FISHERIES AMONG THE ANCIENT GREEKS AND ROMANS. 11 



scat* soon gained the reputation of excelling in richness of flavor 

 those of the Greek seas. In the time of Pliny, the scams was, without 

 doubt, considered one of the greatest dainties. Originally, the stur- 

 geon held this place, then the basse (lupus) and asellus, and at last 

 the scarus "came, saw, and conquered." 



Ovid, in his book " Halieutikou," relates a remarkable trait in the 

 nature of this fish : when it has been caught in a net it does not swim 

 any further, as this would cause it to become fastened with its gills in 

 the meshes, but it swims backward, wagging its tail. As soon as 

 another scarus outside the net notices this movement, it comes to its 

 assistance, by seizing the tail of the captive, and thus draws it out of 

 the net. The relation of this remarkable phenomenon shows the accu- 

 racy of the observations of the ancients. Pliny tells us that the mullet 

 and the scarus when they find themselves pursued, act like partridges 

 and little children, hiuiug their heads at the bottom of the sea, and 

 imagining that the pursuer cannot see them, because they cannot see 

 him. 



According to Suetonius, the " shield of Minerva," the famous monster- 

 dish which Vitellius brought into fashion, was garnished with scari 

 The part of this fish most esteemed was the liver. 



THE MUR2ENA. 



The mursena is described in the following manner by Pau A oovius, 

 whose words are given in a literal translation to show at the same time 

 how natural history was written in the sixteenth century : " Murcenas 

 are found in great numbers in all parts of the sea, but those from the 

 coasts of Sicily are the largest and best. These are the kind which 

 Columella calls ' flutes.' They swim near the surface, and it therefore 

 sometimes happens that when the warm rays of the sun dry their skin, 

 thereby depriving them of their flexibility, they can no longer dip beneath 

 the water and can easily be caught with the hand. They are speckled, and 

 are said to have star-like figures on their sides, arranged in the shape of 

 the dipper, which, however, disappears immediately after death. They 

 possess great cunuiug, for when they find themselves caught they swallow 

 the hook, bite through the line with their teeth, and thus make their 

 escape. I am of opinion that the ancient Romans prized the inurcena more 

 on account of its long life than of its delicious flavor ; for the large num- 

 bers required for daily use could easily be kept in ponds prepared for this 

 purpose, while most other fish soon died, either through grief at having 

 lost their liberty or through the neglect of the pond-keepers. We know 

 from Pliny that C. Hirrius, at a banquet given to Ccesar as Dictator, 

 could place on the tables 6,000 inuraenas from his own ponds. MursB- 

 nas could easily be tamed, and taught to take their food out of a per- 

 son's hand. Crcssus, surnamed the wealthy, was so much attached to 

 a niuraena which he had raised himself, that when it died he shed tears, 

 and had it buried. We also read an account of an answer, which 



