FOREST AND STREAM. 
Jan. 30, 1909.] 
FRESH-WATER SHARKS. 
The waters around the city of Rochester 
abound with fish, and the citizens are all imbued 
with a love of angling, but when they go for a 
day’s sport and catch a shiny monster with 
wide open jaws bristling with teeth, and after 
a hard struggle land him at expense of a broken 
rod and damaged tackle, they wonder what the 
animal or fish can be, for but few local anglers 
are acquainted with the fresh-water shark or 
dog-fish. 
Then, after surveying the capture, they 
wonder if it is good to eat. When some old 
fisherman tells them that it is poisonous they 
toss the thing overboard in rage. Net fisher¬ 
men hate the dog-fish because he bites chunks 
out of the fish in their nets, and when a large 
one is within its meshes the fish will thresh 
around so that the net is often badly torn. 
Still, fishermen have their minnows or bait 
eagerly devoured by the voracious dog-fish, to 
whom anything in the line of food, from an 
empty can to a juicy worm is a dainty meal. 
When a small medium-sized dog-fish is 
caught it puts up a fight equal to that of a 
black bass, and it may not be landed without 
a hard struggle. The dog-fish generally 
travels in schools and devours fish eggs, small 
fish, strips fish and bait from set lines and 
conducts himself as if he was a first-class pirate 
king among the finny tribe. Other fish fly for 
safety when he appears, and the luck of the 
angler suddenly changes without visible reason. 
The strong mouth resembles in form that of a 
bullhead, and two small feelers project from 
the upper lip about half an inch apart. The 
body is covered with a smooth, glossy, dark 
yellowish skin, and on the tail is a large black 
spot. 
Notwithstanding the old fishermen’s asser¬ 
tion that dog-fish are worthless or poisonous 
to eat. there are some persons who like to try 
experiments with strange creatures, and they, 
after due trial, say that the dog-fish, if skinned 
and parboiled, is delicious food. A local fisher¬ 
man said to a Rochester Herald representative 
that “Many Hebrews in this city will buy dog¬ 
fish for food when they can get them in prefer¬ 
ence to black bass or pickerel, and they claim 
that they are equal to either in flavor when 
properly cooked.” 
.Since the partial stoppage of net fishing in 
the lakes and ponds, the dog-fish have rapidly 
increased in numbers, and of course the fisher¬ 
men claim that they destroy many thousands of 
game fish in a year. This fresh-water shark 
has been named dog-fish because it hunts in 
packs or couples, and when landed emits a 
short bark or cry resembling that of a dog. 
Dog-fish weighing 15 pounds have been taken 
in Irondequoit Bay, and little ones of one or 
two pounds are as common as “shiners.” 
’ THE UGLIEST FISH. 
[ _ Absolutely the ugliest creature in existence 
' is a fish inhabiting the warmer waters of the 
1 ocean from- the shores of India to Polynesia, 
j The natives of the Isle of France call it the 
“Fi-fi,” which is the equivalent of “hideous.” 
j Scientifically it is styled Synanceia verrucosa. 
I It is thus described by a distinguished natural- 
I ist: “It is not easy to imagine any living 
creature rnore frightfully repulsive than this. It 
looks as if it had been originally but an un- 
I developed idea of a fish only partially carried 
i out, with a body covered with tubercules. dis- 
j eased from confluent smallpox, and its surface 
I in an advanced stage of decomposition The 
I head of this creature is enormous in propor- 
I tion to the size of its body, and the skin, which 
j hangs loosely about it, is soft, spongy, warty, 
, and when touched adheres to the fingers as if 
i covered with glue. Its color is blackish, mottled 
‘ at random with white, gray and brown; some- 
^ times it is almost wholly black.” The octopus 
would appear to be almost a thing of beauty in 
comparison with this repulsive eccentricity of 
nature. 
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