30 FISHES. 



minute. Saussure found living Eels in the hot 

 springs of Aise in Savoy, in which the tempera- 

 ture is pretty regularly 113° Fahr. But these 

 cases yield in wonder to that recorded by Hum- 

 boldt and Bonpland, who saw living Fishes, ap- 

 parently in health and vigour, thrown up from 

 the bottom of a volcano, with water and hot 

 vapour that raised the thermometer to 210° Fahr. ; 

 a heat only 2° less than that of boiling water. 



On the other hand, the cold of freezing does 

 not always destroy the life of Fishes. In the 

 north of Europe, Eels and Perch are conveyed 

 from place to place in a frozen state, which revive 

 on being thawed. The Grey Sucking Carp of 

 North America, according to Dr. Richardson, may 

 be treated in the same way. Mr. Jesse tells us 

 that a friend of his had a Goldfish frozen with 

 the water in a vase into a solid body of ice. He 

 broke the ice around it, took it out, and found 

 it to all appearance lifeless, and looking perfectly 

 crystallized. Having left it in a warm room, 

 after a few hours he found the ice thawed 

 and the fish moving. In a little while it w^as as 

 lively as usual. In such cases, *^ the fins quiver, 

 the fish gradually turns itself on its belly, 

 and moves slowly round the vessel ; till, at 

 length, completely revived, it swims briskly 

 about." 



We have briefly alluded to the value of Fishes 

 as human food, a value which was appreciated 

 in very early times. In the distinctions of clean 

 and unclean meats imposed by the Law of Moses, 

 Fishes are allowed to be eaten ; — " whatsoever 

 hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, 

 and in the rivers, them shall ye eat." Still earlier 



