Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-02-15

When Is iish not nshf
When it's an oyster.
What kind of a noise annoys an oys-
ter?
a noisy noise annoys an oyster,
Those are the riddles and those are
the answers which the people of Mary
land and Virginia are hurting back and
forth at one another over the boundary ,
line that divides the two states In
deed, the people who live along the |
water front of the two commemorative |
and find their living in what they can |
pick out of the sea are at war over the |
question.
Is an oyster a fish In law? That is |
the question. witty folks who have |
followed the discussion through all the
long arguments to which ii mas given
rise are ready to concede that an oys-
ter may be fish's son-in-law. but hold
that he is not fish in law or in any
| thing else. An oyster is an oyster, and
a fish is a fish, and there is just as
much difference between the two as
| there is between the elephant and the
| kangaroo.
MARYLAND VS. VIRGINIA.
SO say the Marylanders, and so also
say the scientists. Virglnians, how
ever, hold the contrary view, and on
their side they claim the supreme
| court of the United States and the
Catholic church. The knowledge of
the faculty of the John Hopkins uni
versity has been called into the contro-
versy, and John Hopkins, being
Baltimore institution, was probably
glad to throw the weight of its opinion
in favor of Maryland's side in the
dispute.
II don't know what an oyster is
legally or religiousy," said the eminent
| biologist of that institution, but scien-
tlncally he certainly is not fish. a
fish is vertebrate to start with and an
oyster is not. The oyster is a mollusk.
The difference between the two then. Is
that one has a backbone, while the
| other has not and in the animal king
dom there is nothing that puts two
creatures farther apart than that one
point. OF course an oyster is not
fish,
"The difference between the oyster
and the fish is the difference between
the June bug and the fish," was the re-
mark of w. ~ Locey, professor of
biology in Northwestern University.
with biologists Their is no dispute over
this question, The oyster is not n fish.
1t is far down the line In the list of
soft bodied animals while the fish be
longs to the class having backbone.
If the people of Maryland and Virginia
will pOstpone q settlement for q few
million years perhaps the oyster will
then have evoulted into n great class
of which the fish Is now n member
Is
Bible classification Is in opposition to
biologists, and the church may regard
oysters and crabs as fish In n liberal
construction. but Their is only one point
of resemblance-thcy both live in
water"
Against the contention of the Mary
landers In this matter though, is the
eminent Cardinal Gibbons, who speaks
for the church Of Rome.
OPINION OF THE CHURCH.
"The church has always regarded
fish, oysters and crabs as belonging
to the same genus, and therefore per
Missile as food on fast days and in
Lent. They all live in the water and
are all alike-cold hlooded. Indeed. the
church permits the use for food of
nearly all kinds Of living creatures
that are taken out OF the water, IN
; Guiding terrapin. In some sections the
law is stretched, notably In New Or
leans. where a certain kind of water
fowl Is permitted to be eaten on fast
days, because 1t has n fishy taste"
In addition to this the Virglnians in
terested claim the support of the Unit
ed States Supreme court FOR their sidt
t of the argument ana their contention
that an oyster is fish.
"Of course oysters are fish," said q
: high official of the state. THAT was
decided by the supreme court in the
case of Wharton. Marylander who
Virginia side of the PDcomoke Sound
The compact OF 1855, under which
Wharton was arrested, referred in
terms only to fishing in the Potomac
river and Pocomoke sound. The SUI
preme court says: 1T is conceded that
the right of fishing, when not qualified
3 extends to the taking OF both floating
fish and shell fish, and in another part
of the courts opinion, in spe king Of
the powers of Virginia In Focomok,
sound II says that the state has pow
ers to pass all necessarily laws fol
the protection OF fish therein. whether
floating or she'll The court In thi;
opinion clearly puts oysters In tn,
genus fish, designating the two specie;
as floating and shell fish"
ALWAYS IN DISPUTE.
This question about genus OF tn,
oyster arises with every sitting OF tn,
legislatures of Maryland and Virginia
1t Is always In dispute and has been III,
occasion OF the shedding OF blood. Con
nected with It il the boundary dispute
which involves valuable oyster beds II
the PocomolSe sound. The question 1.
! kept perpetually open by the man,