ANIMAL KINGDOM. 101 



time an enormous ■ quantity is procured from the ponds in the 

 Grand Savannah. The following saying may be noted as ex- 

 pressive of the high opinion the natives entertain of this fish : 

 " He who has eaten eascaraduras must die in the country/'' It 

 ought not to be confounded with the chat or cat-fish (Callicthys), 

 which is not commonly eaten. 



Of our salt-water fish, the following are the most common : — 

 The carangue, the Spanish mackerel or carite, the king-fish or 

 tassard, the gar-fish or orphie, and a smaller species called the 

 Balaou (Hemiramphus) , the barracuta ; of these, the king-fish 

 and " carangue grasse " are the best. Under the general deno- 

 mination of red fish are sold several species of snappers, red- 

 mouths, and sardes, all very good and delicate. To the above 

 may be added the gruper (Mesqprion and Clinus) , the lebranche 

 and mullets (Mugil), the dories or lunes {Vomer and Zeus), the 

 crapaud, rays, and the conger-eel; a species of caranx, of the 

 size of a sardine, and called here the anchovy ; of the last, an 

 immense quantity is taken in the Gulf during July; they are 

 migratory, and disappear in two or three weeks. The zapatero, 

 salmon (Ototythus), and cod-fish (Elacates) , are sold occasionally 

 in our markets, as they keep but for a short time. The dog- 

 headed eel {Synbranclius), though, in my opinion, delicate eating, 

 is rejected from the table on account of its resemblance to a 

 snake. I confess, however, that the French proverb, " La sauce 

 fait manger le poisson" is applicable to a number of our fresh 

 and salt-water fishes ; Madeira or Bordeaux wine, for instance, 

 is the best sauce for crapaud and gruper ; king-fish and snappers 

 are served either boiled or stewed ; the dories fried mainly, as 

 also the mullet; the lebranche roasted, with the addition of 

 lime-juice and Cayenne pepper. 



The variety of our fishes is very great, and yet fish of good 

 quality is rather scarce ; the principal reason is, the impossibility 

 of keeping it fresh for more than a few hours; in fact, the 

 change produced in the quality of the fish is something remark- 

 able, and can be appreciated only by those who have had an 

 opportunity of procuring it just after its capture. The salmon 

 and mullets particularly do not keep long ; those which stand 

 better are the king-fish, Spanish mackerel, sardes, snappers, and 

 gruper, also the carangues. 



Crustacea. — Crabs, cray-fish, shrimps, and lobsters are com- 



