28 



TFIE AQUARIUM, JANUARY, 1893. 



awhile out of its native element. Ham- 

 ilton Buehannan observes that he has 

 known it to retain vitality under these 

 conditions for six days. That it travels 

 from pond to pond when its means of 

 subsistence fail is a well known fact ; 

 but that it buries itself in the mud as 

 tanks dry up, and remain there until 

 the monsoon of the next year fills them 

 with water is a statement that requires 

 further research before it can be ac- 

 cepted. These fishes being common 

 in most pieces of fresh water in Mala- 

 bar, and being esteemed good eating by 

 the natives, are much fished for. The 

 natives when catching them invariably 

 bite their head to destroy life. On one 

 occasion, says Surgeon Day, this prac- 

 tice led to a fatal result, the fish having 

 slipped down the throat of the fisher- 

 man it could not be withdrawn, owing 

 to the erectile nature of the gill covers 

 and scales, and the man died of suffo- 

 cation before reaching the hospital. 



THE SAGITTARIA OR ARROW- 

 HEAD. 



In the great economy of Nature the 

 sagittaria have contributed their full 

 share to the support of the human 

 family in all parts of the world. The 

 Chinese and Japanese cultivate them 

 very extensively for food, also the Tar- 

 tar Kalmucks use them for food. 

 Aquatic birds are fond of them, and 

 resort to favorite spots in spring to feast 

 upon the tubers, when the Indians slay 

 the birds for their own feasts. The 

 tubers are generally as large as hens' 

 eggs, and are greatly relished when 

 raw, but have a bitter, milky juice, 

 not agreeable to civilized man ; this is 

 destroyed in boiling, however, and the 

 roots 'Ave rendered sweet and palatable. 

 They are considered excellent when 



cooked with meat, either salt or fresh. 

 To collect the roots the Indians wad& 

 into the water and loosen them with 

 their feet, when they float up and are- 

 gathered. They are of an oblong shape, 

 in color whitish yellow, banded witli 

 four black rings (U. S. Agr. Rept., 

 1870). They serve as food for the In- 

 dians of Washington, under the name 

 of Wappatoo. In shallow ponds and 



The Arrow Head. 



muddy margins of lakes and rivers 

 throughout the Northwest this plant, 

 so variable in foliage and so abundant 

 in distribution, furnishes an important 

 article of native food in the tubers 

 which beset its fibrous roots. These 

 tubers, from the fact of their affording 

 nourishment to the larger aquatic fowls 

 which congregate in such abundance 

 about the Northwestern lakes, are 



