The sun., 1901-04-28
THs Eo0D or YIsHKs.
Many Are vssstArians and Many Others Eajsy
Q Dish sf Grssas.

| . Dfsh of 8Feens.
| A writer has recently istinguished animal
as those which derive their food from thu
soil and those which live on other animals
| The fact 10. however. that all animal lie II
| supported directly or indirectly from the soil
| The food OF all animals is vegetation or othel
animals which live on vegetation. Thus al
| animal life rests on u vegetable basis.
Many persons have the idea that the fooc
Of nearly all the fishes IL animal life found IL
the sea. This Is probably true Of many vsrie'
ties but not few fishes are vegetarian
and there are q good many fsh that vary
their meat diet with more or less vegetable
food A little while ago An English natural
ist who was dissecting q Dream found Ia III
stomach In addition to 4 crab a considerable
quantity OF two kinds of seaweed. though
the Dream 10 reputed 10 live on animal HE
Some Of the text books say that the gray
mullet, a popular Ash In British waters. feeds
only on the animal matter 1t obtains by strain
Ing sand or mud ia its mouth This Is not u
scientific conclusion No biologist Of q
European university could convince prac-
tical Cornwall fisherman that the gray mullet
does not eat seaweed He knows that this
Is 50 for he often finds the fsh's stomach
full Of seuweed
There Is a great deal Of vegetable matter
floating around In the sea Every body
knows OF the eddy In the Atlantic Ocean
where the currents whirl for hundreds "
miles around a great centre the Sargasso
Sea. into which sssweeds drift and remain
In the quiet waters within the swirl until
they become wsterlogged and sink of their
extrs weight 1t has been found that tho
. aln
and other vegetation that cover the surface
Of tho Ssrsasso Sea with vivid green are
mostly torn by the waves from the shores Of
Yucstan and other Gulf Of Mexico coasts
and drift for many hundreds OF miles before
they find lOdgment in the Sareasso. Vast
quantities Of vegetation also drift out to sea
that never reach the currents whirling around
this srsss-c overed part u the ocean Thus
vegetation from the land has wide distribu-
tion over the sea and II has been proved
that II is relished 10y many varieties Of flsh
The scientific work Of DR. Nansen In Arc
tic waters proves that a large population
Of FISH l. Introduced into the cold seas from
the west. and that the food supplies 10 sup
port this vast marine population come mainly
from the east lie says that tho siberian
current flowing to the northwest IL Of great
importance In conveying constant supply
OF nourishment TO the peagIc animals Of the
north polar basin This nourshment con-
ssts OF microscopic algP, some of the smallest
specimens Of vegetable life They are chiefly
diatoms which are found 10 abound In the
superficial polnr water Or the Siberian Sea
though gradually diminishing In quantity
westward. apparently owing TO their being
largely fed upon by various pelaglc animals
Indeed without such u constant conveyance
of nourishinK matter there could he no such
rich Ash and other animal life in the polar
seas We have read accounts by Arctic
explorers Of the dark bands and discolora-
tion- exhibited by Ice in northern waters
They are mainly due to rhese minute and
lowlv plants on which the northern fish
feed TO considerable extent
or course, the sea i- full ~ a great variety
OF food Fish not only prey upon one an
other. eat seaweed. algse. and other forms
VI vegetation but they are also able 10 vary
their diet with worms, iellyh,h, sraweed
and many kinds of shellnsh The fish must
have a delicate stomach and "A most eXacllng
palate that cannot find in the myriad forms
of animal and vegetable life pervudlng the
sea materials for a tempting meal