Aquiculture. 175 



" heathen Chinee," whom it is the fashion in 

 these days to despise. 



M. Simon, in describing the manner in 

 which the waters of China are utilized, states 

 that their fertility is so great that "the 

 streams and rivers, the lakes and canals, with 

 which two-thirds of China is covered, literally 

 swarm with fish, butchers' meat being no 

 more indispensable. It is impossible to form 

 an idea of their fecundity. It is not only in 

 the watercourses that the people fish, but in 

 the rice-fields, and in ponds which retain water 

 for a time after heavy rains ; and if we add 

 that there are varieties of fish which increase 

 so prodigiously that they spawn twice in one 

 month, you would not be surprised that fish 

 is sold for one penny per pound, and the most 

 costly at fivepence or sixpence. They fish 

 with nets of all sizes and dimensions, with 

 ground-lines, with tridents, and with cor- 

 morants. Fish is the habitual nourishment 

 of about 350 millions of inhabitants, and 

 remains always abundant." 



Many of the curious and valuable fish found 

 in China would, no doubt, be worthy of intro- 

 duction elsewhere. In a recent number of 



