Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1899-09-08
POISONOUS FISH
Varieties In Cuban and West Indian
Waters of EVIL Reputation.

Waters of EVIL Reputation.
There is a belief among the fshermeH
Of Cuba that some of the fsh there are
poisonous. II asked the cause, one re-
ply is that there is SO much copper IN
the water that it poisons the-fish. This
is hsherman's reason, yet the fact
holds that in all waters there are nsn
that are poisonous. In Cuban waters
the jack-Caranx-is a common table
fish On the Florida reef all kinds are
eaten, and one rarely hears of poiS.
onous fish, yet in Havana there Is a
law which prevents the sale of jacks
of over two pounds, for the reason thai
n poisonous Caranx exists which at.
tains "A weight of twenty-five pounds,
This, when the law is enforced, cuts
out of the Cuban dietary number of
fishes
The poisonous jack is known to sci
ence as Caranx fallax. Its common
name In Cuba being juvee. Ii is diff
cult for the iaymen to distinguish be-
tween the poisonous and onpoisonous
jacks. Another jack. Caranx plumiera,
commonly seen in the Havana marker
under the name of chicaro. is readily
eaten, but according TO DIR. HornemanA
the natives of the West Indies are
afraid to eat 1t at certain seasons. Az
Guadalupe. as an example. II IL eaten
at times without i'll effect, while al
other times the flesh assumes cop
perry hue. the bones turn red and IL Is
exceedingly poisonous, so much SO
that DIR Hornemann states that II Is
used to poison rats
DR. Oscar Tybring has collected
much interesting information on this
subject. and special attention Is given
to emphasize the fact that some fishes
are poisonous Mt certain times. The
writer's belief is that locality has much
TO do with it. During several years
residence at Garden Key, seventy
miles from Cuba. an instance OF any
ones being poisoned by the local fishes
was never heard of by him. The bar
racuda was ut all times considered a
fine table fish. but a fisherman from
Cuba who fish down the the channel
islands. could hardly be induced to
take large specimens of the fish, which
he said were poisonous around Cuba.
one form, which attainS a length or
twelve or more feet, was considered
especially poisonous. This fish, which
was invariably found to be good
table fish In Florida. was regarded
with suspicion in Bahama. one or
the signs OF poison given Is "black at
the roots of the sharp teeth" but this
sign has no meaning in Florida. The
barracuda Is common In Rio. and. ac-
cording to Mericourt, some of the men
of n French frigate We're badly poiS-
oned by eating IT,
The INJURIES in Florida. snake-like
cells of ferocious appearance and ma,
tire. are often said to he poisonous.
but the writer experimental with
them and found them palatable If one
could forget the snake-like mouth.
white, leopard-like markings and the
certainly disagreeable features or the
fsK This was. the fish that was 50
esteemed by the old Romans: yet 1t
was impossible TO induce fisherman
ON the outer reef to eat hurry. and
some affirmed that those around the
Bahamas were deadly poison.
Certain localities have become no.
torious for their poisonous fish. as the
Cape of Good Hope where the crews
of vessels are invariably warned not 10
eat the fish: anHin cases observed here
the symptoms We're remarkably ike
those of cholera. The richly colored
fishes have an evil reputation every
where. but this certainly does not APP
ply to the Florida species. According
to Hornemann. poisonous species are
known ut the Isle IF France. III the
Antilles. and in China and Japan. lie
mentions two species in the waters OF
the SEYCHELLES. At Guadalupe one or
the car fisheS-belone cariboea-lS
known as poisonous fish: yet the
writer preferred 1t to all the small
fishes and never heard the fish men
toned in Florida as being poisonous.
That It is so I'm other localities there
can be no doubt rs DR.. Hornemann
saws that ii is especially dangerous
during the spawning season, and that
the roe should be avoided. He quotes
cases where people in San Domingo
have died from eating the fish. and adj
vises sailors TO avoid fishes of this
kind
In Japanese waters several fish are
said to be poisonous. especially En-
yraulis japonica. which IL dangerous
from July TO September. and In almost
every foreign country fish will be
found that are avoided On the Amer
lean coast true cases of poisonous fish
are undoubtedly very rare. and. put
ting prejudice and legend aside. the
list of so-called poisonous fishes would
be very materially reduced.