New Britain herald., 1917-04-06
PUBLIC TO SECURE
 REVENGE ON SHARK
Man Eaters' Will in Turn Be
 Eaten by Man

| poi tAACAl Ol IlSncS or the American Museum of Natural History of New York city. 4s
 MT. Nichols inquiry has been made possible through the generosity of l Herman Armour Nichols, we'll known 1 in Chicago and New York, and now on a yacht in Florida waters
 It will be vividly remembered by the people of tis country that last summer several bathers along the New Jersey coast were attacked by sharks which invaded our northern waters. Members of the scientific staff of the museums department of fishes at once began to collate all the information they could secure con- corning these wolves of the sea, for science was puzzled by what was, ap- parently, a change in shark habits Sharks are generally to be found along the Florida coast at this season and MT. Nichols expects to gain new facts concerning their life habits and if possible, give warning if they show any indications of making another incursion to upper attitudes.
 Meat of Some Is Palatable.
 From an economic point of view, the shark panic of 1916 may result in the development of new way to re- duce the cost of living. The meat of some varieties of sharks is very palatable. In fact the blue shark, an off shore species, which reaches a rather large size, is much relished by whalers. Other kinds are not so de- sirable as food. The United States Bureau of Fisheries has recently recommended the use of dogfish as an article of diet. The dogfish is merely a smaller shark and is found in abundance not only in the south but also quite far to the north. Ere quently the waters adjacent to Long Island teem with these creatures.
 The flesh of the shark, as does that of other. animals, becomes tough as they grow old. So far, investigators have been unable to determine the age of captured sharks. In most var ieties of fish the annual growth of the scale gives clue to their longevity but sharks have no scales. Their skin is studded with bony tubercles, which give it that rough quality ob- served in shagreen.
 Studying the Beast
 In studying the shark, the scientist has hitherto been handicapped by it's bulkiness and the consequent difficult ty of assembling a large number of them from different localities for comparison. It is likely, therefore, that the Investigations begun by MT. Nichols will be followed by an exten- sive survey along the Atlantic coast. There is much to be learned concern ing the habits of sharks, however. about this time among the Florida Keys These islands, owing to their proximity to the Gulf Stream, are decidedly. tropical, surrounded as they are by the warm waters in which the fnny rovers delight. In this re- zion there are many varieties of life which are the natural prey of the sharks. The gre>dy scavengers of the ocean enters the lsarhors and glide about the wharves and gather in numbers in quest of offal from the slaughter houses
 During the months of March and April the sun has risen so high that a southerly wind brings genuine hot summer conditions to Southern Flor ida. with an incursion of fishes from equatorial waters, which will later extend up the coast. If the white shark or man-eater is to appear, it should be looked for further south at this season. It is very unlikely, however, that this rare species, whose habits so few naturalists have had the opportunity to study, will be en- countered, and those which are taken, be it with hook or harpoon, will be of less formidable type, though some of the larger specimens may put up an interesting fight.
 Perhaps the most generous species of shark about the Florida coast is the ground shark. The males of this variety are infrequently taken, as they are seldom found as near the shore as the females, and have somewhat different distribution.
 The best lure for taking sharks is tarpon, and at this time of the year there should be no difficulty in secur- ing an abundance of such shark-bait near Florida. It. is to be hoped that MT. Nichols, who has encircled the globe in sailing yachts and schooners and fished in most of the waters of the earth, will be successful in se- curing a number of specimens of va rious species, from which he will be able to add to the scientific informa- tion concerning the habits of these monsters of the deep.