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Show f -'- - - . . - - Long Name, Small Fish iiii .I Tho smallest backboned animal In i the world Is a fish. It was discovered In Buhl, a mountain lako in the island of Luzon, In the Philippines. The tiny creature has two names out of all proportion pro-portion to Its size. Tho one given It by tho natives Is slnarapan, and doubtless doubt-less has some significance in the language lan-guage of the Blcols, the natives living In tho lake region. The scientific namo Is mystlchthys Luzoncnsls, and means tho smallest fish Inhabiting Luton. Lu-ton. Tho largest of the species measures but halt an inch In length, and tho smallest not more than one-fifth of an Inch. It would take about 6,000 of them to weigh a pound. Fortunately for the fishmonger of Luzon, tho slnarapan is not sold by tho dozen, or evon by the hundred. They aro measured meas-ured by the quart. Small as tho flub. Is, it forma an important im-portant food staple, even in a country i- ii -rr inn i ll l n i i i I so rich in these products. The ap-pearanco ap-pearanco of tho natlvo fish dealer with his basket of slnarapan is hailed with delight by tho soldiers as well bb the Filipinos. No net Is flno enough, no hook Is small enough to catch these fish. Tho natives havo solvod tho problem by using a finely woven cloth aa a net, and In this way gather la thousands at ono swoop. When pro-paring pro-paring them to eat they aro first drained in a basket. Next thoy are mixed with pepper and other spices, mado into cakos, nnd laid upon leaves In the sun, where they soon dry. Then thoy aro ready to be onton. Tho natives count them a greet delicacy, deli-cacy, and say that thoy possoss a flavor qulto their own and very distinctive. dis-tinctive. They are never cooked, as this seems to dry up all tho goodness In them, and deprives them of their flavor, leaving them tnstcloas and unpalatable un-palatable London Mail. |