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 3_d._ per dozen; the best turbot to 6_d_.; the best mackerel
in Lent to 1_d._ each; the best pickled herrings to twenty the penny;
fresh oysters to 2_d._ per gallon; a quarter of a hundred of the best
eels to 2_d._; 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 2_s._ 6_d._ 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 4_s._ to 5_s._ 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--
‘Whilst migrant herrings steer their myriad bands
From seas of ice to visit warmer strands,’
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.’