The Washington times., 1894-06-03
SHAD LIVE ON PETROLEUM.

The Delaware Is Filled with Oil and the
Fish Taste Bad.
Every Individual shad which has plowed
It's way up the Delaware river during the past
ten days. and every lucky shad which had
escaped the nets of the astute Gloucester FISH,
ermen up to that time, is now living on a
mixed diet of Jersey mud and petroleum oil
and owes a deep gratitude to the recent severe
storm for saving his life. They are safe. be-
cause they are chock full of bad havors and
when yesterday the fishermen drew in their
nets and with sad reluctance hung them up
to dry until the weather settles or the public
cutivates a taste for kerosene u shad copven-
tion met to pray for more rain.
The swollen river last week kept the over
flow from oil retneries and the refuse of all
sorts which reaches the river from being car
ned out il 10 the ocean, and il also washed
into the Gu. re- At the accumulations along the
banks and from the many sewers. The waters
were darkened with all sorts Of evil materials,
and the worst part of 1t all was that the un-
fortunate condition OF things did not improve
as the days passed and the clouds kept on
dropping rain.
The fishermen continued to fish during the
storm. and when their first catch was distrib-
uted they learned to their surprise and sorrow
that their shad had imbibed too much oil to
Dt ttlult, anu WtTt pOSstsseu Ol d uaNOr
which their customers strenuously objected
to. The old-time Gloucester folks had never
heard OF such n thing before, but when one
OF them touched a match to u fre5hy-caught
shad and saw it burn up before his own eyes
lie became convinced that something was
wrong.
At big dinner given in Gloucester on
Monday the toothsome dish of planked shad
played havoc with the stomachs of 100
guests. who were obliged to make a meal of
vegetables and profanity without dressing.
The proprietor OF the hotel earnestly ex-
planned to them that he was in nowise respon-
sble for the depravity of the fish. and then
went out to dump all the olive oil he had in
the Delaware in order to tempt the shad into
changing their diet.
All similar dinner parties have been broken
up. and now menus have been prepared for
those to be held In future. The fish which
reach this city are in the same condition and
dealers handle them with as much care Us
they would sticks OF dynamite. No fire of
any kind is permitted to touch them and it
still remains secret as to what becomes of
tho housewife when she pokes them over the
redhot Goals in her range. Those left on his
hands the economical dealer refines and uses
in his kerosene lamps.
Down at Gloucester yesterday the fisher
men sat all day long on the river banks and
smoked and talked about the new order of
tnlnSS. 1nat Snau should nave the Intel
ligence to fill himself full of petroleum in
order to bear the fish market was something
none of them would believe, and conversa-
tion turned on the best and speediest remedy
to correct the evil
Old Dad proposed to distribute cloves in
the river. so that a shad could take one after
each meal and Uncle William Pollock thought
that Camden council should APP ropriate
enough money to dIsinfect the river. The
suggestion that the mammoth fisheries on
Fancy Hill should be turned into an oil re-
inery also met with favor. and some one of
these things may be done before the had sea-
son ends.
The waters of the river have gone down a
great deal during the last few days, and the
oil is said to be passing out, but it is Il dis
puted question as TO whether the astute shad.
having discovered safety in a steady diet of
petroleum. won't pass out with it. Until the
question is settled the melancholy fact that
the Gloucester fishermen are out of work and
are spending their leisure in studying the
science of ABSORPTION may be accepted by
those who know good shad when it is
cooked.-Philadelphi Times.