XIII. OYSTER PARKS ON LAKE FUSARO 376 XIV. PECTINIDÆ 386 XV. SPONDYLUS 388 XVI. ANODONTA 340 XVII. TRIDACNA GIGANTEA 338 XVIII. VENUS AND CYTHEREA 336 XIX. SOLENIDÆ (_Razor-fish_) 333 XX. TEMPLE OF SERAPIS 330 XXI. CONUS 427 XXII. CYPRÆADÆ 421 XXIII. VOLUTA 426 XXIV. CAPTURE OF A GIGANTIC CUTTLE-FISH 462 XXV. SHARK FISHING 520 XXVI. STURGEON FISHING ON THE VOLGA 528 XXVII. FISHING FOR ELECTRICAL EELS 539 XXVIII. GREENLANDERS FISHING FOR HALIBUT 551 XXIX. THE HERRING FISHERY 580 XXX. A ROMAN FEAST 593 XXXI. FISHING FOR TUNNY IN PROVENCE 598 XXXII. FISHING FOR MACKEREL OFF THE CORNWALL COAST 601 THE OCEAN WORLD. CHAPTER I. THE OCEAN. Ἄοιστον μὲν ὔδωρ--"The best of all things is water."--PINDAR. It is estimated that the sea covers nearly two-thirds of the surface of the earth. The calculation, as given by astronomers, is as follows: The surface of the earth is 31,625,625 ½ square miles, that portion occupied by the waters being about 23,814,121 square miles, and that consisting of continents, peninsulas, and islands, being 7,811,504 miles; whence it follows that the surface covered with water is to dry land as 3·8 is to 1·2. The waters thus cover a little more than seven-tenths of the whole surface. "On the surface of the globe," Michelet remarks, "water is the rule, dry land the exception." Nevertheless, the immensity and depth of the seas are aids rather than obstacles to the intercourse and commerce of nations; the maritime routes are now traversed by ships and steamers conveying cargoes and passengers equal in extent to the land routes. One of the features most characteristic of the ocean is its continuity; for, with the exception of inland seas, such as the Caspian, the Dead Sea, and some others, the ocean is one and indivisible. As the poet says, "it embraces the whole earth with an uninterrupted wave." Περὶ πᾶσαν θ' εἱλισσομένου χθόν' ἀκοιμἡτω ῥεύματι. ÆSCHYLUS in _Prometheus Vinctus_.