CHAP. IM.] NATURALISATION OF FISH. 125 



stood ; but so far as practical experience goes, I have seen 

 nothing to prevent our breeding in England some of the most 

 productive foreign kinds. Among the fishes of China, for 

 instance, in addition to the golden carp now quite common 

 here, and bred in thousands in nearly every factory pond, and 

 which is looked upon as simply an ornamental fish there is 

 the lo-in, or king of fish, which frequently measures seven feet 

 in length, and weighs from fifty to two hundred pounds, the 

 flesh being excellent ; the lien-in-wang and the kan-in, almost 

 as good, and even larger than the other. Then there is the 

 li-in, the usual weight of which is about fifteen pounds, and 

 is said to be of a much finer flavour than our European carp. 

 There are many other choice fishes of exquisite flavour, which 

 it is unnecessary to enumerate ; but I have no doubt that, 

 besides these natives of Chinese seas, there are numerous 

 other fine fish that might be acclimatised in our rivers and 

 firths. The seir fish of Ceylon may be named : it is a kind of 

 scomberoid, and in shape and size is similar to the British 

 salmon. We must not, however, build ourselves much on 

 the acclimatisation of foreign fish, especially tropical fish, as 

 although fish can bear great extremes of temperature it 

 would be no easy matter to habituate them to our climate. 

 Indeed some writers think it will be found impossible to 

 habituate tropical fish, however valuable, to our cold waters, 

 but the experiment is, I believe, being tried in France. The 

 bass of Lake Wennern may also be mentioned as a suitable fish 

 for British waters, as well as the ombre chevalier of the Lake 

 of Geneva, a few of which latter are now, I believe, along with 

 some other varieties, being tried in the river Thames. So great 

 is the increasing interest of pisciculture becoming, that new 

 ideas are being daily thrown out regarding it. A few months 

 ago a writer in the Times suggested the introduction of a 

 white fish from the Canadian lakes to our fresh waters : 

 " This fish (Corcgonus allus), of the salmon family, is from 



