B. Till.] THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS. 219 



food, while those that are carnivorous find an abundant 

 supply of fish. 



8. They are also affected by northern and southern aspects, 

 for the long fish thrive best in northern situations, and 

 in northern places in the summer time more long fish 

 than flat fish are taken in the same locality. The tunny 

 and xiphia suffer from the oestrus, at the rising of the dog- 

 star, for both these fish at this season have beneath their 

 fins a little worm which is called oestrus, which resembles a 

 scorpion, and is about the size of a spider ; they suffer so 

 much from this torment that the xiphias leaps out of the sea 

 as high as the dolphin, and in this manner frequently falls 

 upon ships. 



9. The tunny delights in warm weather more than any 

 other fish, and they resort to the sand near the sea-shore for 

 the sake of the warmth, and there they float on the surface ; 

 the small fish are safe because they are overlooked, for large 

 fish pursue those of a moderate size. The greater-portion of 



the ova and melt are destroyed by the heat, for 



whatever they touch they entirely destroy. 



10. The greatest number of fish are taken before sunrise 

 and after sunset, or just about sunrise and sunset, for the 

 casts made at this period are called seasonable. For this 

 reason the fishermen take up their nets at this time, for 

 the sight of the fish is then most readily deceived. During 

 the night they remain quiet, and at mid-day, when the 

 light is strong, they see very well. 



11. Fish do not appear to be subject to any of those pesti- 

 lential diseases which so often occur among men and quad- 

 rupeds, as the horse and ox, and other animals, both domestic 

 and wild. They appear, however, to suffer from ill health, 

 and the fishermen consider that this is proved by the capture 

 of some lean, and apparently weak individuals, and others 

 that have lost their colour, among a number of fat ones of 

 the same kind. This is the nature of sea- fish. 



12. No pestilential disease attacks river and pond fish, 

 though some of them are subject to peculiar diseases, as the 

 glanis, from its swimming near the surface, appears to be 

 star-struck by tlie dog-star, and it is stupefied by loud 

 thunder. The carp suffers in the same way, but not so 

 severely. The glanis, in shallow water, is often destroyed 



