28 FISHES. 



lie had followed to the very edge of the water. 

 A person who had kept two small fishes together 

 in a glass, gave one of them away : the other 

 refused to eat, and showed evident symptoms of 

 unhappiness till his companion was restored to 

 him." 



The longevity of many fishes seems to be un- 

 doubted. Some well authenticated facts respect- 

 ing Carp and some other domesticated species, 

 go to prove that these have attained the age of 

 a century. But the Pike seems to be still longer 

 lived; one taken in Prussia in 1754 bore a ring 

 which testified its having been put into the pond 

 267 years before : how old it was at that time 

 was of course unknown. *' Cartilaginous Fishes,'* 

 observes Mr. Swainson, " from the nature of 

 their bones, continue to grow all their lives ; and 

 as many of these, particularly the Rays, habitu- 

 ally live in the deep recesses of the ocean, and 

 thus seldom run the risk of being captured by 

 man, we may probably attribute their enormous 

 and almost incredible size to their great age."* 



The increase in size of other Fishes seems to 

 have no definite limit, but proceeds during their 

 whole life ; their bodies instead of experiencing 

 the rigidity of age, which appears to be the 

 common cause of natural decay in terrestrial 

 animals, maintain the elasticity of their parts 

 undiminished ; while as they increase in size 

 and strength, they become more and more able 

 to obtain and overcome their prey, and to defy 

 their enemies. Hence probably it is a rare 

 thing for a fish to die of natural decay ; yet, 

 when we consider the incessant warfare that 



* Classification of Fishes, i. 48. 



