284 Italy. 



substances, such as cocculus, euphorbia, lime, &c., besides dynamite, have but too often 

 decimated the finny inhabitants of many a streamlet or pond. a. Amphibia. The frog (Eana 

 esculentd) forms in Northern and Central Italy a not unimportant item of the small gains of the 

 freshwater fisherman ; especially in spring and autumn they are brought alive in thousands to 

 the market. They are classed with the finer sorts of freshwater fish, the fleshier parts of the 

 hind legs being considered a delicacy by many. &. Fish. A most marked contrast exists 

 between the freshwater fish fauna of Northern and Peninsular Italy. South of the 

 Appennines the species are few and of slight importance small trout in the mountain 

 streams, carp, tench, barbel, rudd, and a few other Leucisci, with the ubiquitous eel, nearly 

 complete the list, and barely afford a precarious living to their captors. The more im- 

 portant rivers and larger lakes of Northern Italy are better stocked and give opportunities 

 for a larger piscatorial industry. The most esteemed species are : perch, Coitus gobio, Lota 

 vulgaris, trout, grayling, pike, shad, and sturgeon. In the larger lakes of Lombardy, and 

 more especially in Lago Maggiore and that of Garda, lake-trout of large size (Salmo lemanus 

 and 8. carpio) are caught in considerable numbers ; and again the shad (Clupea alosa) of 

 two varieties : one resident known as " Agone" the other migratory entering rivers from the 

 sea in spring, called " Cheppia" The Po and Adige are besides periodically visited by 

 numerous sturgeons (Acipenser sturio, A. huso, A. Naccarii, and A. Nardoi\ some of which 

 attain a very large size. c. Crustacea. The common crayfish (Astacus fiuviatalis) is pretty 

 common all over Northern and Central Italy, but of late years it has been nearly exterminated 

 by a curious epidemic, manifest in an infusorian which fixed itself in countless numbers over 

 the branchiae, finally preventing respiration. Crayfish-culture has not, it is believed, yet 

 been attempted in Italy, where it might easily succeed. In Central and Southern Italy a 

 fresh- water crab (Telpliusafluviatilis) is pretty common and sought for ; near Florence they are 

 kept for some time in the dark, isolated in earthen jars, so that they shed their carapace, and 

 becoming soft are more easily eaten, d. Vermes. The common leech (Hirudo medicinalis) 

 found in most parts of Italy, was in past years, when more extensively used for medicinal 

 purposes, eagerly sought for ; between 1828 and 1851, the authorities of Sardinia, Rome, and 

 Parma, issued special edicts for its protection. No later documents with that object have 

 been noted, but in the neighbourhood of Turin leeches are specially reared for medicinal use. 



VI. PISCICULTURE. This important branch of industry is as yet in an incipient condition 

 in Italy, whereas it has of late years made such rapid strides in other countries ; and yet in 

 this, as in many other things, we may and can look further back than most nations, and 

 recall the time when our forefathers, the Romans, had such tender cares for their piscinx, 

 vivaria mursenorum, and cetaria, and reared oysters in Lake Lucrinum,* carrying them 

 thither from the far shores of Brundusium and Tarentum.f Of late, however, some progress 

 has been made, and the future promises well. 1. Fish-eulture in Lagoons. This is a very 

 peculiar kind of industry, the first step towards true artificial fish-culture ; it is most exten- 

 sively practised in the salt and brackish-water lagoons which occupy so large a surface 

 between the mouths of the rivers Reno and Isonzo, on the Adriatic coasts, and goes by tho 

 generic term of vallicoltura. It originated in the peculiar nature of that extensive region, and 

 dates back far into the earlier part of the mediaeval times, for in the archives of Venice 

 documents exist relating to lagoon- fishery of Chioggia dated 888. In the years 1118 and 1181 

 piscariss aquae are mentioned, and in 1425 documents relating to dausura vallorum appear. 

 Up to the present time much has been written on Vallicoltura in the Venetian provinces, 

 but especially the recent concise publications on the subject by Dr. Renier and of Count 

 Ninni. The latter, who knows more about the matter than most men, exhibited a most 

 complete and interesting collection of models of boats, nets, implements, &c., used in the 

 Venetian lagoon-fisheries, at the Milan Exhibition of 1881. Vallicoltura is practised in much 

 the same manner in the valli of Comacchio, Codigoro, Chioggia, Venice and Caorle. It 

 consists in dividing and partitioning the outer and inner lagoons, using natural formations 

 and artificial structures, such as embankments, palisades, &c. ; the adult fish who resort to 



* Murice Baiano melior Lucrina peloris. (Horace, Sat. 2, iv.) 

 and 



t Pectinibus patulls jactat se molle Tarentum. (ibid.) 

 will at once occur to our schoolboys. [Ec.] 



