PHIPSON, ON THE UTILIZATION OF MINUTE LIFE. 195 
carried it out with considerable care and success. It sounds 
at first strange to hear grubs, insects, animalcule, &c., spoken 
of as “ domestic animals.” ‘ But,” says the author— 
“But do we not rear our si/kworms with as much care as our sheep or 
our cows? Do we not construct houses for our bees, cochineals, snails, 
oysters, &c., as we do for our rabbits, our chickens, or our horses? Are 
not large fortunes realised by the cultivation of a worm such as the 
leech, or a grub such as the silkworm, as readily as by the aid of the 
camel of the desert or the Indian elephant? Have we not seen a thimble- 
ful of some new insect or its eggs fetch as high a price in the market as 
the choicest Cochin-China fowl ? 
“Tt is too true that these inferior beings are comparatively new to us 
in this light. But their study affords far greater interest, and, in many 
cases, undoubtedly more profit, than that of superior animals. 
“Imagine a man in difficult circumstances endeavouring to gain a 
livelihood by rearing some new variety of dog, cow, horse, ass, or pig. He 
would have greater chance of success were he to extract some new 
colouring matter from the insect world, or discover a means of doubling 
the produce of the dee or the silkworm, or a method by which sponges 
and corals might be cultivated with as much ease as a lettuce or a 
cauliflower. 
** My endeavour in this volume is to treat of izferior animals useful to 
man, from insects downwards to infusoria and sponges. I leave it to 
others to write the useful novelties that may concern quadrupeds, birds, 
reptiles, and fishes. My observations treat of Invertebrata only. 
“ Our readers have doubtless heard of a new species of culture which 
has lately taken a very extensive development. It is called pisciculture, 
or the breeding of fish, in which many eminent naturalists have met with 
astonishing success. Their secret was, however, known long ago to the 
Chinese. When a Chinaman wished to stock a pool with fish, he repaired 
to some stream where the latter were known to abound, and placed in it 
bundles of straw, which were soon covered with spawn. After a certain 
time the straw was withdrawn and placed in his pool, where the eggs 
were hatched, and the young fish soon became large enough to satisfy 
their master’s appetite. 
“The writings of Coste, Millet, Géhin, Milne-Edwards, De Quatre- 
fages, Remy, and others, have not only taught us how to stock our 
streams with magnificent salmon, trout, grayling, &c., but lead us to 
expect that there will soon exist as many different varieties of trout, 
salmon, perch, tench, &., as we have actually of dogs or horses. For 
certain closely allied species have been crossed so as to produce new 
varieties or races of fish never before seen. 
Similar experiments are being made with inferior animals. The 
attention of philosophers and practical men is now directed to the latter. 
We speak now of the amelioration of some insect species, of the cultiva- 
tion of a mollusc or a polype. We begin to see how we can profit by 
infusoria or some other animalculz.” 
He might also have adverted to the cultivation of the 
oyster, which, when fully carried out, promises, according to 
Mr. Buckland, to render a single breeding oyster a sufficient 
legacy for a man to leave to his family. 
The classes of animals more especially considered by 
Dr. Phipson as objects of cultivation, or, as he terms it of 
