FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 293 



Several fishes were immortalised by the ancients ; the 

 Murcena Hellena was raised in their ponds, and rendered 

 so tame that it came to be killed at the tinkling of his 

 master's bell or the sound of his voice, " Natat ad 

 magistrum delicata mursena," says Martial. Hirtius 

 <;eded six thousand of these fish to Caesar as a great 

 favour, and Vitellius delighted in their roe. One of the 

 mullets, M. cephalus, and its roe are now largely em- 

 ployed in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean coasts, 

 And the prepared roes have been mentioned in the 

 Chapter on Eggs, ante, p. 213. 



The mountain mullet of Jamaica {Bajaus monticola, 

 ■Cuv. and Val. ; Mtigil monticola, Bancroft) is a very deli- 

 cate fish. The flesh is remarkably sweet and white, 

 and the roe is a most recherche morsel. In general it is 

 found nearly as large as the fish itself. There are two 

 modes of dressing them for the table, first wrap them 

 Tip in a plantain leaf and put them in hot ashes, and 

 there let them remain for an hour, or they may be fried. 

 The fine large roes should not be treated in any other 

 -way for the gourmet. It is the best mode of preparing 

 them for the table. The mountain mullet weighs from 

 half a pound to a pound. The long-nosed mullet (Mvgil 

 albula, Cuv. and Val.) is the largest and perhaps the 

 sweetest. In the month of September they are in prime 

 order for the table. The king and queen mullets of 

 Jamaica are species of Upeneus, a sub-genus of Mulhis. 



The callipeva, or Jamaica salmon as it has been called, 

 a,nd the sea mullet, are rich and well tasted, and abound 

 with a thin yellow fat that gives them an excellent 

 flavour. The head and neck are a mass of rich, sweet 

 gelatinous substance, and scarcely any other fish can 

 compare in flesh and flavour with this fine delightful 

 specimen of the finny tribe. 



The callipeva (Mugel lizd) is a river mullet, seldom ex- 

 tending further than the embouchure of streams or into 

 the ponds and marshes. It is met with in some other 

 of the West Indian islands and Central America. 



Tunny. — The fishing for and employment of the tunny 



