248 



CURIOUS CREATURES. 



of curious fish, for Zahn gives us a very graphic picture 

 of the different sides of two 

 small fish captured in Den- 

 mark and Norway (i.e., pre- 

 sumably in some northern 

 region) with curious letters 

 marked on them. He does 

 not attempt to elucidate the 

 writing ; and as it is of no 

 known language, we may 

 charitably put it down to the 

 original " Volapiik." He 

 also favours us with the 

 effigies of a curious fish found in Silesia in 1609, also 

 ornamented with an inscription in an unknown tongue. 



He also supplies us with the portrait of a pike, which 

 was daintily marked with a cross on its side and a star 

 on its forehead. 



But too much space would be taken up if I were to 

 recount all the piscine marvels that he relates. 



Aristotle mentions that fish do not thrive in cold 

 weather, and he says that those which have a stone in 

 their head, as the chromis, labrax, scisena, and phagrus, 

 suffer most in the winter ; for the refrigeration of the 

 stone causes them to freeze, and be driven on shore. 



