2^4 Mindeskrift for J. Steenstrup. XXX. 



Of importance in judging of the nature of the poisonous stuff or stuffs is the faet, 

 that the animals can gradually be accustomed to taking larger and larger quantities 

 of it. Obviously antitoxins can be produced in the body of the dog, which counteract 

 the activity of the poison; in other words, the animal can to a certain degree become 

 immune and this gradually occurs spontaneously at piaces where the dogs have con- 

 stantly the opportunity of eating fresh shark meat. 



The poison however is soluble in water and can thus be extracted from the meat 

 by thorough washing. How far, on the other hånd, it is destroyed by heating to tem- 

 peratures below 100° is more doubtful. In any case the transformation here must pro- 

 ceed slowly ; for according to all reports the meat must be cooked in 2 to 3 different wa- 

 ters, before one can be certain that it is unpoisonous. It is most reasonable to assume, 

 that it is resistant to such a temperature. 



The usual method in practice of preparing the shark flesh so that it may gradually 

 lose its poisonous qualities, is to cut the meat into thin strips which are hung up to dry 

 in the sun and air; it thus loses its large quantity of water and gradually its poisonous 

 qualities disappear so that it becomes a rather good food for the dogs, though it must 

 still be used with caution and preferable mixed with a little blubber. 



Regarding the seat of the poison in the body of the shark we have the most diver- 

 gent opinions; some assume that it is only in the musculature, others that it is exclu- 

 sively present in the cartilage and again others that it is chiefly foimd in the peritoneal 

 and spinal fluids, as it has been found, that these fluids produce a severe pain when 

 received in the eye. A proper judgment on these matters, however, will only be 

 obtained by means of a special investigations of the poison, and such at the same time 

 would elucidate its chemical composition, its physiological properties and various, bio- 

 logical reactions". 



In earlier times the natives of Greenland ate shark meat in seasons of scarcity, 

 cooked or dried, but especially after it had been made half-way to putrify ; also the 

 cartilagineous parts were eaten. "Yet not all Greenlanders will eat the shark" writes 

 Fabricius 1780; and now a days this scarcely happens to any extent. As human food 

 the shark has now but little importance. Yet in winter, when the shark is "fat", 

 a little of the meat is cooked; but the cooking has to be complete and the "soup" 

 changed several times with fresh water, otherwise cases of poisoning may occur just 

 as with the dogs. 



After Fabricius the Greenlanders of his time used the rough skin of the shark 

 to pohsh the wooden tent-holders, and also bags were sewn of the skins to keep the 

 seal-blubber. — Of latest years the Royal Greenland tråde has made experiments 

 in tanning skins, sent to Copenhagen in salt; the spines may be taken off the skin, 

 but the procuring of serviceable leather of this has not hitherto succeeded. 



