CLASS PISCES. . 107 



paedophagous monster were living a secluded life in more than one 

 part of the country. Several gentlemen, who had personally become 

 acquainted with this fish on the Continent, introduced a small 

 number of young into more or less suitable private waters, where 

 probably the majority found premature and nameless graves in the 

 stomachs of Pike. At any rate, very little has been heard, and, as 

 far as I know, nothing has been seen, of them. Therefore, the 

 following instance of the capture of an adult specimen seems to be 

 of particular interest. I am indebted to Mr. Nocton, of Langham 

 Hall, Colchester, for my information. 



A week or two ago, the gamekeepers of this gentleman, while 

 engaged in Eel-fishing, caught a fish unknown to them, 4ft. 3in. long, 

 and weighing over 3olbs., in the River Stour, at Flatford Mills, 

 Suffolk. It was in perfect condition, but, probably owing to its 

 having been rubbed by the net, it did not long survive. 



Mr. Nocton suspected at once the real nature of the fish, and 

 had it mounted by Mr. Gardner, of Oxford Street. 



How did the fish get into the river Stour? 



I am informed that Sir Joshua Rowley put, about twenty- 

 nine years ago, young Siluri into a lake communicating with 

 that river, and distant some six or seven miles from the place of 

 capture. 



There is, therefore, no doubt that this fish was a survivor of 

 Sir Joshua's experiment, and that it grew in the intervening period 

 to the size mentioned. Mr. Gardner tells me that it was a male 

 fish. 



I am unable to offer an opinion on the question whether this 

 fish would have continued to grow if it had lived, or whether it had 

 reached its maximum size long before capture. Male Siluri are 

 generally smaller than females. 



Austrian fishermen maintain that, in suitable localities, with an 

 abundance of food and plenty of sea-room, the Wels can attain a 

 weight of one and a half Ibs. in the first year, and of three Ibs. in 

 the second ; but, under less favourable conditions, the rate of 

 growth is known to be much slower. An old ichthyologist 

 (Balder) reports the case of a Wels which was one foot long 

 when captured in the River 111, in the year 1569. It was placed in 

 a pond by itself, and had reached a length of five feet when it died 

 in 1620. 



In exceptionally favourable localities, as in the middle and lower 

 courses of the Danube, Siluri are not rarely caught of 400 and 500 



