and fins are mostly small fishes, of from one to three inches in length, and very numerous both in fresh and salt water. They are exceedingly active and greedy, very destructive to small fish of other species, which they devour, and therefore very injurious in fish-ponds; and they also have furious contests with each other. The fifteen-spined stickleback, found on the English coasts, is noted for its nest-building propensities.* The following account of the fighting habits of the sticklebacks is given by a contributor to an English maga zine: 3. "When a few are first turned into a large wooden vessel, they swim about, apparently exploring their new habitation. Suddenly one will take possession of a particular corner of the tub, or, as will sometimes happen, of the bottom, and will instantly commence an attack upon his companions; and if any one of them ventures to oppose his sway, a regular and most ferocious battle ensues: the two combatants swim round and round each other with the greatest rapidity, biting and endeavoring to pierce each other with their spines. 4. "I have witnessed a battle of this sort which lasted several minutes before either would give way; and when one does submit, imagination can hardly conceive the vindictive fury of the conqueror, who, in the most persevering and unrelenting way, chases his rival from one part of the tub to another, until fairly exhausted with fatigue. They also use their spines with such fatal effect, that, incredible as it may appear, I have seen one, during a battle, absolutely rip his opponent quite open, so that he sank to the bottom and died. I have occasionally known three or four parts of the tub taken possession of by as many little tyrants, who would guard their territories with the strictest vigilance; and the slightest invasion would invariably bring on a battle.' 5. The tropical species of the large family of the "Scaly Fins," among which is included the New York porgee, are conspicuous for the extreme splendor of their coloring, which is thus spoken of by an eminent English naturalist, Dr. Hamilton: "If," he remarks, "the feathered tribes of the equatorial regions are bedecked with the most brilliant and gorgeous hues, the neighboring oceans contain myriads of the finny race which in this respect excel them. Upon the group of the Chetodons, especially, Nature has most profusely lavished *The fifteen-spined stickleback, a salt-water fish, often called the sea-adder, sometimes attains a length of six or seven inches. This fish deposits its spawn amid the fine growing sea-weed. Around the eggs, which are of the size of small shot, it then gathers the branches, which it binds together in a compact mass with an exceedingly fine and tough elastic thread, which seems to be formed of some albuminous secretion. Other instances of this nest-building propensity are found in some Fifteen-spined Stickleback, nest and eggs. fresh-water fishes of Demerara, which not only construct nests of grass, but which also burrow in the banks of streams, these splendid ornaments. The purple of the iris,' the richness of the rose, the azure blue of the sky, the darkest velvet black, and many other hues, are seen commingled with metallic lustre over the pearly surface of this resplendent group, which, habitually frequenting the rocky shores at no great depth of water, are seen to sport in the sunbeams, as if to exhibit to advantage their gorgeous dress. cr 6. "Several of the genera," farther remarks this writer, are moreover distinguished by an extraordinary habit of shooting their prey by projecting a liquid stream from their mouths. Thus the genus Chelmon contains a species six or eight inches in length, which, when it perceives a fly, or other winged insect, hovering near it, or settled on a twig, propels against it, with considerable force, a drop of liquid from its mouth, so as to drive it into the water. Long-beaked Chelmon, Chelmon longi rostris. 7. "In attacking an insect at rest, it usually approaches cautiously, and very deliberately takes its aim. It is said to be an amusement with the Chinese in Java to keep this fish in confinement in a large vessel of water, that they may witness its dexterity. They fasten a fly, or other insect, to the side of the vessel, when the chelmon aims at it with such precision that it rarely misses its mark. The archer, again, belonging to another genus of this family, shoots his watery deluge to the height of three or four feet, and strikes almost without fail the insect at which it aims." 8. Although most fish soon die when taken out of their native element, yet some species are known to make their way over land from one piece of water to another; and, stranger still, there is one kind, a native of India, about the size and figure of a perch, and usually called the climbing perch, which has been known to climb bushes of considerable height. This it does by the aid of its long ventral fins, which it uses as feet. These fish are enabled to retain sufficient moisture to keep their gills moist and open for a considerable time; and it is well known that it is not the abundance of air, but the want of it, which kills fish when taken out of the water. 9. The Mackerel family, the most numerous of the bony fishes after the perches, includes more than three hundred species, mostly marine fish, crowding the surface of the ocean, especially in warm latitudes, and having an extensive range. Amid great diversities of size and form, extending from the little mackerel to the monster sword-fish, the numerous members of this family possess certain characters, such as very minute scales, and gill-covers without spines or notches, which give to the whole a family resemblance that is not easily mis taken. The common mackerel is not only beautiful in form, but also, when seen in its native element, brilliant in coloring. (See cut, Fig. 8, p. 232.) 10. This family is one of the most useful to man, many of the species constituting excellent food, their size being considerable, and their reproduction enormous; and as they are brought periodically, by a wise provision of the Creator, from the depths of the ocean to shallow waters to deposit their eggs or spawn, they become the objects of highly valuable and inexhaustible fisheries. If the mackerel were dispersed over the immense surface of the deep, no effective fishery could be carried on; but, approaching the shore as they do from all directions, and roving along the coasts in immense shoals, millions are caught, which yet form a small portion compared with the myriads which escape. 11. The common tunny," * a large fish of the Mackerel family, often measuring ten or twelve feet in length, and sometimes weighing over a thousand pounds, is occasionally brought into the New York markets; but in the Mediterranean Sea the smaller species of this fish swarm at certain seasons of the year, and are taken in immense numbers. A favorite time for catching them seems to have been at the full of the moon, when, allured by the silvery light, they glide in great bands over the surface of the water. An ancient Greek poet thus alludes to their capture at this season: "The nets have been thrown, and on careless fin The moonlit tunnies will soon rush in." The striped tunny, a smaller fish, is well known in Southern seas, where in great troops it pursues the flying-fish over the vast waters, as herds of wolves do the bison on our Western prairies. 12. The sword-fish,t another member of the great Mackerel family, usually measuring from eight or ten to eighteen feet in length, is an occasional frequenter of our waters. In 1840 the New York markets were abundantly supplied with this fish, whose flesh is preferred to halibut or sturgeon, which in flavor it somewhat resembles. The most striking feature in this fish is its long, sword-like muzzle, with finely-toothed edges, a powerful instrument which threatens every thing that approaches it. More than two thousand years ago the poet Sophocles thus alluded to it: "What Fury, say, artificer2 of ill, Armed thee, O Xiphias, with thy pointed bill ?" See engraving, page 237. ↑ See the representation of this fish (Xiphias gladius), page 237. The sword-fish is reported to have violent contests with the whale, of which the following, quoted from a reliable work, is a striking example: 13. "One morning, as stated by the captain of an English vessel, during a calm, when near the Western Isles of Scotland, all hands were called up at three in the morning to witness a battle between several fish called thrashers, or fox-sharks, and some sword-fish on the one side, and an enormous whale on the other. It was in the middle of summer, and the weather being clear, and the fish close to the vessel, we had a fine opportunity of witnessing the contest. 14. "As soon as the whale's back appeared above the surface, the thrashcrs, springing several yards into the air, descended with great violence upon the object of their rancor, and inflicted upon him the most severe slaps with their tails, the sounds of which resembled the reports of muskets fired at a distance. The sword-fish, in their turn, attacked the distressed whale, stabbing from beneath, so that the water to a great distance around was dyed with blood. In this manner they continued tormenting and wounding him for many hours, until we lost sight of him; and I have no doubt that in the end they completed his destruction." 15. It is probably by mistaking a vessel for one of these great monsters of the deep that the sword-fish has been known to try his strength against a gallant ship. Those on board have sometimes, from the violence of the shock, found it difficult to believe that they had not struck some hidden rock, such being the weight and power of the fish; and specimens of ships' timbers penetrated by the sword of the fish, which is sometimes broken off and left in the wood, are not uncommon. The poet Oppian describes this fish as attacking even rocks themselves: "Struck by the blade, the sounding stone gives way, 16. As the weapon of the sword-fish is very destructive to nets, the harpoon has always been a favorite method for capturing large specimens. Oppian further relates that the sailors of the Tyrrhine Sea constructed, with this view, certain light skiffs, built to resemble the sword-fish, which the latter, mistaking for so many new acquaintances of their own species, approach in foolish confidence, and thus are easily destroyed by the harpooners. We give the poet's narration, without, however, vouching for its truth. 17. "To fishy forms th' artistic builders lend Selects some boat, and runs his powerful sword 1 I'-RIS, a plant of that name. See p. 187. 5 MI-MET'-1€, imitative. 6 PRO-TEND', stretch forth. 7 TRI-DENT, a spear with three prongs. GOAD-ED, pricked with the goad or spear. [fish. PROW'-Ess, bravery; skillful valor. 10 DOUGH'-TY (dow'-ty), brave; illustrious. LESSON V.-THE SPINE-RAYED FISHES CONTINUED. 1. Common Sword-fish, Xiphias gladius. 2. Indian Sword-fish, Histiophorus Indicus. 3. Common Tunny, Thynnis vulgaris. 4. Dolphin of the ancients, Coryphaena hippuris. 5. Scabbard-fish, Lepidopus argyreus. 6. Wolf-fish (a fighting character, belonging to the family of the Gobies), Anarrhichus lupus. 7. Fishing Frog, Lophius piscatorius. 1. THE several species of the Pilot-fish, of which so many curious stories have been told, also belong to the Mackerel family. The ancient naturalists asserted that the common pilot-fish, which is a pretty little fish about a foot in length, joins company with the tempest-toss'd bark of the anxious mariner, indicates to him his nearest course to land, and leaves him as soon as it has fulfilled this kind office. 2. Others, with much reason, deny this assertion, and allege that the pilot, like the shark, follows vessels for the purpose of obtaining a share of the garbagel which may be thrown |