The morning call., 1892-04-14
CALIFORNIA FOOD FISHES.
A Talk With the Man Who Is to Prepare
the Exhibit for the Worlds Fair.

A Talk with the Man Who Is to Prepare
the Exhibit for the Worlds Fair.
Alfred La Motto OF Glen Ellen, Sonoma
County, who has been selected to prepare
California fishes for exhibition at the
Worlds Fair, has taken temporary quarters
at the rooms of the State Board of Trade.
In conversation with representative of
THE CALL Yesterday Mr.. La Motto said
that lie would be ready to commence the
work Of preparing specimens next week.
You see," said this Well-known ichthy-
ologist, ''the preparation Of an exhibit such
as this will be requires DOT only great deal
of time. but great deal of patience and
care. / have been delayed 10 the matter
because it is expected that the Government
will in this instance remit the tax on pure
spirits to be used in the preserving of the
fishes. and that will be quite An item, as q
great deal OF pure spirits VIII have to be
used. The fishes will be exhibited in clear
glass Jars that are feet in height. Tie
fish will be prepared in a manner to pre-
serve all the bright colors, then they will
be suspended TO hook fastened ia
the lips and on each jar will be printed the
commercial name Of the fish and the locality
from which it was procured. Scientific
names will be avoided and viii only be used
In catalogue to be made up of the many
varieties, For instance. If there is a jar
containing t0mc0d It Will not be labeled
"Morrhua Pruinosa," but will have label
on which will appear in plain letters tom
cod"
The exhibit will be made of all kinds of
fishes of the State, will ii not?"
THE principal portion of the exhibit will
consist of the food fishes of the rivers OF the
State, the lakes ana the bays and the ocean
along the California coast. II l receive
some very fine specimen that is not OF the
edible class, but will make very fine show,
1t will 90 into a Jar. There Will be speci-
mems from every fishing point on the coast.
San Diego offers to send great variety.
There is a greater traffic in food fish in this
State than what people generally have any
idea Of Why, San Francisco alone handles
in round numbers 100000 pounds annually,
and this is represented by 80 varieties of
table fish"
1.-The fish," continued Mr.. La Motto, sis
first emptied, then filled with absorbent
cotton to give the the natural rotundity
and then put into solution, different kinds
of fish requiring different solutions. These
have to be prepared with O view 10 retain
ing the beautiful cOl0Ting, and the solution
will have TO be changed several times be-
fore the specimens are rea dy for shipment,
SO you can see that that alone will entail
great deal OF labor. To do the work / shall
have TO have two assistants. Some Of the
specimens will have to be handled with the
greatest Of care. Some Of the fishes are so
delicate that in the matter of packing them
Tor transportation they viii have to be
wrapped in the finest kind of cloth. some
thing after the style of a mummy. and great
care will have to be taken that not piece
Of string is tied around the fsh, for where
string might he tied it would leave white
mark. After the fish is bandaged it will
have to be hanged In the jar and the sides
filed with soft material to hold the speci-
men in place aud prevent it from chafing
There is one thing about this matter that |
do not relish very much, and that is the
proposition to have dress parade Of the
exhibits in this city before they are sent on
to the Worlds Fair. In tbs matter of this
particular exhibit, it will entail double la Dor
for to move them from here TO the Pavilion
will require as much packing IS TO move
them to Chicago"