2 76 THE CORAL LANDS OF THE PACIFIC, 



and on the way the boat's crew employ themselves in gutting 

 the fish. This is done by splitting up the whole length of the 

 underside of the creature with a sharp knife over the gunwale, 

 so that the intestines fall into the sea. When the boats arrive 

 at the landing-place, the fish must be taken ashore, and cooked 

 immediately, for a special reason. It is a remarkable peculiarity 

 of this creature, that if a number of them be placed together, 

 as long as they retain life they can be separated, although by 

 reason of their plasticity they adapt their form to that of any 

 other substance with which they may be in contact after having 

 been taken out of the water ; but shortly after their intestines 

 are removed, they lose all resemblance to their original form, 

 and amalgamate into an undistinguishable and indivisible 

 glutinous mass of the appearance and consistency of birdlime, 

 of which no use can be made, as it adheres to everything with 

 the tenacity of glue. 



There are several ways of preparing leche-de-mer for curing. 

 The most primitive is to steam it in a native's oven of hot 

 stone. This is made by scooping out a large hole in the earth, 

 in which the fire is made of small wood piled on its ends, 

 cocoa-nut husks, etc. Over this the stones are heaped, inter- 

 mixed with more wood and husks. Hard stones are preferred 

 when they are to be got, as they hold the heat better than 

 coral, and do not become calcined. When they are thoroughly 

 hot they are spread out over the bottom of the hole, the fish 

 is laid upon them as close as it will lie, and covered up, first 

 with large green leaves, and then with palm mats, and finally 

 with a mound of earth. This is the orthodox Polynesian 

 method of cooking everything, and this description of a beche- 

 de-mer oven will suffice for all the kitchens in Coral Lands. 



After the slug has been in the oven about an hour, it is 

 removed to the smoke-house. The steaming process has in 



