The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1923-11-23
MANY ODD FISH
IN PHILIPPINES
Some Garry Electric Shock,
Others Live on Land.
CATCH SHARKS 70 FEET LONG


Izaak Walton's "Compleat Angler
that mellow masterpiece Of plscatory
erudltlon. must be rewritten. For
even the placid world of the angler
has not escaped our common rate OF
increasing complexlty. Fish that car
nv an electric shock, Ash that live on
land and drown In water, FISH TINT
J mass their lives inside other fish, fuli-
| grown fish so small that ten thousand
of them make light breakfast; hsh'
I'm fact, whose terse, scientihc De
scriptcn recently by DIR. Albert berre'
fish expert OF the Philippine bureau
of science, before the Manila chamber
of commerce has made all accounts OF
near-caught marvels Of the finny tribe
appear pale and puny, are now as IA
! mlllar to residents Of Manila as are
! subways, skyscrapers, and automats
to New Workers.
Fleh Shoots Deadly Poison.
A perfectly transparent hsh' WIN
skin Ike cellulold and its fins placed
where its head and tail should be-
nrobably the most unique fish In eX-
| istence. Is among the strange and
rore varieties found in Philippine
waters. Another curious fish looks
for all the world like rock. Should
| human being step on it 1t squirts
/ let of deadly poison from Its shell.
Expert fishermen enjoy meeting the
tangungue 1t is the gamest Phlllp-
| pine fish and a tartar when hooked.
| Soldiers of Uncle Sans forces sta
toned in the islands dearly love the
snort afforded by this doughty war
rior. usually rewardlng it with free
dom. The sea-horse, so-called be-
cause It's head bears remarkable re-
semblance to that Of horse, Is the
fish whose males carry the eggs in
their tails, hatch them, and bring up
the young,
Fish Carries Eggs in Its Mouth.
A climbing perch was recently
found in a flooded lot in the heart OF
Manila. 1t was clinglng to tree,
four feet above the water. This fish
starts out in a single direction and
never alters 1t, climbing over OBJ
stacles and jumping three feet off the
ground and as far along it. A variety
of catfish found in Luzon carries its
eggs in its mouth. There are also
plenty of pompano, tuna, and lapu-
lapu. The latter is beautifully
| colored fish, rivaling the butterfly ana
humming-b bird in its variegated mark
ings.
! The tiger shark, or man-eating va
riety. another fav0rite play-fell0W OF
the soldiers is an inhabitant of Ma
| Mia bay. Sharks 20 feet long and
thick In proportion are caught in the
waters of the Philippines. Few people
know that commercial cod liver oil is
really shark liver OIL 1t has also been
discovered recently that the liver of
the Philippine shark will yield a sub
stance used to manufacture the new
diabetes cure, lnsulin.
Saw-Flsh % Feet Long.
Ray fish that give an electric shock
are common in the waters about Ma
Mia. Huge barracuda, six feet or
more in length and more dangerous
to man than the shark, swim about in
Philippine waters. Inside the sea-cu-
cumber, variety of jelly-tish, lives
smaller fish similar to the sardine,
Sardines without number abound here
abouts, but residents import others,
there being no cannerles In the is
lands. At Cebu recently a saw-tsh %
| feet long was caught With its great
tail It attacks schools of small fish,
fiaying this way and that with deadly
effect.
A sword-flsh, 20 feet in length, was
pulled out Of Manila bay not long ago.
| The sword Of another sword-tish was
found embedded in a unprecedented
block of wood, nine inches thick, Civ
ing some notion of the force with
which this fish strikes. The find was
brought in to Manila by corporal in
one Of the infantry regiments there
and kept as souvenir. A smaller
fish lives along the edges of the
numerous rivers of the Philippines
and never goes into the water. 1t
lives as long as its gills are kept
moist and has been known to exist
this way four or five days.
1900 Varieties Found.
The daiag, a common Philippine
table fish, which frequents the rice
paddles, must have air in order to live
and browns -miSerably when placed in
water where it cannot come up readily
for It's supply of oxygen. Another Is
land member of the finny tribe is the
botlt, which In time of danger blows
itself up with air or water until 1t as
sumeS the shape of toy balloon, then
floats on the waters surface, simulat-
ing death.
OF all the eighteen hundred varie-
ties of fish in the Philippines the
smallest Is the ipon, found only in
Lake Buhi, in the province of CANA
rlnes Sur. When full grown it reaches
q length of one quarter of an inch.