Il6 FISHES. 



Fishes are in general oviparous : some few, how- 

 ever, as the Eel, and one of the species of Blenny, 

 produce their young alive. The males have the 

 milty and the females the toe, but some individuals 

 of the Cod and Sturgeon tribes are said to contain 

 both. The spawn of the greater number is depo- 

 sited in the sand or gravel : many of the fish, how- 

 ever, which reside in the ocean, attach their ova to 

 sea-weeds. The fecundity of these tribes far sur- 

 passes that of any other race of animals. In the 

 spawn of a single Cod upwards of nine millions of 

 e££rs have been ascertained, and near a million and 

 a half have been taken from the belly of a Floun- 

 der. Many other fish are endowed with a fertility 

 but little inferior. Such an astonishing progeny, 

 were it to arrive at maturity, would soon overstock 

 the waters. But the numbers are so lessened that 

 perhaps not one in a thousand survives the host of 

 foes by which they are beset. 



The longevity of fish is far superior to that of 

 other creatures j and there is reason to suppose that 

 they are, in a great measure, exempted from dis- 

 eases. Instead of suffering from the rigidity of 

 age, which is the cause of natural decay in land 

 animals, their bodies still continue increasing with 

 fresh supplies ; and, as the body grows, the con- 

 duits of life furnish their stores in greater abun- 

 dance. How long they continue to live has not 

 yet been ascertained. The age of man seems not 

 equal to the life of the most minute species. In 

 the royal ponds at Marli, in France, there are 

 some fishes that have been preserved tame since 



