FISHERIES AND GUANO INDUSTRY OF PERU. 351 
un huevo” (like an egg) and is eaten raw or in soups under the name of 
“cochizo”’ or “‘ piuri.”’ 
Finally an allusion should be made to the taking of the abundant bogas, 
suchis, and peje-reyes (species of fresh-water fish) in Lake Titicaca. These 
fishes are considered delicacies and are brought down to Arequipa, the chief 
city of the region. Dried lake peje-reyes were observed on the market. 
At Lobos de Tierra.—Reference has been made to the capture of selachians 
and flounders in the region of Lobos de Tierra. Many of these are preserved 
by sun drying and without the use of salt or other preservative. The process 
is of some interest, as the fishermen are peculiarly expert in preparing the fish. 
On the return from the fishing trip, after the fish are thrown into piles on 
the beach, the first matter is the apportionment of the catch, since two or 
more fishermen have worked together. The division accomplished, they set 
to work individually to prepare the fishes for drying. Each man has beside 
him, when at work on the beach, an oar or a board sprinkled with sand and 
used for sharpening the knife. A short sharp sheath-knife is used and it is 
whetted by a stroke or two on the oar after almost every cut that is made. 
The “guitarra” (guitar-fish) is laid on the sand with the back up. Five cuts 
practically prepare the fish. The first splits the right and left sides incom- 
pletely apart, leaving the backbone in the left half; the second lays open the 
right side of the head; the third lays open the right side of the body; the 
fourth lays open the left side of the body; the fifth lays open the left side of the 
head. A few quick slashes to better expose the meat for salting, the removal 
of the entrails, and the making of a slit in the tail by which to hang the fish 
complete the process, and the fish is thrown aside for washing. 
The ‘“‘angelota”’ (angel-fish) must be cut a little differently, but the process 
is accomplished with hardly less dispatch. The outer parts of the outer fins 
_are first removed. The first cut splits the fish; the second lays open the right 
side with the aid of a few additional slashes in the meat; the third and fourth 
lay open the left side. The head, gills, and entrails are then cut entirely away 
and the body of the fish is thrown aside to be washed. 
The small boys assist by taking the opened fish, two at a time, into the 
water and washing them free of the sand, blood, and other dirt. The fish are 
then hung from poles by the slit in the tail. Two or three slender pieces of 
cane put crosswise keep the skin stretched, and the fish are thus left to dry in 
the sun. Four days is said to be sufficient for the curing if the weather is 
bright. Hanging in this way, they look like merely a series of skins, but the 
meat is all present as a thin layer on the skin. No salt or salitre whatever is 
used on them. They are strictly sun cured, as flat thin sheets of skin and meat. 
“Tollos” (small sharks) and “cazones” (large sharks) are prepared in 
very much the same way as the angelotas. 
