Malacoptekous Abdominals. FISHES. Halecoids. 1 47 
was confounded with the Meletta venenosa. In the 
Straits of Malacca the Tdrtibaa nepis has not been 
known to produce injurious effects. 
The Trubu of the Mala3's {Alausa toli) 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 which 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 
Bukit 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 
Trubu, and is sufficiently common in the neighbouring 
seas, but is found 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 fisher^', 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 draws 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, as well as the essential benefit of 
the surrounding population.” “ The roe, called Telur 
ikan in the Malayan markets, is, like the preparation 
of fermented fish and molluscs named Balachan, largely 
used by the IMalays 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 Europe.an Malayan settlements being 
from three to four Spanish dollars for the hundred 
roes. For export to China it is repacked between 
layers of salt and sprinkled with arrack. The roes are 
fried for use, being first soaked in water for half an 
hour. — (Cantor, Malay Fish.) The ngapwee of the 
Birmans is a strong-smelling condiment, prepared of 
fish like the Balachan. 
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 {Engraulis 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 affect 
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 Bylding and Moderlbse ; the 
Catalonians call it Roqueron 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 Antibes. The nets, which 
are like those used in the Sardine fishery, are 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 them 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 Engli.sh tables 
seems to be nearly the same with the garum of the 
Romans. Pliny says that this liquor, which 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, 
echinoderms, 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 they 
could be drank. 
A delicious condiment, famed in our Indian posses- 
sions under the name of “ Red-fish,” the Il:a,n merah 
of the Malays, is prepared at Bencoolen in the follow- 
ing manner from another species of Anchovy {Engraulis 
brownii, commersonianus or fasciata) termed Bddah 
or Bunga ayer 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 eight 
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 pepper, 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 
