Observations made on the habits of the swordfish may be thought to give some colour to this relation of the ancient naturalists: “The swordfish, we are told, is taken by the Messinese sailors in two ways; that is, with the lance, and the palimadara, a kind of net with very close meshes. This fishery begins about the middle of April, and continues till the middle of September. From the middle of April to the end of June it is carried on upon the coast of Calabria; and from the end of June to the middle of September on that of Sicily. The reason of this is, that, by the account of all the fishermen, the swordfish, from April till June, entering by Faro, coasts the shore of Calabria, without approaching that of Sicily; and passes the contrary way from the end of July to the middle of September. We know not whether it takes this contrary route for the sake of food, or from any other cause; or whether it be the same fish that passes and repasses; it is only certain that it does not coast the shore of Sicily but when it goes to spawn.” Spallanzani, Travels in the Two Sicilies, iv. 331. ----- We have remarked above, that the taking of the thunny commenced in spring, when it appears to have been in excellent condition, and very highly prized. During winter, whatever may have been its quality, it was not to be caught, since it retired to the depths of the Ægæan, beyond the reach of nets or tridents. In the heat of summer it was rendered lean and flabby by the persecution of a kind of worm, which, insinuating itself beneath the fins,[1448] harassed it incessantly. But, towards autumn, being delivered by nature from this pest, it again became plump, and was esteemed excellent eating. The growth of this fish is extremely rapid, more especially in the Black Sea, where, amid the vast quantities of mud and slime brought down by the numerous rivers, it finds in great abundance the food most congenial to its taste.[1449] The thunny, properly so called, is at present[1450] scarce along the coast of Mingrelia, where, by the ancients, it is said to have abounded, which renders it not improbable, that they included under this name more than one species of sturgeon, a fish still found in great numbers in those parts of the Black Sea. ----- Footnote 1446: Plin. Nat. Hist. ix. 20. Footnote 1447: Oppian, who tells a wonderful story about the thunny devouring its spawn, immediately adds, that the roes which escaped, concealed among the reeds and rushes, became pelamydes: Τὰ δ᾽ ἐν δονάκεσσι καὶ ἐν σχοίνοισι μένοντα Πηλαμύδων ἀγέλας ὥρη τέκεν Halieut. iv. 510, seq. Footnote 1448: Aristot. Hist. Animal. viii. 13. p. 231. 30. Footnote 1449: Oppian. Halieut. i. 600, sqq. Footnote 1450: Voyages au Nord, vii. 187. -----