148 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



the digestive liquids produced iu different ways did uot in the slightest 

 change it; but when it was boiled or roasted it was easily changed to 

 sugar and thus rendered soluble. It is, therefore, evident that of the 

 seeds of some grasses growing in the water and the young shoots of 

 some aquatic plants, which are occasionally found in the intestinal canal 

 of carp, and of the grains of wheat, »&c., which I discovered in some 

 fish, and which Professor Fric found in large quantities in the stomach 

 of young salmon, it was not the starch which was digested, but the 

 small quantity of albumen, fat, and sugar contained iu them. 



50 POISOlVOrS FISH.* 



By Dr. OSCAR TYBKIIVG. 



It is well known that in many i>laces, especially in the tropics, there 

 is a risk of eating tish which are injurious to health and which may even 

 endanger life. Some fish seem to be poisonous at certain seasons of the 

 year, while at others they are perfectly harmless. The spawning season 

 / seems to be the one in which they are particularly dangerous. Some 

 fish are poisonous wben caught in certain localities, while in others they 

 may be eaten without any bad result. In most fish of this kind it is 

 not the meat which is poisonous, but the entrails, especially the liver, 

 / the roe, and the milt ; sometimes the skin also is poisonous ; and finally 

 there are some fish whose meat is poisonous. Certain kinds furnish a 

 perfectly harmless food if eaten as soon as they are taken out of the 

 water, but if they are allowed to lie only an hour their flesh spoils. 



One cannot judge by the appearance of the fish, for those that look 

 finest and most appetizing are frequently the ones that are poisonous; 

 while there are fish which have a revolting appearance, but which are 

 harmless and good to eat. 



In the East Indian and Australian waters the poisonous Mcletta is 

 found in large numbers. It greatly resembles a herring, to which family 

 it belongs; it is 5 or C inches long, with a sharp, serrated belly, silvery 

 scales, and a bluish-green back. Eoussagrive states as its principal 

 characteristic that it has no teeth, with the exception of a few very 

 small ones on the tongue. Tliis fish is found especially near the Sey- 

 chelles and near New Caledonia. It is always poisonous; and when 

 eaten, causes vomiting, violent diarrhea, chills, a languid feeling, and 

 invariably ])ain and cramps, particularly in the legs; the symjotoms, 

 therefore, resemble those of cholera. It is often caught with another 

 kind oi Mvletta which is not strictly poisonous, and'Avhich maybe distin- 

 guished from the poisonous one by having larger scales. The poisonous 

 Meletta has a black snout and a black spot on the dorsal fin. " Other- 



• " Gifiifie 7'7s/.-f." From tlic A'o)-s7,- FhlrrUiilrnde, Bergen, October, 1885. Translated 

 from 1li(i Danisb Ity IIi.uma.n .Iacouson. 



