[9] POISONING BY RED CODFISH. 1035 



of poisoning caused by spoiled codfish and cases of poisoning produced 

 by other spoiled fish, or by fresh or preserved meats which have begun 

 to decay, there is good reason to believe that all these cases must be 

 attributed to special poisonous substances produced by the putrefaction 

 of animal matter. 



Ill — NATURE OF THE RED SUBSTANCE IN CODFISH, ITS CHARACTER, 

 DEVELOPMENT, AND PREVENTION. 



Since it has been deemed proper to prohibit the sale of red codfish, it 

 is evident that in the opinion of the ministry which has taken this meas- 

 ure, the redcodlish is the principal indication that the flesh has under- 

 gone a hurtful change. But what proofs are there, and what experi- 

 ments can be cited, to show that the red color of the codfish possesses 

 any poisonous qualities ? We shall endeavor to answer these ques- 

 tions. 



In the first place, what constitutes the red color of the codtish ? The 

 few authors who have studied this subject do not agree among them- 

 selves. It seems, however, pretty well established that this red color 

 is produced by the development of a fungus, whose name varies accord- 

 ing to the different authors who have described it. Thus, Mr. Fonssa- 

 grives calls it the Penicillium roseum ; Mr. Heckel, the Coniothecium san- 

 guineum; and Mr. Megniu, the Coniothecium bertherancli. In an article 

 published in the Madrid Imparcial, March 20, 1886, and cited by Prof- 

 Alex. Layet, it is stated that some years ago (in 1878) attention was 

 called at Gloucester and some other places in the United States to the 

 red color of the fresh and dried codfish, which appeared during the 

 summer months. Prof. W. G. Farlow was commissioned to investigate 

 the causes of this coloration, and it is stated in the Imparcial that Pro- 

 fessor Farlow found that it was caused by an alga of the family of the 

 Nosto chacc(c, namely, the Glathrocystis rosco-persipina.* Mr. Carles, who 

 has recently published the results of his researches in the Bulletin des 

 travaux de la SociCte de Pharmacie de Bordeaux (February, 1886), thinks 

 that the red color of the codfish is caused by the evolution of various 

 parasites of a very primitive organization, belonging to the micrococci. 



This is also, we believe, the opinion of Mr. Gayon, professor of chem- 

 istry at the faculty of sciences at Bordeaux and chief chemist of the 

 custom-house, who for about two years, in conjunction with Mr. Carles, 

 has been engaged in the cultivation of these small organisms. He 

 writes the following : 



"When one examines under the microscope the red spots of a codfish 

 one sees among the loose muscular fibers and the sea-salt crystals nu- 

 merous organisms of various kinds, young and live specimens of the 

 micrococcus. The red color is attenuated through their enlargement* 



" If the surface of a red spot is dissolved in some drops of boiliug 

 water, and if the liquid obtained is carefully stirred in codfish broth or 

 *See F. C. Report for 1878, p. 969, and F. C. Bulletin for 1887, p. 95. 



