SIXlEEiXrH ANNUAL MKETINC. 35 



member present who has eaten fish which had been kept by any 

 of these processes ? 



Mr. Mather — I once ate a trout which had been kept for some 

 ten days without ice. It was given to me by Mr. Thomas J. 

 Conroy, of New York, the dealer in fishing tackle, and had been 

 preserved by a patent process or powder called Rex Magnus, 

 not now on the market, and which probably may have been 

 largely composed of boracic acid, and the fish was fairly eat- 

 able, a little dry but still better than no fish. 



Mr. May — As our worthy secretary still lives, it is fair to 

 presume that the use of these preparations does not bring on in- 

 stant death, but what would be the result of eating a thousand 

 such prepared fish '' 



Mr. Mather — I cannot say. Prawns preserved in some acid 

 come to New York from Charleston and other southern ports, 

 and I see them at Blackford's daily. I have here the quarterly 

 number of the Journal of the National Fish Culture Association, 

 edited by J. W. Willis Bund, Esq., and published by the Fish- 

 culture Association of England, in which there are two items 

 referring to this matter, which I will read. The first one favors 

 the use of acids and the second one condemns them. 



There are two sides to all questions. The British Medical 

 Journal writes thus as to herrings cured witfi boracic acid : 

 "Large quantities of herring preserved with salt and boracic 

 acid being at present imported from Norway, and sold in the 

 London and Newcastle markets, attempts have been made to 

 prevent their sale. The National Sea Fisheries Protection As- 

 sociation discussed the question at a recent conference at Fish- 

 mongers' Hall, but no decision as to such fish was arrived at. 

 It may, therefore, be worth while to point out that boracic acid, 

 being the essential ingredient of our many food preservatives — 

 be it in the form of the acid, of boroglyceride, or of borax — has 

 been used for years, especially to preserve milk in hot weather, 

 and no evidence has ever been brought forward even to suggest 

 injurious effects upon the health ; it mav, therefore, be taken to 

 be perfectly harmless. The Norwegian herrings preserved with 

 salt and boracic acid are of exceptionally fine quality, are per- 



