( 69 ) 



But in the time of a fevere froft, the gardener being employed in 

 breaking the ice with an liatchet, to give frelh air to the Fifli in the 

 pond, this Carp came to the hole, and unfortunately received a 

 wound from the hatchet, wliich occafioned its death. This Fifli was 

 in length 42I- inclies, and in circumference at the thickeft part of its 

 body 33:f inches. 



In order more eafily to cut one of thefe fcales in pieces, I fteeped 

 it in warm water, and then I cut off a flice from it, palilng througli 

 that part where the lirfl; formation of the fcale appeared, which origi- 

 nal foale was very minute, and I then obferved forty ro\\s of fcales 

 lying one on another, or in other words, this fmgle fcale was a chif- 

 ter of forty other fcales lying one on another. For every year a new 

 fcale fomewhat larger than that immediately preceding it, is added 

 to the number, and is as it were glued to the former ones ; therefore 

 as many of thefe fcales as are found tiius joined together, fo many 

 are the years of the Filh's age. This alTertion of mine is however 

 violently contradi6ted, becaufe many people think that 1 cannot by 

 any means prove what I affirm. 



I determined therefore, to cut oif a flice from this fcale very ob- 

 liquely, whereby the rows of the component fcales might be more 

 clearly difcerned, and I caufed a drawing of this to be made from 

 the microfcope, which is fhewn ^tjig. 3, A B C D ; the part reaching 

 from A to B, or from D to C denotes the difference in fize by which 

 each newly-formed fcale exceeds that of tlie preceding year, the 

 whole thicknefs of the fcale as it appeared through the microfcope, 

 is the fpace between B and C, but in fa6l, the real thicknefs, as feen 

 by the naked eye, is no more than that of an hog's brifile. 



Another piece of the fame fcale, cut flill more obliquely, I placed 

 before another microfcope, a drawing of which is given at fig. 4, 

 E F G H. The fpace between E and F is the thicknefs of the fcale, 

 and as many divifions or rows as are there pictured, fo many of the 



