VIVARIA. 43 



dentex, and Punic and indigenous umbras ; while it is 

 less congenial to the growth of shell-fish. The rocks, 

 too, bring up a hardy race of their own, and where 

 these are desired a rocky pond is necessary. 



The ancients sometimes brought fish from a great dis- 

 tance, for the purpose of stock ; generally, however, their 

 sea-ponds were fed with species caught in. the immediate 

 neighbourhood; but the most extraordinary announce- 

 ment in Columella is the fact that they turned lakes 

 and rivers into natural vivaria, by carrying to, and depo- 

 siting therein, not fish only, but the spawn of all such 

 species as, though born at sea, are in the habit of pene- 

 trating some way up estuaries or streams. He speaks of 

 the perfect success of the experiment in several rivers, 

 which he names, — the TeUnus, Sabatiaus, Ciminus, Vol- 

 sinius. 



With regard to the diet of fish, continues our author, 

 the flats (pisces jacentes) just mentioned — turbot, soles, 

 and plaice — require a softer aliment than the saxatiles, 

 having no teeth to bite their food, which they accord- 

 ingly swallow whole : for the last, salt garbage, guts and 

 gills of any little fish, or the pisciculi themselves, or the 

 sweepings of the stalls, are particularly to be recom- 

 mended; service-apples, figs, nuts broken in the hand, 

 and above all (if the year's provision of the dairy 

 permit), new cheese, may all, or any of them, be given; 

 but no food proves so serviceable, by reason of its 

 strong smell, to flat fish — as salt fish. Lying with their 

 beUies on the ground, they are more guided by the nose 

 than the eye ; for though they see what is above them 

 perfectly, all that is on the same level, whether to the 

 right or left, they see not, and so may lose a dinner 

 which depends only on eyesight ; but once ofier to their 

 nostril the trail of a salt anchovy, and no other guide 

 is needed than the scent. If, in consequence of the 

 severity of winter, you cannot feed your fish high as 



