FISHES. 17 



for its shape it could not have been known as 

 a Trout. Trout when killed sometimes lose their 

 colour; but here was a Fish which, but a few 

 minutes before, was perfectly bright, and suddenly, 

 while alive, had become totally discoloured and 

 black in the water, though apparently uninjured 

 in any way ; and probably in a few minutes after 

 being liberated, it would have regained its former 

 beautiful hue."* 



The food of Fishes is for the most part animal. 

 Some browse the seaweeds that wave around the 

 rocks of the coast, and others nibble the soft parts 

 of fresh-water vegetation ; but the great majority 

 are carnivorous. The immense number and va- 

 riety of soft-bodied animals that inhabit the sea, 

 the Actinice, the Medusce^ the AnjieUida^ and the 

 naked Ilolliisca, afford food to multitudes; others 

 are furnished with strong teeth to grind down 

 the newly formed parts of coral, and devour the 

 living polyps ; and a large number feed greedily 

 on Star-fishes, Crustacea, and the shelled MoU 

 lusca. In the fresh-waters, worms, leeches, and 

 the larvae of insects supply the appetite of many. 

 But in addition to all these sources of supply. 

 Fishes everywhere feed upon Fishes. The smaller 

 are seized and devoured by those which are able 

 to master them, and these again become the prey 

 of their superiors ; until every Fish sees in his 

 fellow either a victim to be pursued and devoured, 

 or an enemy to be avoided. 



At first sight it seems a dreadful state of ex- 

 istence, this incessant preying of the stronger 

 animals upon the weaker ; and humbling indeed 

 the contemplation of it should be to us, as a sad 

 * New Sporting Magazine, N.S. i. 404. 



C 



