%o6 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November 2, 1891. 
or Myrica, identical witli the species so 'common on 
our Atlantic sea-board, and of Baccliaris, similar to, 
although distinct from, our sea-board species* Tall 
specimens of the Bermuda Palm which, next to the 
Juniper, is the most interesting plant of the islands, 
appear here and there among the Cedars, and the 
ground beneath the shrubs is covered with a luxuriant 
growth of Ferns— with the Bracken (Pteris a(juilina) 
with fronds four or five feet tall, with numerous clusters 
of the great Marsh Fern (Acrostiium aureum), and with 
the rare and local Devonshire Marsh Fern {Aspidium 
Capense). These marshes and their inhabitants are 
very beautiful, more beautiful, certainly, than any 
Other part of the islands, and as the sunlight plays 
through their open glades on the pale trunks of the 
great trees, they offer contrasts of color and afford 
eflects of light and shade which our picture does not 
convey and which words cannot paint. — Garden and 
Forest. 
OUR FRESH-WATER FISH AS FOOD— I. 
(By Wyveen.) 
Seeing that we possess in the rivers and tanks of 
Southern India several varieties of fish which, if 
properly treated, would form most certainly a valuable 
addition to our food, it has occurred to me that a 
few words on the subject may be useful. That the 
capabilities of our fresh-water fish — from a gastro- 
nomic point of view — are practically ignored by the 
majority of my fellow countrymen in India will, I 
think, be admitted. To many such food is distaste- 
ful on account of its alleged muddiness, lack of firm- 
ness, and the nuisance often caused by its numerous 
bones. Most, if not all, of the evils which cause 
these objections can be overcome with a little care, 
and I hope to show that many a tasty dish can be 
concocted with fishes which have hitherto been look- 
ed upon as not worth the trouble of cooking. It 
goes without saying that the observations I am about 
to make cannot be very interesting to those who 
live within immediate reach of the " harvest of the 
sea," or to whom sea-fish is brought by the railway. 
They are, of course, addressed most particularly to 
the large number of Anglo-Indian exiles who do not 
enjoy either of these advantages, to inspecting officials, 
tourists, and sportsmen, whose duty or pleasure takes 
them into remote districts, and obviously to those 
who live permanently at a distance from canton- 
ments. 
Mr. H. S. Thomas who, as everyone knows, has 
done yeoman's service to his brethren of the angle 
out here by his able instructions in regard to the 
capture of fish, gives in Chapter VIII of his less 
expensive work on I'ank Anglwn a very complete 
resume of .their "names, description, and habit." 
This compendium should be studied carefully by all 
who desire to add fresh-water fish to their ordinary 
diet, for independently of the valuable information 
it affords as to the vernacular names of fishes it fre- 
quently indicates the varieties which posses a repu- 
tation for their edible qualities. I believe that I am 
right in saying that there is not much difficulty in 
obtaining fresh-water fish in this part of India. If 
the tourist be no angler himself, the cliances are that 
there is a member of his retinue who can catch 
fish easily enough. Mahomedans are often clever 
fishermen, and among peons, watchmen, and pen- 
sioned sepoys you frequently fi' d a man of this dis- 
position. Netting is, of course, practised in all 
directions by the villagers, and in many places for 
a few annas a miscellaneous draught of fishes can 
without difficulty be brought into camp. Let us now 
see what can be done with them. Few men who 
have ever practised the gentle craft of angling have 
failed to read that most excellent work. The Complete 
Angler, by Isaak "Walton, and Charles Cotton (1676); 
and in doing ho must surely have observed the care 
will) which the authors described the methods of 
dresning the various fish to the capture of which 
tlicy devoted thomsclvea. Their recipes, now more 
than two hundred years old, can scarcely be im- 
proved upon, notwithstanding the advance that has 
been made in culinary science. In the first place, 
they continually insist upon the necessity of dressing' 
fresh-water fish as soon as possible after capture, 
and there can be no doubt that this is correct notwith- 
standing a strange idea that some people entertain 
that salmon, pike, and certain other varieties of Eng- 
lish fresh- water fish, are better if kept for at least 
a day. Another point is the speedy removal of the 
viscera. The fish intended for the table should be 
killed at the water-side at once, and then emptied, 
the liver alone being saved. It should then be wiped 
dry with a cloth, and sent up to the camp or bun- 
galow forthwith with directions to the cook for its 
treatment. If large enough, fresh-water fish should 
certainly be crimped as soon as killed, i.e., scored with 
a sharp knife, transversely from head to tail, on 
each side nearly to the bone, the cuts being about 
two inches apart according to the .size of the fish. 
A douche of the coldest water available should follow, 
and a plunge in the stream in a cool shady spot 
for a quarter of an hour. Crimping should be carried 
out before the fish stiffens. The process renders 
the flesh "firmer and orisper," (says Sir Humphrey 
Davy) "by preserving the irritability of the fibre." 
while the speedy removal of the intestines, and the 
grass and weeds, on which the fish has been feeding, 
from its throat goes far to destroy the muddy taste, 
and to nullify any unwholesome effect that may arise 
from the sort of food it may have been eating. Old 
Isaak inveighed very strongly against allowing a fish 
to soak in water after it had once been cleansed, 
pointing out that such a practice " abated much of 
its sweetness." Speedy cooking after cleaning was 
his maxim. 
Boiling fresh-water fish is less to be recommended 
than baking, stewing, broiling, roasting, or frying it. 
Sir Henry Thompson shows in his admirable treatise 
on Food and FeedAny that much of the nutritious ele- 
ment is lost by this process, notwithstanding that 
you plump the fish into hoil ing &3Xt and water to secure 
as much as possible its juices and flavour. Neverthe- 
less, it may occasionally happen that you have no 
other alternative. If so, remember the boiling salt and 
water. If instead of water you can prepare a court 
louillon so much the better. This is a species of 
stock with vegetable flavouring and wine. For the 
stock I would use the trimmings of fish, heads, fins, 
tails, and any sort of fish that may on account of 
its boniness be considered to be beyond the pale of 
cookery. Onions, and any available vegetable, should 
be boiled with the fish, and a little white wine, such 
as chablis, sauterne, or hock, may be added. Instead 
of white wine a glass of claret can be used, and, if 
that be impossible, one of vinegar. In camp there 
may be difficulties in regard to some of the ingre- 
dients I have named, but the principles can be ob- 
served as far as possible. A bottle of dried sweet 
herbs ought always to be included in the camp store- 
box. In cantonments, of course, matters can be man- 
aged simply enough. If the supply of milk be 
cheap and" plentiful, court bouillon a la Nantaise may 
be tried, i. e. — milk and water in equal parts, with 
pepper and salt to taste. 
Baking can generally be accomplished by Eama- 
sawmy in camp under difficulties that would petrify 
his European brother; roasting on the spit, too, he 
can manage successfully; while stewing and broiling 
cause less trouble than either of the two former 
processes, and may perhaps suit his appliances 
more readily. In camp there is, as a rule, no little 
difficulty in frying fish, for the medium can rarely be 
got in sufficient quantity. Ghee will probably be the 
only kind proem able, and if perfectly fresh andsweetthis 
may be used for dressing small fry such as the Chela 
(tryaw (ea (Tam : Vellachee), C. clvpeoides {Ta,m : Netteli), 
the gudgeon, Gohiusgiuris (Tam: Ulave), and fillets of 
various fishes. Dipping in milk and flouring wiU be 
found far better than bread-crumbing, and bid your 
cook to be good enough not to spoil "the fry" by the 
condiments he loves to introduce when frying fish, the 
delicate flavour of which cannot withstand the in- 
terference of turmeric. For example, an old Anglo- 
Indian recipe for a "frying batter" propounds that 
