Malacoptekous Abdominals. - 



-FISHES.- 



-Halecoids. 



147 



was coufoundeJ with the Mektla venenosa. In the 

 Straits of Malacca the Tdinhan ncpis lias uot been 

 liuowLi to produce injurious ollects. 



Tlie Truhu of the Malays (Alausa toll) is called 

 Shad or Sable-fish by the English settlers, and is 

 valued for its flavour ; it is rich, though oily and full 

 of bones. In the Indian Archipelago it is the object 

 of an important fishery, principally for the sake of its 

 roe. It is the Shad whicli Mr. Crawfurd mentions as 

 frequenting the great river Siak in Sumatra, and of 

 which the roe, that grows to an enormous size, consti- 

 tutes when dried an article of commerce. The Suma- 

 tran Shad is described in Moor's " Notices of the 

 Indian Archipelago" in the following passage : — " At 

 r.ukit Batu, opposite Malacca, within the strait formed 

 by the island of Bankalis, exists an extensive fishery 

 well known in this part of the world. The fish which 

 is the object of it is called in the Malayan language 

 Tnibu, and is sufficiently common in the neighbouring 

 seas, but is fouud in roe only here. The Trubu, 

 about a cubit long, is taken in three or four fathoms 

 of water on a mud bank. About three hundred boats 

 are engaged at all seasons in the fishery, with the 

 exception of four days during dead neap-tides. The 

 roes are an article of trade seaward, and the dried 

 fishes are sent into the interior of Sumatra. The rajah 

 of Siak di-aws a revenue of seventy-two thousand guilders 

 yearly from a fixed duty on the quantity taken. From 

 the amount of this duty the quantity of fish caught is 

 ascertained to be between fourteen and fifteen millions. 

 It seems a little remarkable that the spirit of European 

 monopoly never should have fastened upon so promis- 

 ing an object of gain. The fishery, from its peculiar 

 nature, is probably quite inexhaustible, and might 

 unquestionably be prodigiously improved by European 

 skill and industry, and this, too, not only without 

 detriment but to the great improvement of the revenue 

 of the native prince, aa well as the essential benefit of 

 the surrounding population." " The roe, called Tclur 

 ikan in the Jlalayan markets, is, like the preparation 

 of fermented fish and molluscs named Baladiwi, largely 

 used by the Malays and Chinese to render their food 

 palatable, and it is no less a favourite relish with Euro- 

 peans. In Sumatra the roe is prepared as follows : — It 

 is thoroughly salted when fresh, and next dried until 

 only a slight moisture remains, in which state it is 

 pressed closely by hundreds in a cask for exportation, 

 the price in the European Malayan settlements being 

 from three to four Spanish dollars for the liundred 

 roes. For export to China it is repacked between 

 layers of salt and sprinkled with arrack. The rocs are 

 fried for use, being first soaked in water for half an 

 hour. — (Cantor, Malay Fish.) The ngapwce of the 

 Birmans is a strong-smelling condiment, prepared of 

 lish like the Balaclian. 



The Moss-bonker {Alausa menhaden) is taken in 

 vast numbers on the coasts of New Jersey, and a valu- 

 able oil being obtained from them by pressure, the 

 residue is used for manure. Sometimes a fresh fish is 

 placed in each maize hillock, with the certainty of pro- 

 ducing a luxuriant crop. — {Baird.) 



The Anchovy {Ewjraulis encrasicholus), a well- 

 known fish in commerce, is an inhabitant of the British 



seas, and was formerly more abundant there than it is 

 at the present time. Several statutes were passed in 

 the reign of William and Mary for the regulation of its 

 fisheries, but enough is not at present caught to alTect 

 the home market, either from inattention, or because 

 the species has become too scarce to repay the cost of 

 a proper fishery. It was plentiful on the coasts of 

 Brittany a century ago, though no longer so ; but it is 

 still an inhabitant of all the northern seas, from Green- 

 land and Norway southwards, and is so abundant in 

 the Mediterranean that the whole world is supplied 

 from thence. In Sweden it goes by the name of Ans- 

 jovis ; in Denmark of Bijliing and ModcrVuse ; the 

 Catalonians call it Roqiieroii and Anchoa ; at Nice it is 

 named Anchoa; and in the Crimea Chanisa. The 

 greatest quantities are taken on the coast of Dalmatia, 

 and the fisheries of it are very productive in the seas 

 of Sicily, Corsica, Elba, and Autibes. The nets, which 

 are like those used in the Sardine fishery, arc shot in 

 the night, and all the boats carry lanterns. 



To prepare the Anchovies they are thrown into 

 great tubs full of pickle, from whence the workmen 

 take thera one by one, with much dexterity decapitate 

 them with the thumb nail and pass them to the packers, 

 who with equal adroitness lay them side by side in 

 small kegs, alternating with layers of salt. In a few 

 days they are sufficiently impregnated with the salt, 

 and the kegs are then headed in for exportation. The 

 Anchovy sauce so indispensable for English tables 

 seems to be nearly the same with the tjarum of the 

 Romans. Pliny says that this liquor, wdiich he calls 

 " precious" and " exquisite," was the putrid exudations 

 of the intestines and other ejected parts of the fish, 

 called by the Greeks garon. A garum made on the 

 African coast from the Tunny or some other Scom- 

 beroid, was prized in noble families next to the dearest 

 ointments. 



Alex was an inferior garum imperfectly strained 

 from the dregs, and was frequently made clandestinely 

 from small fishes of little price, and also from oysters, 

 eohinoderms, crabs, and the refuse of mullets, being of 

 more or less value according to its mode of preparation. 

 Some kinds of alex were so soft and pleasant that tliey 

 could be drank. 



A delicious condiment, famed in our Indian posses- 

 sions under the name of " Red-fish," the Ikan merah 

 of the Malays, is prepared at Bencoolen in the follow- 

 ing manner from another species of Anchovy {Engraulis 

 hrownii, commersonianus or fasciata) termed Bddah 

 or Baiuja oyer by the Malay fishermen. Middle-sized 

 fishes are preferred, and after the heads have been 

 removed they are deposited in flat, glazed, earthen 

 vessels, with salt in the proportion of one part to ciglit 

 of fish. They are then covered with plantain leaves 

 or thin boards, upon which stones are laid, and this 

 pressure is continued for three days ; after which the 

 fishes are taken out and soaked in vinegar made from 

 cocoa palm-toddy, with an addition of ginger powder, 

 and bruised or entire black pepiter, some brandy, and 

 powdered "red rice." After three days more the 

 fishes are placed in bottles or jars, a little more vinegar 

 is added, and the air carefully excluded. The condi- 

 ment should be kept five months before it is used. It 



