BY THE REV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS. 35 



There are a few more words yet to be said about isinglass, and 

 my apology for saying so much is, that by giving extensive 

 information, I may make these essays of more practical value to 

 Malaysia. It is necessary to know what isinglass is, so that the 

 character of the export may be increased in value, by knowing 

 how to purify it. Isinglass is a word, the clue to whose etymology 

 is found in the Dutch language, where huizen means a sturgeon, 

 and bias a bladder. The Malays call it Palongpong ikan, or Ari 

 ari ikan ; the Chinese, if. kdu (Cantor says Loo-pa, but I know 

 not upon what authority). It was known to the ancients, who 

 called it Ichthyokolla (Ix^vs, a fish, KoXXa, glue). Dioscorides, who is 

 supposed to have lived in the reign of Nero, mentions it under 

 this name. He wrote a work on the Materia Medica* in which 

 he mentions isinglass. I cannot quote the passage, but I will 

 quote what is said by Pliny in his Natural History, which was 

 probably written about the same time. " Ichthyokolla is the name 

 given to a fish with a glutinous skin, the glue from which is also 

 known by the same name, and is highly useful for the removal of 

 epinyctis. Some persons, however, assert that it is from the 

 stomach of the fish and not the skin (as in the case of Bull Glue), 

 that the Ichthyokolla is prepared. That of Pontus is highly 

 esteemed ; it is white, free from veins or scales, and dissolves with 

 the greatest rapidity. The proper way to use it is to cut it into 

 small pieces and then let it soak in water or vinegar for a night 

 and day, after which it should be pounded with sea-shore pebbles, 

 to make it melt more easily. It is generally asserted that this 

 substance is good for pains in the head and tetanus." Bk. 32. 

 Ch. 24-5. 



This passage has a double interest, as showing the antiquity of 

 the controversy about the origin of isinglass, and how ancient is 

 the trade in this material from what is now a part of Russia. If 

 the proper nature of the tissues which produce isinglass had been 

 understood, and the fish that produced it were better known, both 

 the Malayan and Indian trade in the article, with a little careful 



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