650 



ICHTHYOLOGY. 



Condition disposed to rank fish as the lowest link of the chain of 



oi Fishes, vertebral animals, to regard the powers of their immate- 



'""""V"""' rial principle, as controuled by the dangers to which 



they are exposed, and as almost exclusively occupied in 



supplying the wants which are connected with the first 



laws of existence. 



SECT. IV. Naturalization of Fishes. 



Natural!- J N tracing the history of those attempts which have 

 been made to subject this portion of the creation to our 

 controul, we trace at the same time the progress of civili- 

 zation and luxury. In Egypt, they had their sluices and 

 their fish ponds in the days of Isaiah, (chap.xix. 10,) and 

 from this early seat of the arts and sciences the Romans 

 probably acquired the knowledge of rearing and feeding 

 fish. During the more prosperous days of that refined 

 people, almost every wealthy citizen had his fish ponds. 

 In modern times, the Chinese bestow more attention on 

 the cultivation of fish than perhaps any other nation. 

 And in Europe, the importance of the subject has been 

 duly appreciated by the Swedes, Prussians, and Ger- 

 mans. In the latter countries, a considerable part of 

 the revenue from property is derived from the carp 

 ponds. 



Fresh water In general, the rearing of fresh water fish in artificial 

 fish. ponds has hitherto been chiefly attempted, few trials 



having been made to rear the salt water fish in confine- 

 ment. In the construction of a pond for fresh water fish, 

 care should be taken to have a regular supply of water 

 free from mineral impregnations, to cover the deepest 

 parts of the pond at least six feet. The more exten- 

 sive the shallow ground at the sides is, especially if it 

 be covered with marsh plants, so much more abundant 

 is the supply of those minute animals, on which many 

 fish chiefly subsist. Care should likewise be taken to 

 introduce those small fish, which, by multiplying, may 

 furnish a constant supply of food. 



When fish ponds are formed, it is in general the wish 

 of the proprietor to have a certain number of his stock 

 in good condition, that he may have a regular supply 

 for his table. For the accomplishment of this object, 

 there is usually one pond set apart for the purpose, 

 into which are introduced those full grown fish which 

 he wishes to feed. During the winter season little 

 food is required, but along with the heat of spring, 

 fishes acquire a keen appetite, and at that period a 

 constant supply of food should be given them. They 

 should be fed morning and evening at a stated time, 

 and always at the same place in the pond. The food 

 should consist of any kind of corn, boiled or steeped 

 in water for some time until it swells. Malt is esteem- 

 ed a very fattening food, and the crumbs of bread steep- 

 ed in ale ; but peas are considered as little inferior to 

 either. Pikes must have an abundant supply of eels, 

 otherwise they require a long time to fatten. Some re- 

 commend the laying of dead carrion upon stakes in the 

 middle of the water, that it may breed maggots, which 

 falling into the water, furnish an abundant supply of 

 very acceptable food. 



In the construction and management of fish ponds, 

 there are many circumstances of a local nature which 

 it is impossible to specify. The methods employed to 

 stock these ponds are at present more deserving of our 

 attention ._ The first, and certainly the most obvious 

 method, is to obtain living fish from similar situations. 

 In catching these, the utmost care should be taken not 

 to bruise them, or to rub off their scales, and to keep 

 them as short a time out of the water as possible. The 

 vessels in which they are to be carried should be full of 



water, as when the barrel is not entirely full, the fish Co. 



are liable to be driven by the currents against the lid of f'^>- 



or sides. This transportation should take place only in """"Y""" 



cold weather, and in the winter season, (as fishes can 



bear cold better than heat,) and should be performed 



with as much expedition as circumstances will permit. 



The second method of stocking fish ponds, is in some 

 respects preferable to the preceding, especially when the 

 waters are at a distance from which the supply is to be 

 obtained. This consists in ascertaining those places in 

 which the spawn of the wished for species is deposited, 

 and conveying the impregnated eggs to a similar situa. 

 tion in the new ponds. In this manner a vast number 

 of individuals may be obtained at once, and with great 

 certainty of success, provided they are supplied du- 

 ring the journey with fresh water, and but little agita- 

 ted. The impregnated eggs may be known by a small 

 aperture, which may be detected on one side by means 

 of a good microscope, and which is scarcely perceptible 

 previous to impregnation. By means of this method, 

 however, a much longer period must elapse ere fish 

 are obtained for the table than by the former, although 

 this objection is in a great measure obviated, by ob- 

 taining from the eggs a race of fish with constitutions 

 accommodated to your waters. 



The last method, which has been rather absurdly 

 termed artificial fecundation, we owe to the ingenuity 

 of M. Jacobi, (Mem. de VAcad. de Berlin. 1764, p. 55.) 

 It is founded on a knowledge of the mode of repro- 

 duction in oviparous fishes, and in its turn serves to 

 illustrate the function of generation in fishes. In 

 those places where the fish are easily procured, a fe 

 male is obtained, whose roe is nearly ready for exclusion 

 and having prepared a proper box with water, the fish 

 is held by the head, with its tail downwards, and gen- 

 tly squeezed on the belly. The eggs which are per- 

 fect, readily run out into the vessel. A male fish is 

 next obtained, and being held in a similar situation, 

 the milt is poured upon the eggs. The eggs thus im- 

 pregnated are conveyed to a proper situation as in the 

 second method, and protected from those enemies 

 which we have already enumerated. 



The advantages which result from the translation 

 and feeding of fishes have been felt and appreciated in 

 other countries, but in our kingdom they have been 

 in a great measure overlooked. In Scotland and Ire- 

 land, and we may likewise include England, there are 

 multitudes of pends and lakes, which are at present 

 mere useless wastes, but which, if properly stocked 

 with fish, would greatly contribute to the prosperity 

 of the country, by furnishing an additional supply of 

 food. To our forefathers we owe the introduction of 

 two useful species of fish into the country, namely, 

 the carp, which was translated (probably from France 

 or Spain) into England about the year 1496, and the 

 pike, which was naturalized about the beginning of the 

 fifteenth century. The gold and silver fishes of China 

 have likewise been naturalized in England, as objects 

 of beauty. We wish this catalogue had been more ex- 

 tensive ; we fondly hope that it will soon increase. 



The formation of ponds for salt water fish, has often Salt water 

 been the subject of speculation, but in few instances fish- 

 has it ever been reduced to practice. Indeed the mo- 

 tives for constructing such a pond must originate 

 chiefly in curiosity, as those who are situated on a sea- 

 coast, where such ponds can only be constructed, have 

 access to that great storehouse of life, and may at all 

 seasons derive from it an inexhaustible supply. Be. 

 sides, there arc few situations favourable for the con 



