OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE PAST 3 



to negroes because of their "more odorous emanations." Modern 

 research has shown that the truth of the matter is more likely to be 

 in the reverse direction, since sharks seem to be more readily 

 attracted to light-colored objects. 



Paul Budker points out in his book, La Vie des Requins that the 

 old slave ships did much to encourage the anthropophagic tastes 

 of sharks. Negro slaves were transported in ships under the most 

 primitive, unhygienic and revolting conditions imaginable. Disease 

 and death were rampant under these circumstances. Trailing in 

 the wake of these vessels of "man's inhumanity to man" were 

 schools of sharks which seemed to await with ghoulish delight their 

 daily ration of human corpses, which were tossed over the side. 

 After one severe storm on a run between Mozambique and Bourbon, 

 France, more than fifty slaves suffocated because of the necessity 

 of closing the hatches. The log of the vessel read : "What a windfall 

 for the sharks !" 



Strange to say, little has been written in modern times of an 

 authoritative nature on sharks and their relationship to man. The 

 best reference to Australian sharks is by Dr. Gilbert P. Whitley of 

 the Australian Museum in Sydney, in his book on Australian fishes 

 entitled, Sharks, Rays, etc. (1939). His book contains a great 

 deal of valuable and interesting information regarding the habits, 

 identification, and folklore connected with sharks. He also includes 

 a list of all of the reported shark attacks in Australia up to the time 

 of publication. 



The increased loss of surface vessels and aircraft and the re- 

 sulting high incidence of shark attacks during World War II 

 pointed up the need for an effective shark repellent. Through the 

 combined efforts of the U. S. Office of Scientific Research and De- 

 velopment, U. S. Navy and Army Air Corps, the National Research 

 Council, and various civilian organizations, such as the American 

 Museum of Natural History, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institu- 

 tion, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Marine Studios, Inc., New 

 York Zoological Society, University of Florida, and the Calco 

 Chemical Corporation, an intensive search was made for a satis- 

 factory deterrent. Experiments were conducted feeding shark bait 

 with the various chemicals to be tested. Controls were also run 

 feeding them bait without the repellent, and the results of the two 

 tests were then compared. After testing more than 70 different 

 chemical compounds, it was found that no more than four were 

 deserving of further attention. These were: decomposing shark 

 meat, maleic acid, copper sulphate, and copper acetate. It was sub- 



