Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-08


honest, ugly beasts, with long. rough, black
horns stretching out straight from their
foreheads like cowcatcher on locomo-
tive. They are very strong and enduring
and thrive in this hot and damp climate If
they can be protected from contagious dis-
eases and other epidemics. They are too
tough for eating, according to the popular
report, but I suspect we have had choice
slices of them served to us on the hotel
table.
The markets make a beautiful show of
fish. which furnish the chief food of the
Filipino, and fortunately the river and the
bay abound in them. Scientists say that
the number of fish in the waters of this
archipelago Is much larger than elsewhere,
yet little scientific work has ever been done
among them. large portion of the popu-
lation are engaged in the fishing industries,
and along the banks of the rivers every
citizen has his own fish trap. which sup
plies his family regularly with wholesome
and nourishing food.
Traps and Pound Nets.
1 have not seen these traps In any other
country. They are constructed of slender
pieces of split bamboo so that they may
be rolled up and transported easily from
place to place as the fish change their feed
ing grounds. When the fisherman selects a
location he drives a number of stakes into
the bottom of the stream, unrolls his pen
and places it around them In the form of
the letter IS" 1t fascinates the fish, which
swim into 1t. The natives say that they be-
come bewildered and are unable to find
their way out again. Although 1t seems In
credible, bushels of fish are caught daily
py these simple contrivances in every
stream. The fisherman goes down occa-
siohal!y ana dips out his game with scoop
net INTO tub, which is supplied frequently
with fresh water. The fish are fed rice.
hour and meal in order to keep them alive
and IN good condition until they are needed.
see other varieties of traps. On the bank
beside almost every cottage is a large din
net suspended at the end of long nole
IKE the oid-fashioned well sweep, so that
comes In, bringing the fish with II these
nets are baited with simple food and sub
merged: When the farmer goes off to his
work mis- wife, or some member of the fam
ny, raises the net an hour or two later.
takes out the fish and sinks 1t again. and
While the results are not always certain
they are usually sufficient to meet the de-
mands OF the family.
Other traps take the form of IooseIv
woven bamboo baskets in the shape of a
sugar loaf. five or six feet long, eighteen
incnes IN diameter at one end and three
feet at the other. The smaller end is
open. with guards of bamboo points SO
that the fish having once entered cannot
escape.
very much after the practice Of fishermen
elsewhere. and there Is a curious method
of shore fishing that have not seen else
where The fishermen in their boats take
thirty feet wide with heavy weights or
anchors on one of the long sides and large
corks or buoys on the other. The anchors
and floats cause it to stand upright in the
water like tennis net. An hour or so
before daylight the fishermen row out sew
eral hundred yards, light bright fires on
the bows of their boats. and then scull
slowly toward the net, waving torches in
the air, shouting at the top of their voices
and beating the sides of their canoes with
paddles to brighten the fish into the net.
After they have gone through this per-
Torrance three or four times they bring
the ends OF the net together and slowly
raise 1t to the surface and remove the
catch. Their theory is that the fish. being
away from 1t and are caught in the meshes
of the net.
Game in Forest and Jungle.
The Philippine forests and jungies are
full Of game. not less than eighty-five spe-
des of game birds flying within gunshot In
different parts, and there are fc-tv-hve spe-
are s,es p oe to- tbem IN sise tSeY var0
from a tiny falcon no bigger than a spar
row. to an immense eagle called "the
monkey catcher" because Its favorite occu-
patton Is to. swoop down and snatch limo
cent monkeys out of the trees. There are
Sve species OF eatable ducks of excellent
flesh and flavor, thirty-five species Of
aaa tooa p sape aRS
twenty-one species of parrots and paro-
quets. The bird called swift" known
to ornithologfsts as the Collocaiia Tr0glo-
dytes which constructs the nests so highly
priced by the Chinese for food. are quite
plentiful, and in several of the islands
large numbers Of natives are engaged In
gathering the nests that are worth more
than their weight in gold and shipping them
over to Chinese mandarins. They are made
of sea moss oemented together by gelati-
nous secretion from the salivary glands OF
the birds. and are usually hidden in the
holiows OF steep cliffs along the seashore
The business of hunting them Is dangerous
but profitable
Eew Vegetables Raised.
The Fillninoa do not raise srff1cient yeRe-