—In the flesh of cattle, swine, and other edible animals already mentioned it is seen that the protein is the principal part of the edible portion. In many kinds of meat, however, the fat is the principal portion, as in bacon. In the flesh of fish the albuminoids occupy a more prominent part than in the flesh of domesticated animals or game. In other words the proportion of fat, which is one of the principal ingredients of the flesh of other animals, is less than in the other kinds of flesh. The protein in the water-free substance often constitutes over 90 percent of the total matter, and rarely falls below 80 percent. The next most important constituent of the dry flesh of fish naturally is the fat. The average content of fat in the dry flesh of fish is under 10,—it rarely goes above 20 and sometimes falls as low as 2 or 3 percent. The mineral content of the dry flesh of fish is quite constant. It rarely falls below 4 or goes above 8 percent; 5 percent may be regarded as a fair average content of mineral matter. The mineral matter consists chiefly of phosphate of potash and lime, together with some common salt. In the analyses made by Atwater, adopted in the following pages, he grouped together the fish analyzed in proportion to the quantity of the edible portion or flesh which they contained. Groupings were also made on account of the dry substance in the flesh and in proportion to the water and fat which they contained. These tables are of value showing in a general way the relative food importance of the different specimens of fish. This classification is given in the following table:
Classification of Fishes by Percentages of Flesh, Chiefly Muscular Tissue in Entire Body.
| Kinds of Fish. | No. of Specimens Analyzed. | Flesh. |
|---|---|---|
| Containing 60 percent or over of flesh. | Percent. | |
| Spanish mackerel | 1 | 65.4 |
| Salmon | 4 | 64.7 |
| Red snapper | 1 | 60.0 |
| Containing between 60 and 70 percent of flesh. | ||
| Smelt | 2 | 58.1 |
| Pike (pickerel) | 1 | 57.3 |
| Cisco | 1 | 57.3 |
| Butter-fish | 1 | 57.2 |
| Spent salmon | 2 | 56.4 |
| Mackerel | 5 | 55.4 |
| Pompano | 2 | 54.5 |
| Lamprey eel | 1 | 54.2 |
| Herring | 1 | 54.0 |
| Pickerel | 2 | 52.9 |
| Spent land-locked salmon | 2 | 52.7 |
| Turbot | 1 | 52.3 |
| Brook trout | 3 | 51.9 |
| Muskellunge | 1 | 50.8 |
| Alewife | 2 | 50.5 |
| Containing between 50 and 40 percent of flesh. | ||
| Shad | 7 | 49.9 |
| Weakfish | 1 | 48.1 |
| Cod | 2 | 47.5 |
| Whitefish | 1 | 46.5 |
| Small-mouthed black bass | 1 | 46.4 |
| Striped bass | 5 | 45.1 |
| Large-mouthed black bass | 1 | 44.0 |
| Sea bass | 1 | 43.9 |
| Winter flounder | 1 | 43.8 |
| Lake trout, “Mackinaw trout” | 1 | 43.7 |
| Kingfish | 1 | 43.4 |
| Pike perch, “Wall-eyed pike” | 1 | 42.8 |
| Mullet | 1 | 42.1 |
| Tomcod | 1 | 40.1 |
| Porgy | 3 | 40.0 |
| Containing between 40 and 30 percent of flesh. | ||
| Blackfish | 2 | 39.9 |
| White perch | 2 | 37.5 |
| Yellow perch | 1 | 37.3 |
| Pike perch | 1 | 36.8 |
| Red bass | 1 | 36.5 |
| Sheepshead | 1 | 34.0 |
| Common flounder | 1 | 33.2 |
Classification of Fishes by Proportions of Fat in the Flesh of Specimens Analyzed.
| Kinds of Fish. | No. of Specimens Analyzed. | Water. | Fats. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Containing over 5 percent of fats. | Percent. | Percent. | |
| California salmon | 2 | 63.6 | 17.9 |
| Turbot | 1 | 71.4 | 14.4 |
| Salmon | 5 | 63.6 | 13.4 |
| Lamprey eel | 1 | 71.1 | 13.3 |
| Lake trout | 2 | 69.1 | 11.4 |
| Butter-fish | 1 | 70.0 | 11.0 |
| Herring | 1 | 69.0 | 11.0 |
| Shad | 7 | 70.6 | 9.5 |
| Spanish mackerel | 1 | 68.1 | 9.4 |
| Salt-water eel | 2 | 71.6 | 9.1 |
| Pompano | 2 | 72.8 | 7.6 |
| Mackerel | 6 | 73.4 | 7.1 |
| Whitefish | 1 | 69.8 | 6.5 |
| Halibut | 3 | 75.4 | 5.2 |
| Porgy | 3 | 75.0 | 5.1 |
| Containing between 5 and 2 percent of fats. | |||
| Alewife | 2 | 74.4 | 4.9 |
| Mullet | 1 | 74.9 | 4.6 |
| White perch | 2 | 75.7 | 4.1 |
| Sheepshead | 2 | 75.6 | 3.7 |
| Spent salmon | 2 | 76.7 | 3.6 |
| Cisco | 1 | 76.2 | 3.5 |
| Spent land-locked salmon | 2 | 78.5 | 3.0 |
| Striped bass | 6 | 77.7 | 2.8 |
| Muskellunge | 1 | 76.3 | 2.5 |
| Small-mouthed black bass | 1 | 74.8 | 2.4 |
| Weakfish | 1 | 79.0 | 2.4 |
| Small-mouthed red-horse | 1 | 78.6 | 2.4 |
| Brook trout | 3 | 77.7 | 2.1 |
| Containing less than 2, the majority less than 1 percent of fats. | |||
| Sturgeon | 1 | 78.7 | 1.9 |
| Smelt | 2 | 79.2 | 1.8 |
| Skate | 1 | 82.2 | 1.4 |
| Blackfish | 4 | 79.1 | 1.4 |
| Bluefish | 1 | 78.5 | 1.3 |
| Red snapper | 3 | 78.5 | 1.0 |
| Large-mouthed black bass | 1 | 78.6 | 1.0 |
| Kingfish | 1 | 79.2 | 1.0 |
| Pollock | 1 | 76.0 | 0.8 |
| Yellow perch | 2 | 79.3 | 0.8 |
| Pike perch, gray pike | 1 | 80.9 | 0.8 |
| Hake | 1 | 83.1 | 0.7 |
| Common flounder | 2 | 84.2 | 0.7 |
| Grouper | 2 | 79.4 | 0.6 |
| Pike (pickerel?) | 1 | 79.8 | 0.6 |
| Sea bass | 1 | 79.3 | 0.5 |
| Pike perch, wall-eyed pike | 1 | 79.7 | 0.5 |
| Pickerel | 2 | 79.7 | 0.5 |
| Red bass | 1 | 81.6 | 0.5 |
| Tomcod | 1 | 81.6 | 0.4 |
| Cod | 5 | 82.6 | 0.4 |
| Winter flounder | 1 | 84.4 | 0.4 |
| Haddock | 4 | 81.7 | 0.3 |
| Cusk | 1 | 82.0 | 0.2 |
Classification of Fishes by Proportions of Water-free Substance in the Flesh of Specimens Analyzed.
| Kinds of Fish. | No. of Specimens Analyzed. | Water- free Substance. |
|---|---|---|
| Containing over 30 percent of water-free substance. | Percent. | |
| California salmon | 2 | 36.4 |
| Salmon | 5 | 36.4 |
| Spanish mackerel | 1 | 31.9 |
| Herring | 1 | 31.0 |
| Lake trout | 2 | 30.9 |
| Whitefish | 1 | 30.2 |
| Containing from 30 to 25 percent of water-free substance. | ||
| Butter-fish | 1 | 30.0 |
| Shad | 7 | 29.4 |
| Lamprey eel | 1 | 28.9 |
| Turbot | 1 | 28.6 |
| Salt-water eel | 2 | 28.4 |
| Pompano | 2 | 27.2 |
| Mackerel | 6 | 26.6 |
| Alewife | 2 | 25.6 |
| Small-mouthed black bass | 1 | 25.2 |
| Mullet | 1 | 25.1 |
| Porgy | 3 | 25.0 |
| Containing between 25 and 20 percent of water-free substance. | ||
| Halibut | 3 | 24.6 |
| Sheepshead | 2 | 24.5 |
| White perch | 2 | 24.3 |
| Pollock | 1 | 24.0 |
| Cisco | 1 | 23.9 |
| Muskellunge | 1 | 23.7 |
| Spent salmon | 2 | 23.3 |
| Striped bass | 6 | 22.3 |
| Brook trout | 3 | 22.3 |
| Bluefish | 1 | 21.5 |
| Red snapper | 3 | 21.5 |
| Spent land-locked salmon | 2 | 21.5 |
| Small-mouthed red-horse | 1 | 21.4 |
| Large-mouthed black bass | 1 | 21.4 |
| Sturgeon | 1 | 21.3 |
| Weakfish | 1 | 21.0 |
| Blackfish | 4 | 20.9 |
| Smelt | 2 | 20.8 |
| Kingfish | 1 | 20.8 |
| Yellow perch | 2 | 20.8 |
| Sea bass | 1 | 20.7 |
| Grouper | 2 | 20.6 |
| Pickerel | 2 | 20.3 |
| Pike perch, “wall-eyed pike” | 1 | 20.3 |
| Pike (pickerel?) | 1 | 20.2 |
| Containing between 20 and 15 percent of water-free substance. | ||
| Pike perch, gray pike | 1 | 19.2 |
| Tomcod | 1 | 18.5 |
| Red bass | 1 | 18.4 |
| Haddock | 4 | 18.3 |
| Cusk | 1 | 18.0 |
| Skate | 1 | 17.9 |
| Cod | 5 | 17.4 |
| Hake | 1 | 16.9 |
| Common flounder | 2 | 15.8 |
| Winter flounder | 1 | 15.7 |
In the scientific names of the food fishes described in the following pages and in the description of their habits, methods of spawning, geographic distribution, etc., the classification of Jordan and Evermann[15] has been followed.
[15] “American Food and Game Fishes,” by Jordan and Evermann, 1 vol., large 8vo, pp. i to l + 1 to 572. Twelve colored plates and several hundred full-page plates from photographs from life and text-figures. Doubleday, Page & Co., New York.