272 A HISTORY OF 



CHAPTER IV. 



OP THE LAMPREY AND ITS AFFINITIES. 



THERE is a species of the Lamprey served up as a great delicacy 

 among the modern Romans, very different from ours. Whether theirs 

 be the murena of the ancients I will not pretend to say ; but there is 

 nothing more certain than that our lamprey is not. The Roman lam- 

 prey agrees with the ancient fish in being kept in ponds, and consi- 

 dered by the luxurious as a very great delicacy. 



The lamprey, known among us, is differently estimated, according 

 to the season in which it is caught, or the place where it has been 

 fed. Those that leave the sea to deposit their spawn in fresh waters 

 are the best: those that are entirely bred in our rivers, and that have 

 never been at sea, are considered as much inferior to the former. 

 Those that are taken in the months of March, April, or May, just upon 

 their leaving the sea, are reckoned very good ; those that are caught 

 after they have cast their spawn, are found to be flabby and of little 

 value. Those caught in several of the rivers in Ireland the people 

 will not venture to touch, those of the English Severn are considered 

 as the most delicate of all other fish whatever. 



The lamprey much resembles an eel in its general appearance, but 

 is of a lighter colour, and rather a clumsier make. It differs, how- 

 ever, in the mouth, which is round, and placed rather obliquely below 

 the end of the nose. It more resembles the mouth of a leech than an 

 eel ; and the animal has a hole on the top of the head through which 

 it spouts water, as in the cetaceous kind. There are seven holes on 

 each side for respiration ; and the fins are formed rather by a length- 

 ening out of the skin, than any set of bones or spines for that pur- 

 pose. As the mouth is formed resembling that of a leech, so it has 

 a property resembling that animal of sticking close to and sucking 

 any body it is applied to. It is extraordinary the power they have of 

 adhering to stones ; which they do so firmly, as not to be drawn off 

 without some difficulty. We are told of one that weighed but three 

 pounds: and yet it stuck so firmly to a stone of twelve pounds that it 

 remained suspended at its mouth, from which it was separated with 

 no small difficulty. This amazing power of suction is supposed to 

 arise from the animal's exhausting the air within its body by the hole 

 over the nose, while the mouth is closely fixed to the object, and per- 

 mits no air to enter. It would be easy to determine the weight this 

 animal is thus able to sustain ; which will be equal to the weight of a 

 eolumn of air of equal diameter with the fish's mouth. 



From some peculiarity of formation, this animal swims generally 

 with its body as near as possible to the surface; and it might easily 

 be drowned by being kept by force for any time under water. Mu- 

 raJto ha? given us the anatomy of this animal; but, in a very minute 

 description, makes no mention of lungs. Yet I am very apt to BUS- 



