GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF FISHES. 51 



of eggs in a single season, the statement is not exagge- 

 rated; and yet the waters are not more densely populated 

 now than they were in the last generation. The reason 

 appears to be this : all fish are more or less carnivorous^ 

 and feed not only upon other marine animals, but upon 

 each other. To supply this latter food in sufficient quan- 

 tity, as well as to provide against other casualties, Infinite 

 Wisdom has given to these His creatures a power of re- 

 production without parallel in the animal creation: were 

 it not so, the seas would be depopulated of all other in- 

 habitants, or thousands would perish by the most cruei 

 of all deaths, starvation : as it is, a momentary pain is all 

 that can be experienced by a fish which is seized and 

 swallowed in an instant by a larger one : and although 

 this is probably the fate of countless millions, little or 

 no corporeal pain, in the true sense of the term, can be 

 experienced by a death so instantaneous. 



(53.) The natural history, or, in other words, the 

 habits and economy of this class, in comparison to 

 that of terrestrial animals, is involved in great ob- 

 scurity, and presents little of that popular interest 

 attached to the economy of birds and quadrupeds. 

 Nevertheless, the history of such fish as the salmon, 

 herring, mackerel, &c, is highly interesting both to the 

 naturalist and the general reader : they form an im- 

 portant part of our subsistence ; while great numbers of 

 men, and large amounts of capital, are engaged in their 

 capture. We should have regretted that our limited 

 space would not allow of entering into all these details, 

 could we not refer our readers to the two interesting 

 volumes already cited on British Ichthyology. 



(54.) The geographic distribution of this class has 

 been very much neglected; for, with the exception of the 

 valuable observations of colonel Hamilton Smith, we are 

 unacquainted with any author who has written upon this 

 interesting and important subject. Our own observations, 

 made in different parts of the world, tend to confirm 

 nearly every circumstance mentioned by the above-named 

 able and accomplished naturalist. Nevertheless, from 



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