104 THE ANGLER-NATUKALIST. 



creature, which is apparently a link between the reptile and 

 the fish, presents in e\ ory rospeot tlie appearance of a blind 

 wliite eel, with four very thin eft-like leirs near the extre- 

 mities. "When swimming, these lei;s fold back against the 

 sides, and appear to answer no ptirpose except to balance 

 the animal when at rest on the i;rotiud. The specimen 

 « hieh I examined was abotit a foot long, and was presented 

 to iMr. Bnckland by a geutleumu who brought it from the 

 cave of Adelsberg, near Ti-ieste. Its luitgs or gills were 

 dotible, one pair being on the inside and one on the out- 

 side of the neck ; but I could not discover that it CAcr came 

 to the siu'face of the water to breathe : it appeared to sleep 

 constantly ; and its motion in swimming, when disturbed, 

 was exactly like that of an eel. It was always necessary 

 to keep it covered up, as upon lengthetu'd exposure to the 

 light its life and its colour ebbed away together. 



Through the kindness of Sir Emerson Tcnnent, 1 had 

 recently the opportunity of examining sonu^ newly-dis- 

 covered ]Mud-fish found under the stu-face of the paddy- 

 fields of Ceylon. The medium in which they exist is of 

 about the consistency of pea-soup ; and their eyes are so 

 small as to be almost imperceptible. In this case, how- 

 ever, the fish retain the natural colour. AA'e may pT'c- 

 sume that all these blind creatures obtain their food by 

 scent. 



According to Blumenbaeh, the Carps have the largest 

 brain, in proportion to their size, of any fresh-water fish. 

 They arc certainly the most difficult to take by bait, and, 



