54 American Fisheries Society 



but it can expel air while below the surface. This char- 

 acter indicates that lungs were first developed in fishes, 

 from modifications of their air-bladders." For all of which 

 we thank Mr. Hornaday. But why should he leave off 

 talking as a scientist, about things he knew very well, no 

 doubt, to tell us, in an unscientific way, what he knew 

 nothing at all about that : "save to the negroes of the South 

 its flesh is quite unpalatable, and valueless as food"? Here 

 is a case of false training in youth. For I will wager that 

 Mr. Hornaday never tasted the flesh of a dogfish, unless he 

 thought it was that of a catfish or pickerel. And if he ever 

 did that, I will wager again that he declared the flavor of it 

 to be splendid, just as many other good people have done 

 when they were similarly deceived. Anyhow, we do not 

 need a scientist to tell us whether the flesh of a fish has a 

 good flavor, or whether it has not. 



I never yet have known anybody, either a negro of the 

 South, or a white man of the North, who has eaten of the 

 flesh of a dogfish which has been properly dressed and 

 cooked, but admitted the flavor of it to be as fine as that of 

 a bass or of a pike, which latter it much resembles ; though 

 I have known of a great many epicurean people doing this 

 who would not have eaten of it at all if they had known it 

 was a dogfish. The only ones I have found who told me 

 that dogfish are not good to eat have been those who never 

 tasted of them. 



Now, all the lakes and the streams of the Middle West 

 abound in this beautiful fish, and if people made common 

 use of them, as they ought to do, and as they do of bass, 

 pike, catfish, sunfish, and perch, the flesh of none of which 

 has any better flavor than has the flesh of the dogfish, the 

 value of our waters as food producers would be greatly 

 augmented. 



Wherefore, let me beg of every person who has never 

 eaten of dogfish (or who does not know it if he has), and 

 who has always believed them to be unfit for food because 



