76 SEA FISH OF TRINIDAD 



What a contrast to the hurly-burly outside! There had 

 been recently heavy seas and plenty of rain, so the beach was 

 clean, as clean, possibly, as it would have been if the 50 maids 

 of the Walrus and Carpenter ballad had been employed on it, 

 just a few sea-borne logs here and there. In places, torn up 

 and spread out by the tide were heaps of chip-chip, a small 

 shell-fish with which the East coast cooks concoct a most 

 delicious and nutritious soup, pretty, rose-tinted shells 

 attached to the end of a coralline 15 ins., or 18 ins. long, 

 purple bivalves, with graceful spines projecting from them 

 (Cytherea Dione), and nimiberless other objects of joy to the 

 curiosity hunter. Five miles from where we turned on to 

 the Manzanilla beach, and we arrived at the great house of 

 the Cocal, the residence of our genial old friend, L. E. B., the 

 manager of the property, generally called King Coco in the 

 quarter, on account of his extreme devotion to, and care of, 

 that valuable palm and product. He received us with open 

 arms, and, after offering libations to Bacchus, we took a walk 

 through his favourite groves to the Nariva, which runs at 

 the back and parallel with the Cocal, to look into the fishing 

 prospects, as I had heard great tales of giant tarpon, grouper 

 and cat-fish, the latter equal in size to those of the Mississippi 

 80 lbs. in weight, but fisherman, beware!!!! the poison barb, 

 a wound from it can hardly be healed. L. E. B. told us that 

 some four weeks previously, his men had harpooned and 

 killed a "manatee" or sea-cow in the mouth of the river, 

 about 600 lbs. in weight, and showed us the hide, which had 

 just been returned to him from Port of Spain, where it had 

 been tanned. It was really fine, strong leather, looking as 

 if it would last for ever, judging by a pair of buggy traces he 

 had made out of it. 



Our host was very keen on the cultivation of the coco-nut, 

 and as I had realized for some time past, that it is at present 

 and will probably remain for some time the most profitable 

 of tropical plants, the conversation was very interesting to 

 me. My own impression is, that the chemists having over- 

 come the inversion that usually took place in the freshly ex- 

 pressed oil of the coco-nut some twenty-four hours after 

 manufacture, and the result of this discovery being the thou- 



