NOTES AND QUERIES. 435 



of Sea-slug belonging to the genus Holothuria. There are several species. 

 The ordinary kind which is used for food {Holothuria edulis) resembles 

 somewhat a prickly cucumber in size and appearance, except that the colour 

 is a light brown with a yellow belly. Another kind is black. Sometimes 

 they are found nearly two feet in length ; but they are generally much 

 smaller, and about eight or ten inches may be taken as the average 

 length. The Trepang, when prepared for market, is an ugly-looking brown- 

 coloured substance, very hard and rigid, and can be eaten only after being 

 softened by water and a lengthened process of cooking, when it is reduced 

 to a sort of thick soup by the Chinese, who are very fond of it; and when 

 cooked by a Chinaman who understands the art it makes an excellent 

 dish, which the Europeans at Manila regard very highly. The preparation 

 of the Trepang for market is simple. They are boiled in water, either 

 salt or fresh, for about twenty minutes, and then sUt open, cleaned, and 

 dried. Those dried in the open air or sunshine bring a higher price than 

 those dried over a wood fire, which latter is the usual process adopted by 

 the Malays. Some varieties require boiling for only a few minutes, or till 

 they become firm to the touch. They must be dried thoroughly, as they 

 absorb moisture readily, and are then liable to become mouldy and spoil. 

 No one has yet attempted this fishing in the North Pacific, although 

 Trepangs abound in the waters along the north-western coast of America, 

 particularly in the region of the Queen Charlotte Islands and the Alexander 

 Islands of Alaska, as well as on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Some 

 time ago an Indian brought me two good specimens, which he had caught 

 at low tide near the end of the Mill Wharf at Point Hudson. I showed 

 them to several Chinamen, who at once pronounced them to be the best 

 quality of " Whetong," one of the Chinese names for the Trepang. When 

 properly cured they are a valuable food product, and will sell in Canton for 

 about forty-five dollars per ton. This indicates that there may be a deal of 

 money in the business, if rightly conducted, as a cargo of a hundred tons 

 could easily be cured at some places in a few months with a sufi&cient force 

 of Indians to collect them. The cost is simply to gather the Trepangs at 

 low tide, or have the Indians to do so, and then have them properly dried, 

 which is an easy process, though one requiring some care and skill. A few 

 inexpensive experiments will enable one to ascertain the correct way of 

 preparing these slugs, which will be likely to find a ready and lucrative sale 

 to the Chinese merchants. — J. G. Swan (Port Townsend, Washington). — 

 From the 'Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission' for 1886, p. 333 

 (1887). 



Ekbatum. — At page 392 of • The Zoologist ' for September, the specific 

 name for the Common Toad is inadvertently given as calamita. It should 

 of course be vidyaris, Bu/o calamita being the Natterjack. 



