PEEOID^ OE PEECHES. 127 



of modem Greece — a substitute among soakers, and some 

 of them say not a bad one, for botargue and caviare ; 

 but though the roe is good, the fish which owns it is not 

 good in roe, according to Aristotle's observation of scaly 

 fish generally, that in roe they are out of season, (pavXoi 

 KvovTe<s. Most modern writers agree that this fish is in 

 capital condition after the roe has been deposited, and 

 when they have fattened for a month or six weeks in 

 fresh water, which, as far as this particular species is 

 concerned, confirms what Aristotle says. Galen holds 

 that fish in general, and lupus in particular, are very 

 sparingly nutritious, and incapable of yielding any but 

 a poor, thin blood to those who eat them. Celsus, with- 

 out expressing any general strictures upon this lenten 

 diet, pronounces the lupus to be sorry fare, and not one 

 to get fat upon. 



As many of the finny tribe, and this in particular, 

 were formerly much used in medicine as well as dieteti- 

 caUy, we may just mention that a famous recipe for re- 

 moving specks in the cornea was a coUyrium composed 

 of frankincense, lyncurium (a gem extracted from the 

 kidneys of the lynx), vulture's gall, and the bile of the 

 basse, mixed with honey ; to which we say, ' misce op- 

 time,' rub up in a mortar, and make the experiment ! 



The lupus, we find from our Naples note-book, forms 

 one of a beautifiil small group of mosaic fish disinterred 

 at Pompeii, and now in the Museum of Antiquities. 



Ukanoscopus Hemeroccetus. 



Klei 8" iv ^anddoim navqjxipios TeTavvcrrat 

 EvSav. — Opp. 



The name of this fish, uranoscopus, or ' sky-gazer,' is 

 derived from the position of the eyes, which are singu- 

 larly planted on the crown of the head. For a like rea- 

 son he is popularly designated by Mediterranean barca- 



