96 FISHES I HAVE KNOWN 



Fish always assemble round a floating object, 

 and, for the want of means of catching them, 

 many a boat's crew has starved to death. If they 

 were stranded on a solitary island or reef, the gun 

 would secure birds and the fishing-tackle fresh fish 

 for all. 



I have only touched the fringe of the great 

 subject of ocean fish. In the beaten track of 

 navigation their variety is not great, but what is 

 contained within the boundless wastes of water 

 where no ships " draw furrows through the main " 

 no man can tell. There are tribes of fish that are 

 strictly oceanic, that breed, live, and die in mid- 

 ocean and never approach land. 



H.M.S. Challenger, the King of Portugal's yacht, 

 the Amelia, and the Prince of Monaco's fine 

 steamer have proved that fish exist in the great 

 depths in profusion. The Prince actually set 

 traps for them successfully at the depth of three 

 thousand fathoms ; and possibly the future, with 

 its mechanical and scientific development of 

 appliances, will witness fishing with hook and line 

 at the almost inconceivable depth of four or five 

 miles. 



When we recall the fact that three-quarters of 

 our globe is water, and that on the earth, though 

 pretty well explored, there are still undiscovered 



