the larger fins that are above. When suddenly disturbed they sometimes make a rapid shoot, changing their position from horizontal to vertical: if the observer happens to be opposite the white side, they may be seen to pass with the rapidity and flash of a meteor; but they soon sink down, resuming their previous motionless horizontal position, and are then distinguished with difficulty, owing to their great similarity in color to the surface on which they rest." From another writer, Mr. Swainson, we quote the following remarks: 5. "The resemblance between the colors of the flat-fish, in general, and those of the ground they repose upon, is so admirably ordered as to claim both attention and admiration. The upper surface, or that which is exposed to view and to the action of the light, is invariably of some shade of earthen brown or of grayish sand-color: this is broken by dots and blotches, either light or dark, blackish or reddish, but always so disposed as perfectly to resemble those under shades, as they may be called, which are caused by the inequalities of the ground and the presence of particles of different tints that may be upon it. 6. "Thus, whether we contemplate the God of nature in his most sublime productions, or in those provisions which he makes for the well-being of his most irrational creatures, the same principle of design-the same absolute perfection in execution-is equally conspicuous. This exquisite finish is bestowed upon millions which the eye of man "hath not seen;""nor hath it entered into his heart to conceive" the faculties and the instincts they possess, still less to form ideas on all the reasons of their creation. Such knowledge, indeed, we can not attain to in this stage of our existence, but the good shall most assuredly enjoy it in the next." 7. The European turbot, so well known, and so celebrated as an article of luxury, is considered the best of the flat-fishes. It has never been found on the coasts of the United States, although the spotted turbot, or New York plaice, much resembles it. The turbot is supposed to have been the rhombus of the Romans, of which a specimen of enormous size is said to have been taken in the reign of Domitian, who called a meeting of the senate to decide upon the best mode of bringing it to the table! Juvenal says: "No vessel he finds to hold such a fish, And the senate's convoked to decree a new dish." 1 CHA-RĀDE” (sha-rade'), a word whose syl-2 GRO-TESQUE', ludicrous; odd. lables or letters are described, first sepa-3 A-NŎM'-A-LY, irregularity. rately and then together, so as to form a 4 AT-TRI-BUTE, inherent quality; property. kind of riddle. 5 PIE-BALD, of various colors. 3. THE SALT-WATER SUCKERS. 1. Of the fish known as the salt-water Suckers, there are two families. In the first the ventral fins, which are very much dilated beneath, are united around a circular disk, which acts as a sucker. By means of this instrument these fishes are able to attach themselves to any firm bodies in a SALT-WATER SUCKERS.-1. White-tailed Remora, or Shark Sucker, Echeneis albicauda. 2. The Common Remora, or Sucking-fish, Echeneis remora. 3. Cornish Sucker, Lepadogastes cornubiensis. 4. Lump Sucker, Cyclopterus lumpus. strong current of water, and thus to obtain food in places where most other fish would be swept away. The small Cornish sucker, found on the European coasts, and the common lump sucker, a beautifully colored fish found throughout all the Northern Seas, are the best known. Pennant relates that upon throwing a lump sucker into a pail of water, it adhered so firmly to the bottom that, upon taking hold of the fish by the tail, he lifted the whole vessel, although it held several gallons. 2. The few fishes which compose the second family of the Suckers are natives of Southern Seas, although a few species are occasional visitors of our American coasts. In this family the adhesive disk is placed on the crown of the head, in the form of a large oval shield, as may be seen in the famous remora of the Mediterranean, and the shark sucker, drawings of which we have given. The shark sucker is often found adhering to the shark, and is frequently met with in the vicinity of New York. The common rem'ora was familiar to the Greeks and Romans, from whom we have received many fabulous accounts of its extraordinary powers in attaching itself to the sides of ships, and arresting their course. 3. Even the naturalist Pliny asserts that it was this little fish which stayed the progress of Mark Antony's ship in the naval engagement between him and Augustus Cæsar, and caused the defeat of the former; and that the Emperor Calig'ula once suffered a similar accident, which was the cause of his downfall! If naturalists could be thus easily imposed upon with respect to the marvelous powers of the remora, it is not surprising that this wonderful fish should have formed a theme for the wonder-loving poet: "The sucking-fish beneath, with secret chains, LESSON X.-SOFT-RAYED BONY FISHES, DESTITUTE OF VENTRAL FINS: called Apodals. THE EEL FAMILY.-1. Electric Gymnotus, Gymnotus electricus. 2. Conger Eel, Conger vulgaris. 3. The Muræna, Muræna helena. 4. American Sand-launce, Ammodytes Americanus. 5. Sharp-nosed Eel, Anguila acutirostris. 1. THE third division of the soft-rayed bony fishes is com posed wholly of the Eel family. Yarrell, in his valuable work, thus speaks of this family of fishes: "The form of the eel, resembling that of the serpent, has long excited a prejudice against it, which exists in some countries even to the present time; and its similarity to snakes has even been repeated by those who, from the advantages of education, and their acquirements in natural history, might have been supposed capable of drawing more accurate conclusions. There is but little similarity in the snake and the eel, except in the external form of the body: the important internal organs of the two animals, and the character of the skeleton, are most decidedly different. 2. "Eels are, in reality, a valuable description of fish: their flesh is excellent food; they are very numerous, very prolific, and are found in almost every part of the world. The various species are hardy, tenacious of life, and very easily preserved." Ellis, in his Polynesian Researches, says: "In Otaheite, eels are great favorites, and are tamed and fed until they attain an enormous size. These pets are kept in large holes, two or three feet deep, partially filled with water. On the sides of these pits they generally remained, excepting when called by the person who fed them. I have been several times with the young chief when he has sat down by the hole, and, by giving a shrill sort of whistle, has brought out an enormous eel, which has moved about the surface of the water, and eaten with confidence out of its master's hand." 3. Some few eels are confined to fresh waters, and some wholly to the sea; but most of the species reside in the brackish water at the mouths of rivers. The murana, an eel of the Mediterranean, was so highly prized by the Romans that they kept it in a tame state, and carefully fattened it for the table. Its colors and markings are extremely beautiful. 4. Plutarch tells us that Lucius Crassus brought up these fish almost by hand, and that they acknowledged his presence by springing out of the water whenever he came near: he was wont to deck them with rings and other ornaments; and another writer says that their loss was a greater grief to him than the death of his three children! In short, Cicero tells us that "many of the great men of Rome vied with each other in this extravagant fish passion, and deemed no moment of their lives more happy than when these creatures came to eat out of their hands." 5. But the most remarkable of the Eel family is the gymno'tus, or electrical eel of South America. It is sometimes five or six feet in length; it has no tail fin, and the scales are imperceptible to the naked eye. By its electric shocks it knocks down men and horses, and can be obtained only after its electric power has been expended by successive shocks. The Indians of Guiana, in South America, drive wild horses into the muddy ponds in which these eels abound, and thus are enabled to secure both horses and eels! LES. XI.-SOFT-RAYED BONY FISHES WITH TUFTED GILLS: Lophobranchii. SOFT-RAYED BONY FISHES WITH SOLDERED JAWS: Plectognathii. 1. Hudson River Sea-horse, Hippocampus Hudsonius. 2. Indian File-fish, Balistes praslinoides. 3. Horned Ostracion, Ostracion cornutus. 4. Great Pipe-fish, Sygnathus 5. Equorial Pipe-fish, or Needle-fish, Acestra æquora. 6. Pennant's Globe-fish, Tetrodon Pennantii. 7. Short Sun-fish, or Head-fish, Orthagoriscus mola. 8. Oblong Sun-fish, Orthagoriscus oblongus. 9. European File-fish, Balistes capriscus. acus. 1. THE remaining two divisions of the soft-rayed bony fishes, which are thus grouped in separate orders because they have certain peculiarities in the forms of their gills and the structure of their jaws, are embraced in the families of the Pipe fishes, the Balloon and Globe fishes, and a few armed fishes, mostly of tropical seas. In the drawing above are represented several species in each of these families. The pipe fishes, which vary from five or six inches to two feet in length, have a very remarkable appearance, the body being long and very slender, the snout also much lengthened, and the whole body covered with bony sculptured plates, like a coat of mail. 2. A remarkable peculiarity in several species of the pipe fishes is the existence, in the males, of two long and soft membranes which fold together, and form an abdominal pouch, in which the eggs are carried about until they are hatched, and into which the young retreat in case of danger. Fishermen assert that when the young are shaken out of the pouch into |