Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 75.
FISHES WHICH ARE BOTH OVIPAROUS AND VIVIPAROUS.
The torpedo is known to have as many as eighty young ones. It produces within itself very soft eggs, which it then transfers to another place in the uterus, and from that part ejects them. The same is the case with all those fish to which we have given the name of cartilaginous; hence it is, that these alone of all the fishes are at once viviparous and oviparous. The male silurus is the only fish among them all that watches the eggs after they are brought forth, often for as long a period as fifty days, that they may not be devoured by other fish. The females of other kinds bring forth their eggs in the course of three days, if the male has only touched them.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 76.
FISHES THE BELLY OF WHICH OPENS IN SPAWNING, AND THEN CLOSES AGAIN.
The sea-needle, or the belone, is the only fish in which the multitude of its eggs, in spawning, causes the belly to open asunder; but immediately after it has brought forth, the wound heals again: a thing which, it is said, is the case with the blind-worm as well. The sea-mouse digs a hole in the earth, deposits its eggs there, and then covers them up. On the thirtieth day it opens the hole, and leads its young to the water.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 77. (52.)
FISHES WHICH HAVE A WOMB; THOSE WHICH IMPREGNATE THEMSELVES.
The fishes called the ervthinus and the channe are said to have a womb; and those which by the Greeks are called trochi, it is said, impregnate themselves. The young of all aquatic animals are without sight at their birth.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 78. (53.)
THE LONGEST LIVES KNOWN AMONGST FISHES.
We have lately heard of a remarkable instance of length of life in fish. Pausilypum is the name of a villa in Campania, not far from Neapolis; here, as we learn from the works of M. Annsaus Seneca, a fish is known to have died sixty years after it had been placed in the preserves of Cæsar by Vedius Pollio; while others of the same kind, and its equals in age, were living at the time that he wrote. This mention of fish-preserves reminds me that I ought to mention a few more particulars connected with this subject, before we leave the aquatic animals.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 79. (54.)
THE FIRST PERSON THAT FORMED ARTIFICIAL OYSTER — BEDS.
The first person who formed artificial oyster-beds was Ser- gius Orata, who established them at Baiæ, in the time of L. Crassus, the orator, just before the Marsic War. This was done by him, not for the gratification of gluttony, but of avarice, as he contrived to make a large income by this exercise of his ingenuity. He was the first, too, to invent hanging baths, and after buying villas and trimming them up, he would every now and then sell them again. He, too, was the first to adjudge the pre-eminence for delicacy of flavour to the oysters of Lake Lucrinus; for every kind of aquatic animal is superior in one place to what it is in another. Thus, for instance, the wolf-fish of the river Tiber is the best that is caught between the two bridges, and the turbot of Ravenna is the most esteemed, the murena of Sicily, the elops of Rhodes; the same, too, as to the other kinds, not to go through all the items of the culinary catalogue. The British shores had not as yet sent their supplies, at the time when Orata thus ennobled the Lucrine oysters: at a later period, however, it was thought worth while to fetch oysters all the way from Brundisium, at the very extremity of Italy; and in order that there might exist no rivalry between the two flavours, a plan has been more recently hit upon, of feeding the oysters of Brundisium in Lake Lucrinus, famished as they must naturally be after so long a journey.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 80.
WHO WAS THE FIRST INVENTOR OF PRESERVES FOR OTHER FISH.
In the same age, also, Licinius Murena was the first to form preserves for other fish; and his example was soon followed by the noble families of the Philippi and the Hortensii. Lucullus had a mountain pierced near Naples, at a greater outlay even, than that which had been expended on his villa; and here he formed a channel, and admitted the sea to his preserves; it was for this reason that Pompeius Magnus gave him the name of “ Xerxes in a toga.” After his death, the fish in his preserves was sold for the sum of four million sesterces.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 81. (55.)
WHO INVENTED PRESERVES FOR MURENÆ.
C. Hirrus was the first person who formed preserves for the murena; and it was he who lent six thousand of these fishes for the triumphal banquets of Cæsar the Dictator; on which occasion he had them duly weighed, as he declined to receive the value of them in money or any other commodity. His villa, which was of a very humble character in the interior, sold for four millions of sesterces, in consequence of the valuable nature of the stock-ponds there. Next after this, there arose a passion for individual fish. At Bauli, in the territory of Baiæ, the orator Hortensius had some fish-preserves, in which there was a murena to which he became so much attached, as to be supposed to have wept on hearing of its death. It was at the same villa that Antonia, the wife of Drusus, placed earrings upon a murena which she had become fond of; the report of which singular circumstance attracted many visitors to the place.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 82. (56.)
WHO INVENTED PRESERVES FOR SEA-SNAILS.
Fulvius Lupinus first formed preserves for sea-snails, in the territory of Tarquinii, shortly before the civil war between Cæsar and Pompeius Magnus. He also carefully distinguished them by their several species, separating them from one another. The white ones were those that are produced in the district of Reate; those of Illyria were remarkable for the largeness of their size; while those from Africa were the most prolific; those, however, from the Promontory of the Sun were the most esteemed of all. For the purpose, also, of fattening them, lie invented a mixture of boiled wine, spelt-meal, and other substances; so that fattened periwinkles even became quite an object of gastronomy; and the art of breeding them was brought to such a pitch of perfection, that the shell of a single animal would hold as much as eighty quadrantes. This we learn from M. Varro.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 83. (57.)
LAND FISHES.
Besides these, there are still some wonderful kinds of fishes which we find mentioned by Theophrastus: he says, that when the waters subside, which have been admitted for the purposes of irrigation in the vicinity of Babylon, there are certain fish which remain in such holes as may contain water; from these they come forth for the purpose of feeding, moving along with their fins by the aid of a rapid movement of the tail. If pursued, he says, they retreat to their holes, and, when they have reached them, will turn round and make a stand. The head is like that of the sea-frog, while the other parts are similar to those of the gobio, and they have gills like other fish. He says also, that in the vicinity of Heraclea and Cromna, and about the river Lycus, as well as in many parts of the Euxine, there is one kind of fish which frequents the waters near the banks of the rivers, and makes holes for itself, in which it lives, even when the water retires and the bed of the river is dry; for which reason these fishes have to be dug out of the ground, and only show by the movement of the body that they are still alive. He says also, that in the vicinity of the same Heraclea, when the river Lycus ebbs, the eggs are left in the mud, and that the fish, on being produced from these, go forth to seek their food by means of a sort of fluttering motion, — their gills being but very small, in consequence of which they are not in need of water; for this reason it is that eels also can live so long out of water; and that their eggs come to maturity on dry land, like those of the sea-tortoise. In the same regions also of the Euxine, he says, various kinds of fishes are overtaken by the ice, the gobio more particularly, and they only betray signs of life, by moving when they have warmth applied by the saucepan. All these things, however, though very remarkable, still admit of
some explanation. He tells us also, that in Paphlagonia, land fishes are dug up that are most excellent eating; these, he says, are found in deep holes or spots where there is no standing water whatever, and he expresses his surprise at their being thus produced without any contact with moisture, stating it as his opinion, that there is some innate virtue in these holes, similar to that of wells; as if, indeed, fishes really were to be found in wells. However this may be, these facts, at all events, render the life of the mole under ground less a matter for surprise; unless, perhaps, these fishes mentioned by Theophrastus are similar in nature to the earth-worm.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 84. (58.)
THE MICE OF THE NILE.
But all these things, singular as they are, are rendered credible by a marvel which exceeds them all, at the time of the inundation of the Nile; for, the moment that it subsides, little mice are found, the first rudiments of which have been formed by the generative powers of the waters and the earth: in one part of the body they are already alive, while in that which is of later formation, they are still composed of earth.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 85. (59.)
HOW THE FISH CALLED THE ANTHIAS IS TAKEN.
Nor would it be right to omit what is said about the fish called anthias, and which I find is looked upon as true by most writers. I have already mentioned the Chelidoniæ, certain islands off the coast of Asia; they are situate off a promontory there, in the midst of a sea full of crags and reefs. These parts are much frequented by this fish, which is very speedily taken by the employment of a single method of catching it. A fisherman pushes out in a little boat, dressed in a colour resembling that of his boat; and every day, for several days together, at the same hour, he sails over the same space, while doing which he throws a quantity of bait into the sea. Whatever is thrown from the boat is an object of suspicion to the fish, who keep at a distance from what causes them so much alarm; but after this has been repeated a considerable number of times, one of the fish, reassured by becoming habituated to the scene, at last snaps at the bait. The movements of this one are watched with the greatest care and attention, for in it are centred all the hopes of the fishermen, as it is to be the means of securing them their prey; nor, indeed, is it difficult to recognize it, seeing that for some days it is the only one that ventures to come near the bait. At last, however, it finds some others to follow its example, and by degrees it is better and better attended, till at last it brings with it shoals innumerable. The older ones, at length becoming quite accustomed to the fisherman, easily recognize him, and will even take food from his hands. Upon this, the man throws out, a little way beyond the tips of his fingers, a hook concealed in a bait, and smuggles them out one by one, rather than catches them, standing in the shadow of the boat and whipping them out of the water with a slight jerk, that the others may not perceive it; while another fisherman is ready inside to receive them upon pieces of cloth, in order that no floundering about or other noise may scare the others away. It is of importance to know which has been the betrayer of the others, and not to take it, otherwise the shoal will take to flight, and appear no more for the future. There is a story that a fisherman, having quarrelled once with his mate, threw out a hook to one of these leading fishes, which he easily recognized, and so captured it with a malicious intent. The fish, however, was recognized in the market by the other fisherman, against whom he had conceived this malice; who accordingly brought an action against him for damages; and, as Mucianus adds, he was condemned to pay them on the hearing of the case. These anthiæ, it is said, when they see one of their number taken with a hook, cut the line with the serrated spines which they have on the back, the one that is held fast stretching it out as much as it can, to enable them to cut it. But among the sargi, the fish itself, that is held fast, rubs the line asunder against the rocks.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 86. (60.)
SEA-STARS.
In addition to what I have already stated, I find that authors, distinguished for their wisdom, express surprise at finding a star in the sea-for such, in fact, is the form of the animal, which has but very little flesh within, and nothing but a hard skin without. It is said that in this fish there is such a fiery heat, that it scorches everything it meets with in the sea, and instantaneously digests its food. By what experiments all this came to be known, I cannot so easily say; but I am about to make mention of one fact which is more remarkable still, and which we have the opportunity of testing by every day’s experience.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 87. (61.)
THE MARVELLOUS PROPERTIES OF THE DACTYLUS.
Belonging also to the class of shell-fish is the dactylus, a fish so called from its strong resemblance to the human nails. It is the property of these fish to shine brightly in the dark, when all other lights are removed, and the more moisture they have, the brighter is the light they emit. In the mouth even, while they are being eaten, they give forth their light, and the same too when in the hands; the very drops, in fact, that fall from them on the ground, or on the clothes, are of the same nature. Hence it is beyond a doubt, that it is a liquid that possesses this peculiar property, which, even in a solid body, would be a ground for considerable surprise.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 88. (62.)
THE ANTIPATHIES AND SYMPATHIES THAT EXIST BETWEEN AQUATIC ANIMALS.
There are also marvellous instances to be found of antipathies and sympathies existing between them. The mullet and the wolf-fish are animated with a mutual hatred; and so too, the conger and the murena gnaw each other tails. The crayfish has so great a dread of the polypus, that if it sees it near, it expires in an instant: the conger dreads the cray-fish; while, again, the conger tears the body of the polypus. Nigidius informs us that the wolf-fish gnaws the tail of the mullet, and yet that, during certain months, they are on terms of friendship; all those, however, which thus lose their tails, survive their misfortune. On the other hand, in addition to those which we have already mentioned as going in company together, an instance of friendship is found in the balæna and the musculus, for, as the eye — Brows of the former are very heavy, they sometimes fall over its eyes, and quite close them by their ponderousness, upon which the musculus swims before, and points out the shallow places which are likely to prove inconvenient to its vast bulk, thus serving it in the stead of eyes. We shall now have to speak of the nature of the birds.
SUMMARY. — Remarkable facts, narratives, and observations, 650.
ROMAN AUTHORS QUOTED. — Turranius Gracilis, Trogus, Mæcenas, Alfius Flavus, Cornelius Nepos, Laberius the Mimographer, Fabianus, Fenestella, Mucianus, Ælius Stilo, Statius Sebosus, Melissus, Seneca, Cicero, Æmilius Macer, Messala Corvinus, Trebius Niger, Nigidius. FOREIGN AUTHORS QUOTED. — Aristotle, King Archelaus, Callimachus, Democritus, Theophrastus, Thrasyllus, Hegesidemus, Cythnius, Alexander Polyhistor.
Detailed table of contents
BOOK X. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS.
Detailed table of contents
CHAP. 1. (1.)
THE OSTRICH.
THE history of the birds follows next, the very largest of which, and indeed almost approaching to the nature of quad- rupeds, is the ostrich of Africa or Æthiopia. This bird exceeds in height a man sitting on horseback, and can surpass him in swiftness, as wings have been given to aid it in running; in other respects ostriches cannot be considered as birds, and do not raise themselves from the earth. They have cloven talons, very similar to the hoof of the stag; with these they fight, and they also employ them in seizing stones for the purpose of throwing at those who pursue them. They have the marvellous property of being able to digest every substance without distinction, but their stupidity is no less remarkable; for although the rest of their body is so large, they imagine, when they have thrust their head and neck into a bush, that the whole of the body is concealed. Their eggs are prized on account of their large size, and
are employed as vessels for certain purposes, while the feathers of the wing and tail are used as ornaments for the crest and helmet of the warrior.
Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder Page 61