BOOK VIII. XVII. 13-16 



strong odour ; for every flat fish tracks down its food 14 

 rather by scent than by sight. For lying constantly 

 on its back it looks towards what is above it and does 

 not easily see things which are on a level with itself 

 on the right or left. When, therefore, salted fish is 

 put in its way, it follows the scent of it and so reaches 

 its food. 



The other kinds of fish, namely those which live 

 among the rocks and in the open sea, can quite well 

 be fed on this diet, but still better on fresh food. For 

 a newly caught pilchard, crayfish or small goby, 

 in a word any fish of minute growth serves as food 

 for a larger fish. If, however, the violence of the 15 

 winter does not allow this kind of food to be given, 

 bits of coarse bread or any fruits that are in season 

 are cut up and given. Dried figs indeed are always 

 offered to them, an excellent thing to do if they are 

 abundant as they are in the regions of Baetica and 

 Numidia. But the mistake ought not to be made, 

 which many people make, of providing no food at all 

 on the ground that the fish can maintain themselves 

 for a long time even when they are shut up ; for 

 unless a fish is fattened with food provided by its 

 owner, when it is brought to the fish-market, its 

 leanness shows that it has not been caught in the 

 open sea but brought out of a place of confinement, 

 and on this account a large sum is knocked off the 

 price. 



Let this account of the method of feeding fish on 16 

 the farm-estate bring our present discourse to a close, 

 lest the reader be wearied with the immoderate 

 length of this volume. In the next book we will 

 return to the management of wild stock and the 

 culture of bees. 



417 



VOL. II. p 



