110 FISH HARVESTING. 



or catch them myself; so it happened, some of 

 these fish were first brought me by Indians. 

 Cutting one down the side (the plan I usually 

 adopt to skin a fish, keeping the opposite side 

 untouched), to my intense surprise, out tumbled 

 a lot of little fish ! My wildest dreams had never 

 led me to suppose a fish I then thought was a 

 bream, or one of the perch family, could be vivi- 

 parous. I at once most hastily arrived at the 

 conclusion that the greedy gourmand had eaten 

 them. Dropping my knife, I sat in a most be- 

 wildered state looking at the fish. 



The first ray of light that shone in to illumine 

 my mystification seemed to spring from the fact, 

 that each little fish was the model, counterpart, 

 and facsimile of the larger, and in shape, size, 

 and colour were exactly alike : from the position 

 too they occupied in the abdomen of the larger 

 fish, I was led at once to see the error of my 

 first assumption, that they had been swallowed. 

 Carefully dissecting back the walls of the abdo- 

 men, I discovered a delicate membranous bag or 

 sac having an attachment to the upper or dorsal 

 region, and doubled upon itself into numerous 

 folds or plaits, and between each of these folds 

 was neatly packed away a little fish ; the bag was 

 of a bluish-white colour, and contained fourteen 



