262 FISHES I HAVE KNOWN 



in Egypt." Yet in the Promised Land they were 

 cut off from the Mediterranean shore by the 

 Phoenician and the Philistine territories, and had 

 only a few lakes to depend on for bony fresh-water 

 fish perch, bream, and carp. 



The old Romans were pronounced lovers of what 

 Pope calls the " scaly breed," epicures in the days 

 of the Empire giving extravagaht prices for turbot, 

 mullet, lampreys, and eels, the fich having "stews" 

 in which to fatten the latter. They also highly 

 appreciated sea-urchins, whelks, cockles, and 

 oysters, far-away Britain being requisitioned for 

 " natives," though how they were preserved alive 

 and fresh during the long journey to Rome is 

 somewhat of a mystery. 



The food of dwellers in the tropics is naturally 

 composed largely of fish, rice and vegetables. 

 But in the temperate latitudes of the Far East, 

 China and Japan, we find that fish from time im- 

 memorial has been systematically cultivated, every 

 river, pool, and suitable bit of water holding a 

 supply, while sea-fishing is pursued with the 

 utmost patience and dexterity to provide whole- 

 some food for the people. 



It is the same in India, whose ancient tanks still 

 contain quantities of fine roho (a kind of carp), and 

 whose rapid streams hold lordly mahaseer (running 



