Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 211, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 September 1910 — Fish of Many Values. [ARTICLE]

Fish of Many Values.

Down in the rivers and lakes of the Mexloan state of Tabasco there swims a fish known as the “crocodile fish,” which, according to a letter received at the department of commerce and labor from United States Consul Alphonse Lespinasse of Frontier, is the most useful member of the finny tribe known to man. The skin of the fish, if properly cured, may be utilized for any purpose for which the lighter weights of leather are employed. Its oil is a perfect lubricant and also is used for softening leather. In addition it possesses medicinal qualities for which a superiority to the finest of Norwegian cod liver is claimed. The flesh of the crocodile fish is extensively used by th.e natives as food and highly relished by them as one of the delicacies of the country. The fish ranges in length from ten inches to four feet and when dried assumes an ashen hue with lighter shadings of a bluish tint A concession has been granted by the Mexican government to exploit the fisheries.