68 IOWA STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY 
- fastest sprinter sells her cargo first and reaps her reward. 
Besides these women, who are hucksters of the trade, the var- 
ious fish markets have their representatives on hand to attend 
to the wholesale business and thus dispose of the greater part of 
the fish as soon as possible. It is said that they will not keep 
any length of time in this climate. 
The flying-fish are usually served as pan-fish, being fried, and 
come to the table skillfully boned and deliciously browned. We 
thought them about the most toothsome fish-food that we en- 
countered at Barbados. They are retailed to the consumer at 
from six to ten fish for ten cents, according to the catch. 
Attempts have been made to preserve these fish in pickle for 
future consumption, but with indifferent success, I understand. 
A curious crustacean parasite often infests the flying-fish, at- 
taching itself to the abdomen and showing as a tuft of dark- 
colored filaments several inches in length. We have not as 
yet identified the species. This is undoubtedly the most exten- 
sive fishing industry of Barbados, and yields a livelihood dur- 
ing the season to hundreds of men and women. It has been 
suggested that the abundance of flying-fish in Barbadian waters 
is due largely to the seareity of sea-birds that elsewhere feed on 
the smaller fry. As a matter of fact I have never seen a region 
with such a small quota of sea-birds as this. They are much 
more abundant around the islands, such as the Hawaiian group, 
in mid Pacific; and it is hard to account for their paucity unless 
it be due to the fact that there are no small islets off the coast, 
except Pelican Island, which is too near the mainland of Bar- 
bados to afford a safe place for a rookery. 
Another fish which appears as a staple market-fish and is 
greatly esteemed, is the dolphin. This is not the mammal allied 
to the porpoise, but the fish Coryphena which is famed for the 
beauty of its colors. It is probably one of the most beautiful 
fishes in the world, and well deserves its reputation. It is inter- 
esting from a gastronomic standpoint also, as ‘‘dolphin steak’’ 
is a well known favorite dish in the hotels at Barbados. We en- 
joyed it frequently and paid the equivalent of ten cents a pound 
for it. 
On one occasion when we were dredging with the launch off 
Hastings on the south coast, we found ourselves suddenly sur- 
