Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1904-04-15
ANCIENT FISH CURES
MEDICINAL VIRTUES THAT USED TO
DECK THE FlNNY TRIBE.

Not the least interesting are the con
slant references Of the early writer's TO
the medicinal virtues OF fish. OF course
es mentioned by the old writer's are
not recognized in the waters of today.
but the fresh water perch, carp, tencb
and eel are yet recognized, and it is in
connection with these fish that some
of the quaintest ideas as TO their me
dicinal virtues have prevailed.
The Germans have a comparative
provcrb which says, more wholesome
than perch of the Rhine" and ii Is
certain that from the earliest times
this familiar fish has been esteemed as
one OF the best gastronomic produc-
tons Of fresh water. Ii has also been
ascribed medicinal virtues. Gesner says
that physicians value the perch SO
much that they recommend it to he
freely eaten 10y wounded men, women
i'm childbed and those suffering from
dangerous fevers. Aldrovandus praises
il and mentions that the two otOoliths
Ground bones') found In the head of
the perch are maryelously good for
stone I'm the bladder.
That the carp was esteemed in olden
times in England is certain. Dame
Berners, writing in her quaint Urea
tysec of Eysshynge Myth an Angle
published in 1896. says, The carpe be
dcyntous fish, but there ben few in
Englonge." Being "dcyntous'-i O..
dainty" must have been a good fish
at that time to eat 1t has certainly
lost its character since then.
In the art Of healing the carp plays a
! respectable part. one old writer speaks
| of the fat of the carp as being of mi
raculous power for the alienation Of
'hot rheumatism The manner Of It's
application was 10y frequent rubbing
on the painful part and the effect was
said 10 Dee eminently modifying and
salutary. The triangular bones I'm the
throat of the carp on being ground to
powder and applied to wound or
bleeding nose were said 10 act as styp
t Ine eaU WAS also said to have
been used for sore eyes. and above
! tho eyes" says am old .Esculapius.
"two little bones exist. semicircular in
shape. which are diligently preserved
/ by noble females against the lunaucal
disease"
In the "Havcn of Health carp are
also comprised I'M "thc ten sortes OF
nsche which are rcckoned as principal
| I'm the preservation of health and.
adds the quaint old writer, "this fish
is of great wholo~omcness and great
value and its tongue is very pleasant
10 carping ladies'"
\ kind Of first cousin OF the carp j.
what is known MS the barbel. such
| ancicnts as Juvcnal, Albertus and 9th
ers of that ilk evidence that it was
| known and esteemed 10y the Roman
| gourmet. Plutarch mentions n curious
fact i'm its natural history. Or. Bad
| ham in his Prose IIaleutics' trans
| lates this passage as follows: The roc
of the barbel is very poisonous. Anto
| Mo GaZlus took two bOluscs and thus
| describes his sensations: At first l felt
| no Inconvenience but some hours hay
| Ing elapsed | began TO be disagreeably
affected, and as my stomach swelled
and could not be brought down by
anise and carminatives was soon in a
state of great depression and distress.
1t appears that his countenance was
| pallid, like a man in a swoon. Deadly
| GOODNESS ensued, and violent cholera
| and vomiting came on. The barbeI
| Barbus vulgaris) OF today has survived
| such poisonous qualities. Its flesh has
the taste Of stewed white blotting pa
| per, and its roe is as innocuous as
| bread pills.
All the same. good Julyana Berners
shared the bad opinion of the earlier
writer's She says: The barbyll IS a
swete fish. but it is quashy mete
| and perry lous for mannys bodye. Fol
| comynly he myth an introduction to
| We febris fever, and II ye be eten
rave he may cause OF mannys dethe
| whych hath often beone scene
] The tcnch which has been introduced
into some parts of this country is an
olive greenish carp which has been for
| long time termed in England the ply
stefan Of fishes" According TO a score
or more OF authorities, ancient and
modern, the thick slime with which 1t
Is covered eXerts healing effect on al
wounds or diseases in which Ii can
come in contact on or in other fishes
! Whence this belief originated Is not
| known, but one instance of exact oh
servation is well worthy of credence
| Mr. Wright i'm his book on "Fishes and
Fishing" tells how a minnow acciden-
| tally hooked in the water of an aqua
rum in which It was swimming on
breaking loose, Immediately descended
| three parts of the way down the wa
ter and swiftly approached its nose to
the side OF the tench which was its
companion I'm the aquarium. 1t rub
bed its nose for a few seconds against
the tench and then again swan about
as lively as before. To this testimo
ny Mr. Wright adds: I'VE (my friend
and who were watching the perform
ance) were both OF the opinion that II
is really no fable as TO the tench being
the Esculapius Of fishes. for here was
| an example before our eyes OF FISH