toes; and Mr. Gordon Cumming tells you how man may follow the bent of his organ of destructiveness on the gigantic beasts of South Africa: shark-fishing is merely the best sport to be had in New South Wales; and affords a wholesome stimulation to the torpid action of life in Sydney. The humane or utilitarian reader will be glad to hear that the shark is not utterly useless after death. The professional fishermen extract a considerable quantity of excellent oil from the liver; and the fins cut off, cured, and packed, become an article of trade with China—whose people, for reasons best known to themselves, delight in gelatinous food. The most hideous to behold of the shark tribe is the wobegong, or woe-begone as the fishermen call it. Tiger-shark is another of the names of this fish. His broad back is spotted over with leopard-like marks; the belly is of a yellowish white; but to describe minutely so frightful a monster would be a difficult and ungracious task. Fancy a bloated toad, elongated to the extent of six or seven feet, and weighing some 20 stone; then cut off his legs, and you have a flattering likeness of the wobegong—two of which we killed this day. A heavy sluggish fish, he lies in wait for his prey at the edge of some reef of rocks, or bank of sea-weed; swallows the bait indolently; appears but little sensible to the titillation of the barbed hook, and is lugged hand over hand to the slaughter without much trouble or resistance. Neither lance nor gaff will penetrate his tough hide, but a blow on the head with an axe proves instantly fatal.’

The schnapper affords a long and strong pull at the line; and is considered by the colonists as one of their best table fish. ‘We killed one to-day,’ writes a correspondent, ‘weighing 21 lbs. The flat-head is half buried in the sand at the bottom, but bites freely; and is, in my mind, a much better fish than the former. Our fishing-basket of this day comprised nine sharks, four schnappers, and about 40 flat-heads.’

The picked shark (Galeus acanthias) is very common about the coasts of Scotland, where it is taken in order to be prepared for sale, by splitting and drying; and is then much used as food among the poorer classes.

In some parts of Scotland the large spotted dog-fish constitute no inconsiderable part of the food of the poor. In North America, they are principally caught for their oil. If very large, the liver will yield a barrel of oil, or about thirty gallons. In Nova Scotia, the dried bodies are sold at 2s. 6d. the hundred, for feeding pigs. During the winter, from November till May, two fish, boiled or roasted, are given per day to a good sized store pig.

In 1842, in consequence of the great havoc committed by the swarms of sharks on the fishing banks on the coast of Finmark, eight vessels were fitted out at Hammerfest, expressly for the purpose of shark fishing, and no less than 20,000 of these rapacious fish were taken, without any apparent diminution in their numbers. The shark oil obtained from them was about 1,000 barrels.

There are shark fisheries on the eastern coast of Africa, and in several parts of the Indian Ocean, for the sake of the fins, which are exported to China. About 7,000 cwt. were imported into Canton, in 1850, chiefly from India and the Eastern Archipelago. From 7,000 to 10,000 cwt. of sharks’ fins are shipped annually from Bombay, and about 1,400 cwt. from the Madras territories, to China. Sumatra, Manila, Malacca, Arracan, and the Tenasserim Provinces, also send large quantities.

Dr. Buist, of Bombay, in a communication to the Zoological Society, in 1851, stated, ‘that there are thirteen large boats, with twelve men in each, constantly employed in the shark fishery at Kurrachee; the value of the fins sent to market varying from 15,000 to 18,000 rupees (£1500 to £1800), or 1000 to 1200 rupees for each boat, after allowing the Banian or factor his profit. One boat will sometimes capture at a draught as many as 100 sharks of different sizes. The average capture of each boat probably amounts to about 3000, so as to give the whole sharks captured at not less than 40,000 a year. The great basking shark, or mhor, is always harpooned: it is found floating or asleep near the surface of the water.

‘The fish, once struck, is allowed to run till tired; it is then pulled in, and beaten with clubs till stunned. A large hook is now hooked into its eyes or nostrils, or wherever it can be got most easily attached, and by this the shark is towed on shore; several boats are requisite for towing. The mhor is often 40, sometimes 60, feet in length; the mouth is occasionally 4 feet wide. All other varieties of shark are caught in nets, in somewhat like the way in which herrings are caught at home. The net is made of strong English whip-cord; the meshes about 6 inches; they are generally 6 feet wide, and from 600 to 800 fathoms, or from three-quarters to nearly a mile, in length. On the one side are floats of wood about 4 feet in length, at intervals of 6 feet; on the other, pieces of stone. The nets are sunk in deep water, from 80 to 150 feet, well out at sea.

‘They are put in one day and taken out the next; so that they are down two or three times a week, according to the state of the weather, and success of the fishing. The lesser sharks are commonly found dead, the larger ones much exhausted. On being taken home, the back fins, the only ones used, are cut off, and dried on the sands in the sun: the flesh is cut off in long strips, and salted for food; the liver is taken out and boiled down for oil; the head, bones, and intestines left on the shore to rot, or thrown into the sea, where numberless little sharks are generally on the watch to eat up the remains of their kindred. The fishermen themselves are only concerned in the capture of the sharks. So soon as they are landed they are purchased up by Banians, on whose account all the other operations are performed. The Banians collect them in quantities, and transmit them to agents in Bombay, by whom they are sold for shipment to China.’

At the Bonin Islands, the colonists have trained their dogs to catch fish; and Dr. Ruschenburger, who visited the islands in the United States’ ship Peacock, tells us, ‘that two of these dogs would plunge into the water and seize a shark, one on each side, by the fin, and bring it ashore in spite of resistance.’

Blumenbach states, ‘that the white shark weighs sometimes as much as 10,000 lbs.; and even a whole horse has been found in its stomach.’ I may cite a few statements which have come under my notice in the course of newspaper reading:—

The New Orleans Picayune tells the following:—‘We have read many fish stories, and they are generally of that tenour that the very name inclines one to disbelieve them. We have one to tell now, and, as we know the person who was the main actor in the incident, we can vouch for its being true, particularly as there is ocular evidence of the matter. Some days ago, the captain of a ship at anchor outside the Pass, threw overboard a shark hook baited, not expecting in the least, as the captain himself says, to catch anything of the fish tribe. There was hooked, however, a shark of the spotted kind, and, as it afterwards proved, a regular ‘man-eater.’ He had to be harpooned before his capture could be effected. His size and weight may be imagined from the fact, that it took 11 men to hoist him in, with a double lift on the main yard. The monster measured 17 feet 11 inches in length, from tail to snout, and 9 feet in circumference. He had seven rows of teeth, three of the rows being almost hidden in the upper gums. His liver exactly filled up a beef barrel. In his paunch was found the body of a man in a half decomposed state. So far as could be judged, the corpse was that of a well-dressed man, of medium-size—shirt white, with pearl buttons, coarse silk under-shirt, cotton socks, and shoes nearly new, of the Congress gaiter kind. The shark had also in his stomach several pieces of old canvas, such as are used by vessels on their rigging. The jawbone of this sea pirate has been brought up to the city. It is large enough to take in a sugar barrel.’

A shark was caught a year or two ago, by the boats of one of the East-end whaling establishments at Bermuda, which measured 18 feet in length. Its liver yielded 72 gallons of oil. The jaws, when detached from the body and extended to their full width, afforded space sufficient for three persons—the tallest at least 5 feet 10 inches—to stand erect within them. It had two-and-a-half rows of teeth.

The basking shark, or sun-fish (Squalus maximus), is the largest of the genus. The average size is about 25 feet long, by 18 in circumference, in the largest part. It often lies on the surface of the water, apparently sunning itself, and very frequently may be seen steadily swimming with its dorsal fin above the water. This species is viviparous, and possesses nothing of the fierceness and voracity so peculiar to the shark family.

A large one, caught not long ago in the Mersey river, Van Diemen’s Land, 14 feet long, upon hoisting it upon deck, gave birth to 23 young ones, each about 18 inches long.

‘Some 25 years since, the capture of this valuable fish was prosecuted very successfully from Innis Boffin and the vicinity of Westport, at which town, as well as Newport, there were works erected for trying out the oil. About that date, as much as five pipes of oil of 120 gallons were received by one Dublin house alone per season. It has much decreased of late years, which is attributable rather to the decline of the means of pursuit than to the absence of the fish, as it is seen every year in large numbers on the distant banks, and occasionally close to the shore in packs of 25 or 30, in very fine weather. There were four taken at Galway this year, and many were seen in the vicinity of the Arran Islands. The liver has hitherto been considered the only valuable part, averaging 30 cwts., and containing about 180 gallons of fine oil, second only to sperm, and selling from 4s. to 5s. per gallon. The carcase, which may be estimated at from four to five tons, is of a gelatinous character, consequently of great value; it is now thrown away as useless. Neither skill nor courage is required in the capture; it being of a sluggish nature, and literally presenting its most vulnerable part to the harpoon.’[22]

A correspondent of the New York Tribune, writing from Stone Bridge House, Tiverton, Rhode Island, says:—‘A party of ladies and gentlemen, on the evening of the 4th, caught and hauled about 20 of these monsters (sharks) upon the bridge, measuring from 3 to 5 feet. The sport is generally continued from twelve until nine o’clock in the evening, and as each new-comer is laid at his scaly length up the stone causeway, the ‘head-ache stick,’ as Uncle Ned quaintly calls it, is applied to his hard sconce, until all propensity for biting off swimmers’ legs has disappeared. One Deacon Smith caught, on the same evening, an enormous shark, which on being beached, measured over 7 feet across the fins. But the crowning sport was reserved for the next day, when Mr. R. W. Potter, of Pawtucket, went off with a party, among whom were several ladies, and fastened to a huge shark, of the mackerel species. The monster, on taking the bait and finding himself hooked, went off with the line, like a harpooned whale, despite all efforts to hold him. Having a small tow-boat at hand, Mr. P. took to that, and paid out, the shark towing him rapidly a long distance into the bay, when, getting tired, returned, and came toward the little boat with expanded jaws, and made desperate fight to extricate himself, snapping at the line to bite it off, and then throwing up his tail, would again shoot off rapidly, carrying the boat after him, spinning through the water. Hauling him cautiously back, however, he was at last mastered by repeated vigorous blows with the end of the oar, which was finally run down the rascal’s throat, in which condition he was towed ashore. It required the united strength of six men, with a stout rope, to haul the creature upon the beach, and he measured, from the tip of his nose, over the fin, to the end of his tail, 3 feet 9 inches.’

A shark, 28 feet long, and measuring 18 feet round the body, was caught in a weir, by John Horan, at Rice’s Island, between Eastport and Lubec. His liver, it is said, filled three barrels, and yielded a large quantity of valuable oil.

The Rangoon Chronicle of 3rd March, 1854, reported the capture of a shark of enormous size. The animal, it seems, got stranded on the shoal or bar at Yangeensiah, from which it could not extricate itself. About 40 boatmen plunged into the water with dahs and spears, and commenced a furious attack on the monster, who inflicted very serious wounds on six of the party, stripping the flesh entirely from the thigh of one and leaving the bone bare. After a hard fight, the shark fell a victim, dyeing the water with his blood. The creature measured 35 feet, and afforded by very imperfect cutting 365 lbs. of solid flesh, which the men dried and brought to Rangoon for food.

The Barotse of Central Africa eat alligators. The meat has a strong, musky odour, not at all inviting for any one except the very hungry. After crossing the Kasai, Livingstone saw that he was in a land where no hope could be entertained of getting supplies of animal food, for one of the guides caught a light blue coloured mole and two mice for his supper. The care with which he wrapped them up in a leaf and slung them on his spear, told the Doctor that he would have but little chance of enjoying larger game. At Cabango, in Western Londa, a large amount of beer and beef was consumed at a funeral; yet when the leg of a cow was offered to Bango, a Londa chief, he said that neither he nor his people ever partook of beef, as they looked upon cattle as human, and living at home like men. There are several other tribes who refuse to keep cattle, though not to eat them when offered by others, ‘Because,’ say they, ‘oxen bring enemies and war;’ but this is the first instance met with by Livingstone in which they have been refused as food. The fact of these people killing pallahs for food shows that their objection does not extend to meat in general. Near the Tanba, (W. Londa,) Dr. Livingstone saw some women carefully tending little lap dogs, which were to be eaten. The Mambari, while in the Borotse valley, showed their habits in their own country, (S.E. of Angola,) digging up and eating, even there, where large game abounds, the mice and moles which infest the country.

The flesh of the sturgeon has been esteemed in all ages; but modern nations do not consider it so great a luxury as the ancients; and, although deemed a royal fish, it often hangs on hand in Billingsgate market, and is retailed at a low price by the pound. This fish was in high repute among the Greeks and Romans.

The flesh is white, delicate, and firm, and when roasted resembles veal; it is generally eaten pickled, and what we receive in that form comes from the Russian rivers or from North America. There are several varieties of sturgeon, the flesh of most of which is nutritious, wholesome, and of an agreeable flavour. The fat may be used as a substitute for butter or oil.

The flesh of the sharp-nosed sturgeon of North America (Acipenser oxyrinchus) is like coarse beef, quite firm and compact, but very rank and unsavoury. The Indians of New Brunswick cut it up in large pieces and salt it for winter use. It is only eaten by those who can obtain no better fare. The flesh of a young fish is much more delicate than that of an old one; when stewed with rich gravy, its flavour is not unlike that of veal.

Mr. Wingrove Cooke, in his account of a select Chinese dinner, says:—‘The next dish was sturgeon skull-cap—rare and gelatinous, but I think not so peculiar in its flavour as to excuse the death of several royal fish. This fish, being taken from its brazen, lamp-heated stand, was succeeded by a stew of shark fins and pork. The shark fins were boiled to so soft a consistency that they might have been turbot fins. The Chinaman must have smiled at the unreasonable prejudices of the occidentals when he saw some of us tasting the pork but fighting shy of the shark. He probably, however, did not know that the same occidentals would eat with relish of a fish which they themselves enticed to their angle by a worm or a maggot. Next in order came a soup composed of balls of crab. I have tasted this better prepared at Macao. It assumes there the form of a very capital salad, made of crab and cooked vegetables.’

The fondness of the Chinese for all gelatinous substances is well known, and has been described by all those who have visited that country and partaken of their banquets. In addition to employing animals and parts of animals which are rejected in other countries, as articles of diet, they import various substances which can be valuable only as yielding gelatine of different degrees of purity; of these we have examples in tripang, birdsnests, sharks’ fins, fish maws, and agar-agar, a fucus.

The fresh water lamprey (Petromyzon fluviatilis) was formerly of great importance as a delicacy, and also largely used as bait by fishermen. In Germany another species (P. Planeri) are taken in large quantities, fried, packed in barrels by layers, with bay leaves and spices, sprinkled with vinegar, and thus exported to other countries.

The sea lamprey (P. marinus) is held in high estimation by epicures in the United States and elsewhere, but is not eaten in the British American Provinces. It is a formidable enemy to the royal sturgeon, fastening upon its belly and eating into the flesh; and not unfrequently a sturgeon has leaped into a canoe, in its efforts to disengage itself from several of these troublesome parasites.

Lampreys, well known to have given a fatal surfeit to Henry I., when made into pies, were anciently esteemed a ‘pretty present.’

Eels appear to have been early favourites, particularly in the monasteries. The cellaress of Barking Abbey, Essex, in the ancient times of that foundation, was amongst other eatables ‘to provide russ aulx in Lenton, and to bake with elys on Shere Tuesday:’ and at Shrovetide she was to have ready ‘twelve stubbe eles and nine schaft eles.’ The regulation and management for the sale of eels seems to have formed a prominent feature in the old ordinances of the Fishmongers’ Company. There were artificial receptacles made for eels in our rivers, called Anguilonea, constructed with rows of poles that they might be more easily taken. The cruel custom of salting eels alive is mentioned by some old writers.

The flesh of the eel (Anguilla vulgaris), being highly nutritious, is excellent as food, but is sometimes found too oily for weak stomachs.

Eel pies and stewed eels cause a large demand in this metropolis, and some 70 or 80 cargoes, or about 700 tons a year, are brought over from Holland. The total consumption of this fish in England is estimated at 4,300 tons per annum. Eels are very prolific. They are found in almost all parts of the world.

An abundance of large eels of fine quality are caught in the rivers and harbours of New Brunswick.

If a market should be found for this description of fish from North America, they could be furnished to an unlimited extent. My friend and correspondent, Mr. Perley, says, ‘In the calm and dark nights during August and September, the largest eels are taken in great numbers by the Micmac Indians and Acadian French, in the estuaries and lagoons, by torch-light, with the Indian spear. This mode of taking eels requires great quickness and dexterity, and a sharp eye. It is pursued with much spirit, as, besides the value of the eel, the mode of fishing is very exciting.

‘In winter, eels bury themselves in the muddy parts of rivers, and their haunts, which are generally well known, are called eel grounds. The mud is thoroughly probed with a five pronged iron spear, affixed to a long handle, and used through a hole in the ice. When the eels are all taken out of that part within reach of the spear, a fresh hole is cut, and the fishing goes on again upon new ground.’

It was by a mistake that the Jews abstained from eating eels. The prohibition is as follows:—‘All that have not fins and scales, &c., ye shall have in abomination.’—Lev. xi., 10, 11. The Siluridæ, which have no scales, were held in abomination by the Egyptians. In describing one of them (the Schall) which he had found in the Nile, M. Sonnini, says—‘A fish without scales, with soft flesh, and living at the bottom of a muddy river, could not have been admitted into the dietetic system of the ancient Egyptians, whose priests were so scrupulously rigid in proscribing every aliment of unwholesome quality. Accordingly, all the different species of Siluri found in the Nile were forbidden.’ This then was probably one of the forbidden kinds, and this fact supports the opinion before ventured as to the origin of the custom. The rest of the prohibition was probably levelled against aquatic reptiles, which were generally looked upon as possessing poisonous qualities.

It has been well observed by a recent popular writer, that any Cockney, with two shillings and sixpence in his pocket, may regale himself at Billingsgate, at Blackwall, or Richmond, on delicacies to which the senate and people of Rome were utter strangers. Indeed, it is no inconsiderable set off against the disadvantages of living so far from the sun, that the supplies of northern fish markets are incontestably and greatly superior to those of any Italian or Sicilian pascheria: superior, 1st, because in those kinds which are common to our great ocean, and their ‘great sea,’ our own are better flavoured; because, 2ndly, even the finer sorts, which belong exclusively to the Mediterranean, are for the most part poor; and 3rdly, and above all, because there is an almost total want in its waters of species which we consider, and advisedly, as our best. Were superiority to be determined by mere beauty and variety of colouring, the market of Billingsgate could not enter into competition for a moment with the smallest fishing town in the south, where the fish are for the most part coasters, and derive their gorgeous hues from the same buccina and coquillage whence the Tyrians got their superb dyes. But as the gayest plumage is by no means indicative of the bird best adapted for the table, so brilliancy of scales affords no criterion by which to judge of the culinary excellence of fish, the beauty of whose skin, in this instance, contrasts singularly with the quality of the fish, which is generally poor and insipid, and sometimes unwholesome and even deleterious. The Mediterranean pelagians (or open sea-fish) have neither brilliancy of colour nor delicacy of flesh to atone for the want of it; so that no Englishman will repine to leave tunny beef to the Sicilian ichthyophagist, whilst he has the genuine pasture-fed article at home in place of it. Nor though, to such coarse feeders as the ancient Greeks, sword-fish might be held equal to veal, will his better instructed palate assent to such a libel upon wholesome butcher’s meat. Mullet must indeed be admitted on all hands to be good fish; but one good thing only in a hundred does not satisfy omnivorous man, and toujours Triglia is not better than toujours Perdrix, as every one who has passed a winter at Naples knows to his cost. Sardines are only palatable in oil; au naturel they are exceedingly poor and dry: and for that other small clupean, the anchovy (the latent virtues of which are only elicited by the process which metamorphoses the fish into sauce), British whitebait is far more than an equivalent.—But if the Mediterranean has but few alumni to be proud of, the poverty of its waters is certainly more conspicuous in its deficiencies than in its supplies; indeed, the instinct of all first-rate fish seems to be to turn their tails upon this sea. Thus among the Salmonidæ, salmon and smelt are alike unknown; of the Gadian family, all the finest species, as cod, haddock, whiting, ling, and coal fish are wanting; and to quote but one other example—

as we read in the Apocrypha of Dr. Darwin, not one ever entered the Bay of Naples, unless salted in a barrel from England.[23]

The Finnon, Buckie, and Bervie smoked haddock is largely vended in London and other large towns, being esteemed an excellent relish. They are split, cleaned, and steeped in strong pickle about three hours, and then smoked for fifteen or sixteen hours. After a kiln full is smoked and cooled, the fish are packed in dry barrels the same as pickled mackerel, excepting that every two tiers are packed face to face, so that the back of one fish does not come in contact with the split side of another fish. The increase in the timber trade of late years, and the establishment of saw-mills, have rendered sawdust abundant, and the Scotch fisherwives have made the discovery that haddocks can be smoked with sawdust to look nearly as well as when smoked with peat; while they have not the wisdom to anticipate the loss of custom which must unavoidably ensue as soon as the deficiency of flavour is discovered.

Fresh herrings come in in enormous quantities to our metropolitan markets, and, from the consumption of several millions of them, must be esteemed a dainty by some. Pickled or cured herrings,—of which 580,814 barrels were salted in 1857, at the British Fisheries,—are chiefly consumed abroad; the shipments to the Continent last year having been 219,000 barrels, and 58,534 barrels went to Ireland. In 1855, out of a cure of 766,703 barrels, the Continental export reached 344,029 barrels. Last year (1857), 128,600 barrels went to Stettin.

Scotch herrings go to Russia quite as much as St. Petersburgh tallow comes to London, 60,000 or 70,000 barrels passing the Sound, or going via Konigsberg and Dantzic. One great inducement to the Russian population to purchase the herrings is, it is said, the quantity of undissolved salt the barrels are found to contain.

It is in the form of red-herrings and bloaters that the largest consumption of this fish takes place in the metropolis. The sale of bloaters at Billingsgate is about 265,000 baskets of 160 each annually, and about 50,000,000 of red-herrings.

There was a pleasant tradition current in Yarmouth not many years since, that the ‘red’ herring was the result of accident. According to the story, a fisherman had hung up some salted herrings in his hut and forgotten them. They hung where they were exposed to the smoke from the wood fire of the hut; and, some days afterwards, his attention was attracted to them, when, being struck by their appearance, he determined to see how one of them tasted. The result was so satisfactory that he hastened to King John, who was then lying near Norwich, to make a present of the remainder; when the herrings were esteemed such a delicacy by the monarch that he then and there expressed his determination to grant a charter of incorporation to the town from which they were brought. The only certain portion of this story is, that the first charter of Yarmouth was granted by King John.

There is a curious item in this town charter of Yarmouth, long famous for its herring fair. The burgesses are obliged to send to the sheriffs of Norwich 100 herrings, to be made into 24 pies; and these pies are to be delivered to the Lord of the manor of East Carleton, who is to convey them to the king.

The receipt for making herring pie would be a curious, though perhaps not a valuable, addition to our modern cookery books. It is probably lost, unless Her Majesty continues to receive these once prized patties.[24]

The stromming, or herring of the North seas, is only about the size of a sprat, but a much more delicate fish; when salted and mixed with potatoes it is the staple food of the people, being washed down with a bowl of milk, or a glass of corn-brandy.

The conger is found in the seas of Europe, of Northern Asia, and in those of America, as far as the Antilles. It is very abundant on the coasts of England and France, in the Mediterranean Sea, where it was much sought after by the ancients, and in the Propontis, where it was not long ago in considerable estimation. Those of Sicyon were more especially esteemed. The flesh of this fish is white and well flavoured; but as it is very fat, it does not agree with all stomachs. In many places the conger eels are dried for exportation. For this purpose, they are cut open in their under part, through their entire length, the intestines are removed, deep scarifications are made upon the back, the parts are kept separate by means of small sticks, and they are suspended by the tail to poles, on the branches of trees. When they are perfectly dry, they are collected in packets, each weighing about 200 lbs.

The voracious conger eel (Conger vulgaris, of Cuvier; the Muræna conger, of Linnæus,) although a coarse fish, forms a considerable article of commerce in Cornwall and Devonshire. I only notice it here from the fact, that it is sometimes dried and shipped to Spain and other Catholic countries, where fish of any kind is acceptable. When dried in a particular manner, the flesh used formerly to be ground or grated to powder, and in this state was employed to thicken soup.

The Murænæ conger, were carefully reared in vivaria by the Romans. As early as the time of Cæsar, the multiplication of the domestic Murænæ was so great, that on the occasion of one of his triumphs, that great general presented 6000 of them to his friends; Licinius Crassus reared them so as to be obedient to his voice, and to come and receive their food from his hands; while the celebrated orator, Quintus Hortensius, wept over the loss of those of which death had deprived him.

Such is the testimony to the quality and estimation of the conger eel, which Griffiths has collected in his Supplement to Malacopterygii apodes in Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom. Its flesh does not agree with all stomachs; but it is yet a matter of dispute what renders it so frequently deadly. The condition of the liver of the fish in most cases has a great deal to do with danger attending fish-poisons.

The sand eel (Ammodytes tobianus) and the sandlaunce (A. lancea), though of small size, are very delicate eating, and vast numbers are consumed in summer by the natives of the Hebrides. They are also much sought after by the fishermen for bait.

The smelt or spirling (Osmerus eperlanus), found abundantly on the British coasts, is a very delicate fish. It is generally taken in greatest plenty at the mouths of large rivers, or in estuaries, such as the Thames and Medway, from August to May, as well as on sandy shores, in small nets; and always commands a ready sale. It has a peculiar odour, whence its popular name, which has been compared to that of a cucumber or a violet. This is strongest when the fish is first taken, but it may be perceived by raising the gill covers, after the fish has been for some time out of the water.

A whitebait dinner, at Blackwall or Greenwich, is one of the epicurean celebrities of the metropolis; and the fishing for whitebait, which commences about the beginning of April, and becomes abundant during the summer months till September, is productive of considerable benefit to those concerned. It was long supposed that these were the fry of a larger fish, but they are now identified as a particular species (Clupea alba), so named from the sides of the fish being uniformly of a white colour. It attains to the length of 6 inches. The whitebait are taken in long bag-nets, from vessels moored in the tide-way; and the fish are taken out by untying the end of the hose, and shaking it into the boat.

But there are small and delicate fish, which are substitutes for whitebait, in other quarters of the world.

Thus Mr. T. Atwood (History of Dominica) tells us, ‘that the chief dainty among the fresh-water fish of that island is the young frey, with which the rivers there are filled twice or thrice every year, and which are called by the French ‘Tréz-tréz.’ These consist of various kinds of sea-fish just spawned, and with which that element swarms for some miles distance from the shore, in numbers truly astonishing. These little creatures come into the rivers like a living stream, and in a short time swim two or three miles, to an amazing height up the country. This they perform in a wonderful manner, skimming over such rapid streams as repel their weak endeavours, from rock to rock, the surfaces of which are covered with them; or seeking the smoothly gliding stream at the sides of the banks, by degrees ascend the highest parts of the rivers.

‘The first day of the appearance of these frey in the rivers, they are transparent and clear as crystal, so that every bone in them may be counted, and the movement of their vitals can be plainly discerned. The second day after they lose much of that transparency; and the third or fourth day, it is wholly lost by the nutriment which they feed on. They are caught in baskets, in which is put a tablecloth or sheet, and sinking the basket with stones, vast quantities are taken at a time. They are fried in a batter made of flour and milk, or stewed with herbs and spices, and are excellent food cooked either way.’

At Moutrah, a town situated in a deep bay, not far from Muscat, they dry and export large quantities of a diminutive fish, about two inches long, which are packed in bales. This species of fish literally fills the waters of Oman. Dr. Ruschenberger (Voyage Round the World, p. 121) says, ‘They sometimes appeared in dense strata about the ship, so as completely to hide the cable from view, which was distinctly seen when they were not present.’

Don Pernety, in his Journal of a Voyage to the Falkland Islands, speaks of a small fish, called by the Spaniards pajes, and by the French gras dos, which was almost transparent, and of a most exquisite delicacy. It was found excellent when fried, and not inferior to the eel pout.

There is a small fish resembling a shrimp, not half-an-inch long, which makes its annual appearance in some of the rivers of Peru, in February, or in the beginning of March. It is called chantisa, and is really a great delicacy, when prepared by the natives. The numbers which ascend the rivers are so great, that on each side they appear to form a white path in the water, about two feet broad, and several miles in length. The women employ themselves in taking them, for which purpose they have a canoe; two of them hold a piece of flannel, three yards long, by the corners, and place it under the surface of the water, one end being a little elevated, to prevent the chantisa from passing; and when a considerable quantity are collected, the flannel is taken up and emptied into the canoe, after which the operation is repeated. Mr. Stephenson (Travels in America) says, he has frequently seen in the course of two hours, from six to eight bushels taken in this manner by these women. They are preserved by using as much salt as is necessary to season them; they are then put into baskets, lined with leaves, and a large stone is placed on the top, to press them into a solid mass, like a cheese. After standing a day or two, the baskets are placed on a frame made of canes, which is elevated about a yard from the ground; they are then covered with plantain leaves, and a small fire of green cedar, sandal, or other aromatic wood, is kindled underneath, for the purpose of smoking them. After remaining 10 or 12 hours, the cakes are taken out of the baskets, and again exposed to the smoke till it has penetrated through them, when they are laid up for use. A small portion of the smoked chantisa is generally added to the fish while cooking, to which it communicates a very delicate flavour.

At the mouth of the river Columbia, a very small fish, about the size of the sardine, is caught in immense numbers by the Chinooks. It is called by them uhlekun, and is much prized on account of its delicacy and extraordinary fatness. When dried, this fish will burn from one end to the other with a clear, steady light, like a candle. The uhlekuns are caught with astonishing rapidity by means of an instrument about seven feet long; the handle is about three feet, into which is fixed a curved wooden blade, about four feet, something the shape of a sabre, with the edge at the back. In this edge, at the distance of an inch and a half, are inserted sharp bone teeth, about an inch long. The Indian, standing in the canoe, draws this edgeways with both hands, holding it like a paddle, rapidly through the dense shoals of fish, which are so thick, that almost every tooth will strike a fish. One knock across the thwarts sharply deposits them in the bottom of the canoe. This is done with such rapidity, that they will not use nets for this description of fishing.[25]

The anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus, Cuvier) is a small fish, much resembling the sprat, which is often sold for it, but may be readily distinguished from the sprat by the anal fin being remarkably short. It is common on the southern coasts of France and Spain, on the shores of Italy, Greece, and other parts of the Mediterranean, but those coming from Gorgona (an island in the gulf of Leghorn) are esteemed the best. Anchovies should be chosen small, fresh pickled, silver white on the outside, and red within. They must have a round back, for those which are flat or large, dark outside, with pale coloured flesh, and tapering much towards the tail, are often nothing but sardines. First quality anchovies are used as a condiment, and among epicures are esteemed a luxury. The trade in them with the Italian States is very considerable; about 150,000 lbs. being annually exported. The fishing is chiefly in the night time, when a light being placed on the stern, the anchovies flock around, and are caught in the nets. Mr. Couch, in his Cornish Fauna, says, that he has seen it about the Cornish coast, of the length of seven inches and a half, which is nearly double the length it is met with in the Mediterranean. It abounds, he adds, towards the end of summer, and if attention were paid to the fishing, enough might be caught to supply the consumption of the British islands.

Frezier (Voyage to the South Seas) speaks of seeing a sort of anchovy on the west coast of America, in such great numbers, that whole baskets full of them were readily taken on the surface of the water.

The anchovy and tunny fisheries of Dalmatia are important, though not so much so as during the last century; at present they furnish employment to about 8,000 men.

Anchovies are imported in small kegs, weighing about 12 lbs. each. The consumption varies here, from 50 to 100 tons a year.

Sheridan used to relate an amusing story of an Irish officer, who once belonged to a regiment in Malta, who returned to England on leave of absence, and, according to the custom of travellers, was fond of relating the wonders he had seen. Among other things, he one day, in a public coffee-room, expatiated on the excellence of living in general among the military at Malta. But, said he, ‘as for anchovies, by the powers, there is nothing to be seen like them in the known world;’ and he added, ‘I have seen the anchovies grow upon the trees with my own eyes many’s the hundred times, and beautiful is the grove of them the governor has in his garden on the esplanade.’ A gentleman present disputed the statement that anchovies grew on trees, which the Irishman with much warmth re-affirmed. The lie passed, a challenge was given, and the upshot of the matter is thus humorously related.

‘The Englishman gave his address, and the next day the parties met, attended by their seconds; they fired, and O’Flanagan’s shot took effect in the fleshy part of his opponent’s thigh, which made the latter jump a foot from the ground, and fall flat upon his back, where he lay a few seconds in agony, kicking his heels. This being observed by the Irishman’s second, he said:—‘You have hit your man, O’Flanagan, that is certain, I think not dangerously, however, for see what capers he cuts.’

‘‘Capers, capers!’ exclaimed the Irishman. ‘Oh! by the powers, what have I done? What have I done? What a dreadful mistake!’ and running up to his wounded antagonist, he took his hand, and pressing it eagerly, thus addressed him:—‘My dear friend, if you’re kilt, I ax your pardon in this world and in the next, for I made a devil of a mistake: and it was capers that I saw growing upon the trees at Malta, and no anchovies at all.’

‘The wounded man, smiling at his ludicrous explanation and apology, said,—‘My good fellow, I wish you had thought of that a little sooner; I don’t think you have quite killed me, but I hope you will remember the difference between anchovies and capers as long as you live.’’

That highly esteemed fish, the sardine (Clupea sardina), which is closely allied to the pilchard, though much smaller, is found chiefly in the Mediterranean. It is taken in considerable quantities on our shores, and is exceedingly plentiful on the coast of Algarva, in Portugal, Andalusia and Granada in Spain, and along the shores of Italy. The small sardines, caught on the coast of Provence, in France, are esteemed the best. The French frequently cure them in red brine, and when thus prepared, designate them anchovied sardines. Sardines constitute a considerable portion of the food of the lower orders in Lisbon. 6,269 cases of sardines were imported into San Francisco, in 1853.

In 1852, 576 millions of sardines were taken on the coast of Brittany, which extends about 200 miles. Half of these were sold fresh and the other half preserved in oil. 160 vessels manned by 3,500 sailors and fishermen are engaged in the trade. The preparation, transport, and sale of the fish employ 10,000 persons. 9,000 of these, of whom one half are females, are occupied all the winter in making and mending of nets. On shore, the preparation, conveyance, and sale of the fish give occupation to 4,500 persons, of whom 2,500 are women; and in the interior of the country 4,400 other persons are occupied in the sale.

The fishing lasts about 200 days, and yields a net profit to all concerned of three millions of francs. The sardines disappear in November and return in April. Where they go during these four months, why they go, or what they do while gone, has never yet been discovered. The fishermen say that the same individuals never come twice, that every successive arrival is composed of fish of smaller size than those that left last, and that they appear to be their young. At any rate, they count implicitly on their appearance, and no sardine was ever yet known to break an engagement thus tacitly entered into.

A very intelligent naturalist and correspondent of mine, Mr. R. Hill, has furnished me with some interesting information respecting the West Indian fishes. One of the best labroid fishes is the hog fish, both for its flesh, thick, white, and luscious, separating in large strata, and its exemption from small abdominal bones. It is one of the commonest and yet one of the best fishes taken in the harbour of Port Royal, either by the fish pot or the line, the only source for supplying the Kingston market in the deep waters there.

The hog fish has its scales red with yellow at the base of each. It feeds amongst rocks, attains 3 and 4 feet of length, though 2½ feet is usually the largest dimension in Jamaica. The flesh is most delicious, but its fullness and firmness make it good for drying and smoking, when too large for a one day’s dish.

There are several Lachnolaimes ordinarily in the market, but only one properly called the hog fish (Suillus). The villous membrane that covers part of the pharyngeals and palate gives it its scientific name, ‘woolly throat.’

The most beautiful is the aigula, the aigrette of the Windward Islands. They are all sought after for the excellence of their flesh, ‘la bonté de leur chair,’ but one, the caninus, is occasionally poisonous.

The yellow tail snapper (Mesoprion cynodon) and other species of the genus, attain a large size, and are much esteemed in the East and West Indies as an article of food.

The flesh of the Queen mullet (Upeneus martinicus) of the Indian and American seas is very delicious, and resembles in some respects the true mullet (Mullus surmuletus).

The paracuta (Sphyræna Barracuda), the pike of the ocean, has a firm and palatable flesh, and is esteemed by many people. It proves, however, sometimes poisonous when caught in certain localities.

The callipeva (Mugil liza) is an esteemed river fish of the West Indian seas, which seldom extends further than the embouchures of streams or into the ponds and marshes. Chief Justice Temple, of Honduras, characterizes it as the salmon of the tropics; and indeed, it very much resembles that prince of the finny tribe in its size, shape, habits, and flavour. The flesh, however, is not red, neither is it so firm as that of the salmon, but it is quite as fat and infinitely more juicy and delicate. When cut in slices, folded in tissue paper, and lightly fried—which is the only way in my opinion of dressing a fish, the flavour of which is so volatile, so smooth, so ethereal, that it more resembles an odour, or the rich fragrance of a thousand different flowers mixed and mellowed by distance, than an actual taste on the palate—nothing can surpass it;—to subject it unprotected to the fumiginous influence of an iron pan, would be the act of a Hottentot or a Tartar. Dressed in the manner I have mentioned, it would not have disgraced Olympus, nor offended the critical taste of the Apicii, the last of whom would have refrained from hanging himself whilst a single callipeva remained in his fish pond. The callipeva is very excellent when cured, and it is often brought in that state to the Belize market in large quantities. The roe of this fish is very superior and almost equals caviare. This is dried and sold separately. I may incidentally mention that the large strong brilliant scales of this fish now enter into commerce for the manufacture of those pretty fish-scale ornaments, brooches, bracelets, &c., sold at the Crystal Palace and elsewhere.

The Mugil curema, another species, is taken about Port Royal harbour, Jamaica, and when large, passed off in the Kingston market for callipeva. The true callipeva or calipever, as it is indifferently spelt, is the ‘white salmon’ of Jamaica, and weighs from 6 to 18 lbs. It is caught in the brackish waters of the Ferry on the road to Spanish Town.

Mullet of various kinds, the salt water species being white, and the mountain or river species red, are one of the three delicacies of Jamaica.

Then, there is the delicate smook, either fresh or salt water, weighing from 10 to 16 lbs.; the stone bass, of the river or sea, much esteemed, from 2 to 4 lbs.; the delicate black snapper, weighing 4 or 5 lbs.; the chuck, a delicate fresh-water fish, of about 6 lbs.; and the cutlass, a good flat frying fish: which will suffice to show that there need be no lack of a dish of good fish for the West Indian epicure.

The anchovy or silver fish (Engraulis edentatus of Cuvier and Val) abounds on the palisade shallows of Port Royal harbour. They are a most exquisite fry, cooked, strung together on a palm straw through the eye by half-dozens, and served up as they serve whitebait.

King fish are only occasionally taken within the harbour, at Port Royal Bank. They are very delicate eating and weigh from 10 to 20 lbs. The king fish mackerel (Cymbium regale) is taken at the head of the harbour by being gently towed for with a line. The pine fish, in great estimation with the Jews, which ranges from four to thirty pounds, are frequently harpooned from Port Royal dock yard, six feet long.

The sun fish, or lucannany of Demerara, is excellent food, being firm, fat, and with few bones; owing to its extreme lusciousness, it is difficult to salt or dry. It is about two feet in length and attains to 7 or 8 lbs. in weight.

The arawan is another Guiana fish, particularly fine as food, but like the last named, very fat and luscious.

The pacou are caught in large numbers by means of weirs or dams, and weigh on an average 7 lbs. each. They are split, salted, and dried, and when cured, highly prized. The morocoto, or osibu, is also a most delicious fish, in taste nearer resembling flesh than fish, and eagerly sought after by the epicure.

If the gourami, which the French have introduced to the tanks and ponds of Cayenne and their West Indian Islands, was entitled to no more than half the praise Commerson bestows upon it, it must be considered a fish worth some trouble and expense to possess. ‘Nihil inter pisces,’ he says, ‘tum marinos, tum fluviatiles, exquisitius unquam degustavi.’ If neither the fishes of the sea nor those of fresh water streams, to Commerson, who had described so many fishes, and tasted as many as he had described, were found to exceed the deliciousness of the gourami,—the Osphromenus olfax,—it should be imported into every West Indian colony. The Dutch at Batavia, in Java, have long bred it in large earthen vases, changing the water daily, and feeding it on herbs of rivers and ponds, particularly on the Pistia natans. In the Mauritius, they have become a common river fish, and are esteemed the most delicate of the dishes brought to table.

Capt. Philibut carried the specimens of the gourami from Mauritius to Cayenne. Out of 100 taken on board he lost 23 on the passage. The French colonists feed and breed it in ponds, much as the Barbadians do the caffum (Megalops Atlanticus). The caffum is allied to the herring, and weighs 12 or 15 lbs.; and though an important stand-by for a dinner in Barbados, it is an inferior fish.

Twenty years ago, I well remember that Mr. Richard Hill called attention in Jamaica to the gourami, which was first then being introduced as a tank fish into Martinique and Guadaloupe. His communication appeared in Dr. Paul’s Physical Journal, published at Kingston.

It is supposed that this valuable fresh-water fish was procured originally from China, but not a single author gives intimation of it in the natural history of the Chinese empire. So interesting a species, among people so attentive to the breeding and cultivating whatever can be added to their food supplies, must have been brought under their notice. The Dutch have it only artificially bred in Java, but neither Renard, Valentine, Russell, nor Buchanan, who have all written largely on the fishes of India and of the Indian Islands, are acquainted with any such river-fish as the gourami. In India they give the name gouragi or koragi to a fish known to naturalists as the Ophicephalus, and the probability is that Commerson, who first noticed the Osphromenus olfax, had corruptly applied that word and made gourami of it.

This delicious fish, so easily bred and fed, from its food being the duck weed of the ponds, has a contour plump, round, and massy like the carp of Europe. The colour is a burnished brown, somewhat golden tinted, faintly ruddy, particularly on the head and fins. Vertical bands of bronze stretch obliquely from the back to the belly;—and the ventral fin in its first spine is lengthened into a long thread as long as the entire fish from head to tail. It belongs to a very curious family distinguished as labyrinthan-pharyngeals. The structure of fishes of this family is peculiar:—it consists of the upper surface of the pharyngeal bones being divided into leaves, which form cavities and ledges, more or less complicated, for the retention of water, very much like the web of cells in the paunch of the camel. This apparatus lies immediately under the opercula. It is closely shut in, and pours out a ceaseless stream to moisten the gills and keep them from drying up when the fish quits the water and betakes itself to the grass, either to feed on herbs or to change its domicile when the ponds grow muddy and stagnant.

The ancient writers on Natural History were familiar with the character of these curious pharyngeals. Theophrastus, in his Treatise, speaks of certain of the fishes of India that come forth from the rivers at times, and then return to them again: and he mentions that they resemble mullets. The strange habit of the Anabas, which has received this name from its climbing predilections, (anabaino, ascendo,) is well authenticated. M. Daldorf, a Lieutenant in the service of the Dutch East India Company, in an article in the Linnæan Transactions for 1797, mentions that, in the month of November 1791, he took one of these anabas fishes from the cleft foot-stalk of a palm tree, growing near a pond. The fish was five feet above the water, and was endeavouring to ascend still higher. Another observer, M. John, tells a similar story. The fish, he says, usually remains in the muddy bottom of ponds and lakes; but it will take to creeping on dry ground for several hours, by the inflexion of its body; and by the assistance of its serrated opercula, and the spines of its fins, it will climb on the palm-trees which are in the neighbourhood of ponds, along which drops the water that the rains have accumulated at their tops.—(Griffith’s Supplement to Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom. Fishes, p. 361.)

Though the gourami belongs to the family of fishes, having a reservoir for water to moisten the gills when they quit their ponds, it does not climb trees as the anabas, but only traverses the grass. This fish would be a most desirable acquisition to our colonies. It could be readily procured from Guadaloupe. It is as remarkable for its size as its flavour. It becomes as large as a turbot, and is equally delicious. It would be soon naturalized in our streams. The female hollows a little fosse in the edge of the reservoir in which it is kept, and there deposits its eggs.

The pirarucu (Sudis gigas) is a splendid fish 5 or 6 feet long, with large scales of more than an inch in diameter, and beautifully marked and spotted with red.

The lakes in Brazil contain great quantities of them, and they are salted and dried for the Para market. It is a very fine flavoured fish, the belly in particular being so fat and rich that it cannot be cured, and is therefore generally eaten fresh. ‘This fish’ (remarks Mr. Wallace) ‘with farinha and some coffee made us an excellent supper; and the alligator’s tails which I now tasted for the first time, was by no means to be despised. A smaller kind is that eaten, the flesh being more delicate than in the larger species.’

The sheep’s head, or, in more scientific language, the Sargus ovis, is a favourite fish in North America, where it visits the coasts in large shoals during the summer and autumn. The principal fishery is off the coasts of New York, and thousands are occasionally taken at a single cast of the large nets used at some places. The fish, immediately on their capture, are packed in ice, and sent to the New York market, where they have been known to sell as high as £7 for one of large size, although the usual price for one is only about a dollar. This fish is pretty generally considered throughout the States, both by epicures and others, as an almost sans-pareil; and Dr. Mitchell, who has written much on American ichthyology, is of the same opinion.[26]

The green cavalla (Caranx Bartholomæi) is very good eating, and much in demand. They are caught by the Barbados fishermen, sometimes in nets and in large numbers. Another species, the Jack ‘or John and Goggle-eye,’ as it is locally termed (C. Plumieri), is in some seasons of the year very poisonous. When they are suspected of being so, an experiment is tried upon a duck, by giving her one of them to swallow, and if at that season it is poisonous, the duck dies in about two hours.

The flounder or plaice (Rhombus ocellatus), a fish which belongs to the turbots, is a very delicate fish.

The common flying-fish (Exocœtus Roberti) is so abundant in some seasons of the year about Barbados, that they constitute an important article of food, and during the season, a large number of small boats are occupied in fishing. They are very delicate and tender. Some experiments have been made to preserve them, by salting and smoking, and with perseverance this would probably be successful, and a new dainty be added to European tables. Such large numbers are occasionally caught that they meet with no sale, and are thrown away, or used as manure.[27]

Sprats are a cheap delicacy with the lower classes in this country, and are pretty plentiful at times, but they are also greatly esteemed in the West India Islands. A species, called the ‘yellow-tailed sprat,’ proves unfortunately poisonous at certain periods of the year, chiefly among the Leeward and Virgin Islands.

The cuckold or horned coney fish (Monacanthus tomentosus) is much used as food, and, when stuffed and baked, considered a delicacy.

Under the general name of the Spanish mackerel, several species of Cymbium, C. Caballa, C. regale, and C. immaculata, are caught in the West Indian seas. They are a coarse, dry fish, and not much esteemed, except when coveeched. To coveech a fish, it must be cut into junks, fried with onions and oil, and afterwards potted with vinegar, a little pepper or cloves, fried onions, and some oil. It becomes an article of trade in that manner, and a considerable quantity, according to Sir Robert Schomburgk, is sent from the Leeward Islands and Barbados to Guiana.