ccxiv 



o(r Rouilion jiii'l llio Maiiiifiiia. The frog or piifT fishes, Tclrodoiis, nvo 



{'[•cnovM.llj^ rpimlcd to ho ])oisoiions, and are rojccictl as an arl-iolc of diet 



by l.lic [)co])l(! of India, hiil, (hoy are Iiighly rclislicd 1)y (lio Andamanose, 



and the native doctors in Malal)ar use them as nicdicino in plilliisical 



cases. In Burma, wliere the larg^e j'ollow XennpterHs narilux is found 



in all the branches of the Irawnddi, the natives bait for them with small 



fish, and consider their flesh as good for eating. However, at the Cajie of 



(jood Hope a spotted Tclrodoii lias cansed so many dealhs, that the oflieers 



of all ships anchoring there are warned against their being used as food. 



lu the Nile, one species is reputed to be very poisonous if eaten. In 



Jajian is found a sort which is used for the purpose of elfecting suicide, 



whilst an edict exists in the army of that couniry, declaring tlmt, should 



any soldier die from eating it, his son is prohibited from entering the 



military service. 



425. Sharks, saw-fislies, rays and skates, with the exception of the 



„ ., . „ , „ , torpedo, are esteemed as food by many of the 



Cnrlilagiiious fishes aa food. at i i ii e i • ii i -i 



^ Madrassees and the beedees lu iJombay. In 



Bengal, however, they are rejected by all but the very poorest, some 



of whom even will refuse them. 



436. Many diseases have been attributed to the eflects of a fish 



diet. In Hergen, " fish is perhaps more 

 ^^^Dlseases attributed to a f.sh ,,,,,^^5^ ^^^j .,g ^^ ^^^-^^^^ ^f ji^j. ^,j_^,^ j^, ^^^^ 



other part of the world. * * * There 

 are two large hospitals devoted exclusively to the treatment of patients 

 suffering from a peculiar form of disease, brought on by eating badly 

 cured fish : the disease is a mixture of le])rosy and elephantiasis." (Jjancct, 

 July 1SG(), p. S3). " A scorbutic taint is considered to ensue iu some 

 portions of Europe from a fish diet. Leprosy in the south of Spain 

 is ascribed to this cause." Amongst tlie Norwegians, phthisis is 

 common and also struma. "Of fresh meat the Norwegians, get but 

 little, and their fish and milk are often used in a state of partial decom- 

 position instead of fresh. * * * Their constitution could rally and 

 get well on a regimen under which an Englishman would sink." {3Iedical 

 Times and Gazette, July 1869). Examining the foregoing statements, one 

 observes that it is not a good lish diet which is accused of producing 

 leprosy, elephantiasis, scurvy and skin diseases, but fish consumed in a state 

 of putrefaction or badly cured ; but even this may be open to argument. 

 Natives in some portions of Asia consider that eating fish piedisposes to 

 cholera, and many object on that account to its use during epidemics 

 of that malady [nee ante-parngra|ih 430 on the Sitiiridir). Leprosy is a 

 well-maiked disease, and has been attributed to an unwholesome fish diet. 

 Lejjroft// is by no means unfrequent in the Panjab, Nortli-West Provinces, 

 and other districts far inland, amongst people who resolutely refuse ever 

 to eat salt-fish however prepared. The only way in which they consume 

 putrid fish is jnirchasing the fry during the rainy months, which, prior to 

 being cooked, generally is in a more or less putrid condition. I5ut if we 

 go a little further to the east, we find the Burmese race, who most 

 assuredly are a fish-eonsuniing one {/lee para. 366) and prefer their 

 odoriferous tifja-pee to fresh fish. In my travels (hiough Burma, I 

 never saw a single instance of leprosy amongst the indig<'nous jiopulnfion, 

 nor a case of those congenital mnlforination of the fingers and toes, so 



