• [...]. Ariſt. Hiſt. an. lib. iv. c. ii. vi. 14. 16. Oppian Halieut. I. 516. iv. 450.
• Anguilla Plinii lib. ix. c. 21.
• L'Anguille. Belon. 291. Obſ. 55.
• Anguilla. Rondel. fluv. 198. Geſner piſc. 40.
• Ael. Schonevelde, 14.
• The Eel. Wil. piſc. 109. Raii ſyn. piſc. 37.
• Muraena unicolor maxilla in⯑feriore longiore. Arted. ſyn. 39.
• Muraena anguilla. Lin. ſyſt. 426. Gronov. Zooph. No. 166.
• Ahl. Faun. ſuec. No. 301. Aal. Kram. 387.

THE eel is a very ſingular fiſh in ſeveral things that relate to its natural hiſtory, and in ſome reſpects borders on the nature of the reptile tribe.

It is known to quit its element, and during night to wander along the meadows, not only for [112]change of habitation, but alſo that the ſake of prey, feeding on the ſnails it finds in its paſſage.

During winter it beds itſelf deep in the mud, and continues in a ſtate of reſt like the ſerpent kind. It is very impatient of cold, and will eagerly take ſhelter in a whiſp of ſtraw flung into a pond in ſe⯑vere weather, which has ſometimes been practiſed as a method of taking them. Albertus ^* goes ſo far as to ſay, that he has known eels to take ſhelter in a hay-rick, yet all periſhed thro' exceſs of cold.

It has been obſerved, that in the river Nyne ^** there is a variety of ſmall eel, with a leſſer head and narrower mouth than the mommon kind, that is found in clus;ters in the bottom of the river, and is called the Bed-eel: theſe are ſometimes rouzed up by violent floods, and are never found at that time with meat in their ſtomachs. This bears ſuch an analogy with the cluſtering of blindworms in their quieſcent ſtate, that we cannot but conſider it as a further proof of a partial agreement in the nature of the two genera.

The antients adopted a moſt wild opinion about the generation of theſe fiſh, Genera⯑tion. believing them to be either created from the mud, or that the ſcrapings of their bodies which they left on the ſtones, were animated and became young eels. Some moderns gave into theſe opinions, and into others that were equally extravagant. They could not account for [113]the appearance of theſe fiſh in ponds that never were ſtocked with them, and that were even ſo remote as to make their being met with in ſuch places a phae⯑nomenon that they could not ſolve. But there is much reaſon to believe, that many waters are ſup⯑plied with theſe fiſh by the aquatic fowl of prey, in the ſame manner as vegetation is ſpread by many of the land birds, either by being dropped as they carry them to feed their young, or by paſſing quick thro' their bodies, as is the caſe with herons; and ſuch may be occaſion of the appearance of theſe fiſh in places where they were never ſeen before. As to their immediate generation, Vivipa⯑rous. it has been ſufficiently proved to be effected in the ordinary courſe of na⯑ture, and that they are viviparous.

They are extremely voracious, and very deſtruc⯑tive to the fry of fiſh.

No fiſh lives ſo long out of water as the eel: it is extremely tenacious of life, as its parts will move a conſiderable time after they are flayed and cut into pieces.

The eel is placed by Linnaeus in the genus of Mu⯑raena, Deſcr. his firſt of the apodal fiſh, or ſuch which want the ventral fins.

The eyes are placed not remote from the end of the noſe: the irides are tinged with red: the under jaw is longer than the upper: the teeth are ſmall, ſharp, and numerous: beneath each eye is a minute orifice: at the end of the noſe two others, ſmall and tubular.

[114]This fiſh is furniſhed with a pair of pectoral fins, rounded at their ends. Another narrow fin on the back, uniting with that of the tail; and the anal fin joins it in the ſame manner beneath.

Behind the pectoral fins is the orifice to the gills, which are concealed in the ſkin.

Eels vary much in their colors, Silver Eels. from a ſooty hue to a light olive green; and thoſe which are called ſilver eels, have their bellies white, and a remarka⯑ble clearneſs throughout.

Beſides theſe there is another variety of this fiſh known in the Thames by the name of Grigs, Grigs. and about Oxford by that of Grigs or Gluts. Theſe are ſcarce ever ſeen near Oxford in the winter, but ap⯑pear in ſpring, and bite readily at the hook, which common eels in that neighborhood will not. They have a larger head, a blunter noſe, thicker ſkin, and Jeſs fat than the common ſort; neither are they ſo much eſteemed, nor do they often exceed three or four pounds in weight.

Common eels grow to a large ſize, ſometimes ſo great as to weigh fifteen or twenty pounds, but that is extremely rare. As to inſtances brought by Dale and others, of theſe fiſh encreaſing to a ſuperior magnitude, we have much reaſon to ſuſpect them to have been congers, ſince the enormous fiſh they deſcribe, have all been taken at the mouths of the Thames or Medway.

The eel is the moſt univerſal of fiſh, yet is ſcarce ever found in the Danube, tho' it is very common in the lakes and rivers of Upper Auſtria.

[115]The Romans held this fiſh very cheap, probably from its likeneſs to a ſnake:

‘For you, is kept a ſink-fed ſnake-like eel.’

On the contrary, the luxurious Sybarites were ſo fond of theſe fiſh, as to exempt from every kind of tribute the perſons who ſold them ^**

• [...]. Ariſt. Hiſt. an. lib. I. &c.
• [...]. Oppian Halieut. I. 113.521.
• Conger. Ovidii Halieut. 115. Plinii lib. ix. c. 16.20.
• Le Congre. Belon. 159.
• Conger. Rondel. 394. Geſner piſc. 290.
• The Conger, or Conger Eel.
• Wil. Icth. iii. Raii ſyn. piſc. 37.
• Muraena ſupremo margine pin⯑nae dorſalis nigro. Arted. ſynon. 40.
• Muraena Conger. M. roſtro tentaculis duobus, linea la⯑terali ex punctis albida. Lin. ſyſt. 426.

THE conger grows to a vaſt ſize. Size. Doctor Bor⯑laſe, to whom we are obliged for ſeveral in⯑formations relating to this ſpecies, aſſure us, that they are ſometimes taken near Mount's-Bay of one hundred pounds weight ^†

They differ from the common eel in the follow⯑ing particulars: Deſcr.

• 1. Their color in general is more dark.
• 2. Their eyes much larger in proportion.
• [116]3. The irides of a bright ſilvery color.
• 4. The lower jaw is rather ſhorter than the upper.
• 5. The ſide line is broad, whitiſh, and marked with a row of ſmall ſpots; Mr. Ray ſays a double row, but we did not obſerve it in the fiſh we examined.
• 6. The edges of the dorſal and anal fins are black.
• 7. They have more bones than the common eel, eſpecially along the back quite to the head.
• 8. They grow to a much larger ſize.

As to the diſtinction that Mr. Ray, and other writers, make of the ſmall beards at the end of the noſe, we think it not to be depended on, being ſometimes found in both kinds, and ſometimes en⯑tirely wanting.

We believe they generate like the freſh-water ſpecies: innumerable quantities, of what are ſup⯑poſed to be their fry, come up the Severn about the month of April, preceding the Shads, which it is conjectured migrate into that river to feed on them: Elvers. they are called Elvers. They quite ſwarm during their ſeaſon, and are taken in a kind of ſieve made of hair-cloth, fixed to a long pole; the fiſh⯑erman ſtanding on the edge of the water during the tide, puts in his net as far as he can reach, and draw⯑ing it out again takes multitudes at every ſweep, and will take as many during one tide as will fill a buſhel. They are dreſſed, and reckoned very deli⯑cate.

Congers are extremely voracious, preying on other fiſh, and on crabs at the time they have loſt their ſhell, and are in a ſoft ſtate. They and eels in ge⯑neral are alſo particularly fond of carcaſſes of any [117]kind, being frequently found lodged in ſuch that are accidentally taken up.

Theſe fiſh are an article of commerce in Corn⯑wall; numbers are taken on that coaſt, and exported to Spain and Portugal, particularly to Barcelona. The quantities that were ſent from Mount's-Bay for five years, are as follow:

Some are taken by a ſingle hook and line, Capture. but (becauſe that way is tedious, and does not anſwer the expence of time and labor) they are chiefly caught by Bulters, which are ſtrong lines five hundred feet long, with ſixty hooks, each eight feet aſunder, baited with pilchards or mackrel: the Bulters are ſunk to the ground by a ſtone faſtened to them: ſometimes ſuch a number of theſe are tied together as to reach a mile.

We have been told that the fiſhermen are very fearful of a large conger, leaſt it ſhould endanger their legs by clinging round them; they therefore kill them as ſoon as poſſible by ſtriking them on the navel.

They are afterwards cured in this manner: Cur [...]. they are ſlit, and hung on a frame till they dry, having a conſiderable quantity of fat, which it is neceſſary [118]ſhould exude before they are fit for uſe. It is re⯑markable that a conger of a hundred weight will waſte by drying to twenty-four pounds; the people therefore prefer the ſmalleſt, poſſibly becauſe they are ſooneſt cured. During the proceſs there is a conſiderable ſtench; and it is ſaid that in the fiſhing villages the poultry are fed with the maggots that drop from the fiſh.

The Portugueſe and Spaniards uſe thoſe dried congers after they have been ground into a powder, to thicken and give a reliſh to their ſoups. We think they are ſold for about forty ſhillings the quintal, which weighs one hundred and twenty-ſix pounds.

• Anarrhichas. Geſner Paralip. 4.
• Lupus marinus Caii opuſc. 113.
• Lupus marinus noſtras, quem incolae Wolff. Schonevelde 45. tab. 5.
• Cat-Fiſh. Sib. Scot. iii. 25. tab. 16.
• Wolf Fiſh, Sea Wolf, or Woof. Wil. Icth. 130. Raii ſyn. piſc. 40.
• Steen-bider. Pontop. Norway. ii. 151.
• Kigutilik i. [...]. dentatus. Crantz. Greenl. I. 96.
• Anarhichas. Arted. ſynon. 39.
• Anarhichas Lupus. Lin. ſyſt. 430.
• Zee Wolf. Gronov. Muſ. No. 44. Zooph. No. 400.

THIS fiſh ſeems to be confined to the northern parts of the globe. Place. We find it in the ſeas of Greenland, in thoſe of Iceland ^* and Norway, on the coaſts of Scotland, and of Yorkſhire, and laſtly, in that part of the German ocean, which waſhes the ſhores of Holland, the moſt ſouthern of its haunts we can with any certainty mention.

It is a moſt ravenous and fierce fiſh, and when taken faſtens on any thing within its reach: the fiſhermen dreading its bite, endeavor as ſoon as poſſi⯑ble [120]to beat out its fore teeth, and then kill it by ſtriking it behind the head. Schonevelde relates, that its bite is ſo hard that it will ſeize on an anchor, and leave the marks of its teeth in it; and the Daniſh and German names of Steenbider and Steinbeiſſer, ex⯑preſs the ſenſe of its great ſtrength, as if it was ca⯑pable of cruſhing even ſtones with its jaws.

It feeds almoſt entirely on cruſtaceous animals, Food. and ſhell fiſh, ſuch as crabs, lobſters, prawns, muſ⯑cles, ſcollops, large whelks, &c. theſe it grinds to pieces with its teeth, and ſwallows with the leſſer ſhells. It does not appear they are diſſolved in the ſtomach, but are voided with the foeces, for which purpoſe the aperture of the anus is wider than in other fiſh of the ſame ſize.

It is full of roe in February, March, and April, and ſpawns in May and June.

This fiſh has ſo diſagreeable and horrid an ap⯑pearance, that nobody at Scarborough except the fiſhermen will eat it, and they prefer it to holibut. They always before dreſſing take off the head and ſkin.

The ſea wolf grows to a large ſize: Size. thoſe on the Yorkſhire coaſt are ſometimes found of the length of four feet, and, according to Doctor Gronovius, have been taken near Hitland ſeven feet long, and even more. That which we examined was three feet two inches and an half from the tip of the noſe to the end of the tail: the length of the head was eight inches, from the gills to the vent, ten; from thence to the tip of the tail, twenty and one half.

[121]The circumference of the head was ſeventeen inches, at the ſhoulders twenty, but near the tail only four and a half.

Its weight was twenty pounds and a quarter.

The head is a little ſlatted on the top: the noſe blunt; the noſtrils very ſmall; the eyes ſmall, and placed near the end of the noſe.

The teeth are very remarkable, Teeth. and finely adapted to its way of life. The fore teeth are ſtrong, coni⯑cal, diverging a little from each other, ſtand far out of the jaws, and are commonly ſix above, and the ſame below, tho' ſometimes there are only five in each jaw: theſe are ſupported within-ſide by a row of leſſer teeth, which makes the number in the up⯑per jaw ſeventeen or eighteen, in the lower eleven or twelve.

The ſides of the under jaw are convex inwards, which greatly adds to their ſtrength, and at the ſame time allows room for the large muſcles with which the head of this fiſh is furniſhed.

The dentes molares, or grinding teeth of the under jaw, are higher on the outer than the inner edges, which inclines their ſurfaces inward: they join to the canine teeth in that jaw, but in the upper are ſe⯑parate from them.

In the centre are two rows of flat ſtrong teeth, fixed on an oblong baſis upon the bones of the pa⯑late and noſe.

Theſe and the other grinding teeth are often found foſſil, and in that ſtate called Bufonites, or Toad⯑ſtones: they were formerly much eſteemed for their [122]imaginary virtues, and were ſet in gold, and worn as rings.

The two bones that form the under jaw are united before by a looſe cartilage, which mechaniſm admit⯑ting of a motion from ſide to ſide, moſt evidently contributes to the deſign of the whole, viz. a faci⯑lity of breaking, grinding, and comminuting its teſtaceous and cruſtaceous food.

The body is long, and a little compreſſed ſide⯑ways; the ſkin ſmooth and ſlippery: it wants the la⯑teral line.

The pectoral fins conſiſt of eighteen rays, are five inches long, and ſeven and a quarter broad.

The dorſal fin extends from the hind part of the head almoſt to the tail; the rays in the freſh fiſh are not viſible.

The anal fin extends as far as the dorſal fin.

The tail is round at its end, and conſiſts of thir⯑teen rays.

The ſides, Color. back, and fins, are of a livid lead co⯑lor; the two firſt marked downwards wiith irregular obſcure duſky lines; theſe in different fiſh have dif⯑ferent appearances.

We think ourſelves much indebted to Mr. Travis, Surgeon, at Scarborough, for his ingenious remarks on this fiſh, as well as on ſeveral others that frequent that coaſt, being a gentleman much ſkilled in icthy⯑ology, and extremely liberal in communicating his knowlege.

• Ammodytes piſcis, ut nos vo⯑cavimus pro anglico Sandilz. Geſner Paralip. 3.
• Tobian, vel Tobias, Sandtſpi⯑ring. Schonevelde, 76.
• Ammodytes. Geſneri Wil. Icth. 113.
• Sand Eels, or Launces. Raii ſyn. piſc 38, 165.
• Ammodytes Arted. ſynon. 29.
• Ammodytes Tobianus. Lin. ſyſt. 430.
• Tobis. Faun. ſuec. 302. Gro⯑nov. Zooph. No. 404.

THE launce is found on moſt of our ſandy ſhores during ſome of the ſummer months: it conceals itſelf on the receſs of the tides beneath the ſand, in ſuch places where the water is left at the depth of about a foot, and are in ſome places dug out, in others drawn up by means of a hook contrived for that purpoſe. They are commonly uſed for baits for other fiſh, but they are alſo very delicate eating.

Theſe fiſh are found in the ſtomachs of the Por⯑peſſe, an argument that the laſt roots up the ſand with its noſe as hogs do the ground.

[124]They grow ſometimes the length of nine or ten inches: Size. the females are longer and ſlender than the males.

The form of the body is ſquare, the ſides are rounded, and the angles not ſharp: it is nevertheleſs long and ſlender.

The head is ſmall and taper; the under jaw much longer than the upper: the upper jaw is moveable, capable of being protruded, ſo that when open the gape is very wide.

The irides are ſilvery.

The dorſal fin runs almoſt the whole length of the back, is very narrow, and conſiſts of fifty-eight rays: the pectoral fins ſmall, and have twelve: the anus is placed much nearer the tail than the head, is narrow, and extends almoſt to the former.

The tail is forked, but the lobes rounded at their extremities.

The color of the back is blue, varying with green: on each ſide the back is a narrow duſky line or two. The ſides and belly are ſilvery; the lateral line ſtrait.

• Leptocephalus. Gronov. Zooph. No. 409. tab. 13. fig. 3.

THIS ſpecies was diſcovered in the ſea near Ho⯑lyhead by the late Mr. William Morris, and in memory of our worthy friend we have given it his name: on receiving it from Mr. Morris, we com⯑municated it to that accurate Icthyologiſt Doctor Laurence Theodore Gronovius, of Leyden, who has deſcribed it in his Zoophylacium, under the title of Leptocephalus, or ſmall head.

The length was four inches; the head very ſmall; Deſcr. the body compreſſed ſideways, extremely thin, and almoſt tranſparent, about the tenth of an inch thick, and in the deepeſt part about one-third of an inch; towards the tail it grew more ſlender, and ended in a point; towards the head it ſloped down, the head lying far beneath the level of the back.

The eyes large; the teeth in both jaws very ſmall.

The lateral line ſtrait: the ſides marked with oblique ſtrokes, that met at the lateral line.

The aperture to the gills large.

[126]It wanted the pectoral, ventral, and caudal fins: the dorſal fin was extremely low, and thin, extend⯑ing the whole length of the back very near the tail. The anal fin was of the ſame delicacy, and ex⯑tended to the ſame diſtance from the anus.

• [...]. Ariſt. Hiſt. an. lib. ii. c. 13. viii. c. 19. Oppian. Halieut. lib. ii. 462. iii. 442.
• Xiphias. Ovid. Halieut. 97.
• Xiphias, i. e. Gladius Plinii lib. xxxii. c. 2. ^*
• L'Heron de mer, ou grand Eſ⯑padaz. Belon. 102,
• Xiphias. Rondel. 251.
• Xiphias, i. e. Gladius piſcis. Geſner piſc. 1049. Caii opuſc. 104.
• Schwert-fiſche. Schonevelde, 35.
• Sword-fiſh. Wil. Icth. 161. Raii ſyn. piſc. 52.
• Xiphias. Arted. ſynon. 47.
• Xiphias Gladius. Lin. ſyſt. 432.
• Swerd-fiſk. Faun. ſuec. No. 303.

THIS fiſh ſometimes frequents our coaſts, but is much more common in the Mediterranean ſea, Place. eſpecially in the part that ſeparates Italy from Sicily, which has been long celebrated for it: the promontory Pelorus ^*, now Capo di Faro, was a place noted for the reſort of the Xiphias, being poſſibly the ſtation of the ſpeculatores, or the perſons who watched and gave notice of the approach of the fiſh.

[127]The antient method of taking them is particu⯑larly deſcribed by Strabo ^*, Capture. and agrees exactly with that practiſed by the moderns.

A man aſcends one of the cliffs that overhangs the ſea: as ſoon as he ſpies the fiſh, he gives notice either by his voice or by ſigns of the courſe it takes. Another, that is ſtationed in a boat, climbs up the maſt, and on ſeeing the ſword fiſh, directs the row⯑ers towards it. As ſoon as he thinks they are got within reach, he deſcends, and taking a ſpear in his hand, ſtrikes it into the fiſh, which, after wearying itſelf with its agitation, is ſeized and drawn into the boat. It is much eſteemed by the Sicilians, who buy it up eagerly, and at its firſt coming into ſeaſon give about ſix-pence Engliſh per pound. The ſeaſon laſts from May till Auguſt ^**. The antients uſed to cut this fiſh into pieces, and ſalt it, whence it was called Tomus Thurianus ^†, from Thurii, a town in the bay of Tarentum, where it was taken and cured.

Kircher, in his Muſurgia, has preſerved a ſtrange incantation uſed by the Sicilian fiſhermen, at the capture of the Peſce Spada, as they call it, which is expreſſed in the following unintelligible jargon:

[128]But this uſe of charmed words is not confined to Sicily; the Iriſh have their ſong at the taking of the razor ſhell; and the Corniſh theirs, at the taking of the whiſtle fiſh.

The ſword fiſh is ſaid to be very voracious, and that it is a great enemy to the Tunny, who (accord⯑ing to Belon) are as much terrified with it as ſheep are at the ſight of a wolf.

It grows to a very large ſize; Size. the head of one, with the pectoral fins, found on the ſhore near Laugharn, in Caermarthenſhire, alone weighing ſe⯑venty-five pounds: the ſnout was three feet long, rough, and hard, but not hard enough to penetrate ſhips and ſink them, as Pliny pretends ^*

The ſnout is the upper jaw, Snout. produced to a great length, and has ſome reſemblance to a ſword, from whence the name. It is compreſſed at the top and bottom, and ſharp at the point. The under jaw is four times as ſhort as the upper, but likewiſe ſharp pointed. The mouth is deſtitute of teeth.

The body is ſlender, thickeſt near the head, and growing leſs and leſs as it approaches the tail.

The ſkin is rough, but very thin: the color of the back is duſky, of the belly ſilvery.

[129]The dorſal fin begins a little above the gills, and extends almoſt to the tail: it is higheſt at the be⯑ginning and the end, but very low in the middle: a little above the tail, on each ſide, the ſkin riſes and forms two triangular protuberances, not unlike the ſpurious fins of the tunny.

The pectoral fins are long, and of a ſcythe-like form, and their firſt rays the longeſt.

The anus is placed at the diſtance of one-third part of the body from the tail; beneath are two anal fins.

The tail is exactly of the ſhape of a creſent.

• La tierce eſpece de Exocetus? Belon. 218.
• Dracunculus. Rondel. 304.
• Dracunculus, aranei ſpecies al⯑tera. Geſner piſc. 80.
• Dragon fiſh. Marten's Spitz⯑berg. 123.
• Yellow Gurnard. Phil. Tranſ. No. 293.
• Lyra Harvicenſis. Pet. Gaz. tab. 22. Dale Harwich. 431.
• Callionymus Lyra. C. dorſalis prioris radiis longitudine corporis. Lin. ſyſt. 433. Faun. ſuec. No. 110.
• Uranoſcopus, Gronov. Zooph. No. 206.
• Floy-fiſke. Pontop. Norway, ii. iii.
• Dracunculus marinus. Borlaſe Cornwall. 270. Seb. Muſ. iii. 92. tab. 30. fig. 7.

LINNAEUS has given this genus the name of Callionymus, Name. fiſh mentioned by ſeveral of the antients; but the notices the have left of it are ſo very ſlight, as to render it difficult to determine what ſpecies they intended. ^* Pliny makes it a ſynonym to the Uranoſcopus, a fiſh frequent in the Italian ſeas, but very different from our Dragonet, a name we [131]have taken the liberty of forming, from the diminu⯑tive Dracunculus, a title given it by Rondeletius, and other authors. The Engliſh writers have called it the Yellow Gurnard, which having no one character of the Gurnard genus, we think ourſelves obliged to drop that name.

It is found as far north as Spitzbergen, Place. and as far ſouth as the Mediterranean ſea, and is not unfrequent on the Scarborough coaſts. We have alſo received it from Norway, among ſeveral other curioſities which that honeſt well-meaning prelate, Erich Pontoppi⯑dan ^*, made us a preſent of.

This ſpecies grows to the length of ten or twelve inches: Deſcr. the body is ſlender, round, and ſmooth.

The head is large, and flat at the top; in the hind part are two orifices, thro' which it breathes, and alſo forces out the water it takes in at the mouth, in the ſame manner as the cetaceous fiſh.

The apertures to the gills are cloſed: on the end of the bones that cover them is a very ſingular tri⯑furcated ſpine.

The eyes are large, and placed very near each other on the upper part of the head, ſo that they look upwards; for which reaſon it has been ranked among the Uranoſcopi: the pupils are of a rich ſap⯑pharine blue, the irides of a fine yellow.

The upper jaw projects much farther than the lower: the mouth is very wide: the teeth are ſmall.

[132]The pectoral fins are round, and of a light-brown color; the ventral placed before them, are very broad, and conſiſt of five branched rays.

The firſt dorſal fin is very ſingular, the firſt ray being ſetaceous, and ſo long as to extend almoſt to the tail: thoſe of the ſecond dorſal fins are of a mo⯑derate length, except the laſt, which is produced far beyond the others.

The anus is placed about the middle of the belly; the anal fin is broad, and the laſt ray the longeſt. Pontoppidan calls this ſpecies the flying fiſh: whe⯑ther it makes uſe of any of its fins to raiſe itſelf out of the water, as he was informed they did, we cannot pretend to ſay.

The tail is rounded and long, and conſiſts of ten rays.

The ſide line is ſtrait: Colors. the colors are yellow, blue, and white, and make a beautiful appearance when the fiſh has been juſt taken.

• Dracunculus. Wil. Icth. 136. Raii ſyn. piſc, 79.
• Cottus pinna ſecunda dorſi al⯑ba. Arted. ſynon. 77.
• Callionymus Dracunculus. C. dorſalis prioris radiis corpo⯑re brevioribus. Lin. ſyſt. 434.

THIS ſpecies we received from Mr. Travis. Its length was only ſix inches and an half. The head was compreſſed; the forehead ſloped down to the noſe, being not ſo level as that of the preceding.

The eyes large, and almoſt contiguous.

The mouth ſmall; the teeth very minute.

Over the gills was a ſtrong trifurcated broad ſpine.

The firſt dorſal fin had four rays; the firſt ſeta⯑ceous, extending a little higher than the others, the laſt very ſhort: the two firſt rays and webs were yellow, the others black.

The ſecond had ten ſoft rays, their ends extending beyond the webs, which were pellucid.

The pectoral fins conſiſted of twenty rays, and were ferruginous, ſpotted with a deeper caſt of the ſame: the ventral fins conſiſted of five broad and much branched rays, like thoſe of the firſt ſpecies.

The anal fin was white, and had ten rays; the tail had ten rays. In both ſpecies they are bifurcated at their ends, and the ray next the anal fin in both is very ſhort.

In colors this is far inferior to the former, being of a dirty yellow, mixed with white and duſky ſpots; the belly is entirely white.

• [...]? Ariſt. Hiſt. an. lib. viii. c. 13. Aelian. Hiſt an. lib. ii. c. 50. Oppian. Halieut. ii. 459.
• Draco marinus Plinii lib. ix. c. 27. Draco, Dracunculus. lib. xxxii. c. 11. Araneus. lib. ix. c. 48.
• La vive. Belon. 209.
• Draco. Rondel. 300. Geſner piſc. 77. 78.
• Peter-manniken, Schwert⯑fiſche. Schonevelde. 16.
• The Weever. Wil. Icth. 238. Raii ſyn. piſc. 91.
• Trachinus maxilla inferiore longiore, cirris deſtituta. Arted. ſyn. 71.
• Trachinus Draco. Lin. ſyſt. 453. Gronov. Zooph. No. 274.
• Farſing, Fiaſſing. Faun. ſuec. No. 305.

THE qualities of this fiſh were well known to the antients, who take notice of them without any exaggeration: the wounds inflicted by its ſpines are exceedingly painful, attended with a violent burn⯑ing, and moſt pungent ſhooting, and ſometimes with an inflammation that will extend from the arm to the ſhoulder ^*

It is a common notion that theſe ſymptoms pro⯑ceed from ſomething more than the ſmall wound this fiſh is capable of inflicting; and that there is a venom infuſed into it, at leſt into ſuch as is made by [135]the ſpines that form the firſt dorſal fin, which is dyed with black, and has a moſt ſuſpicious aſpect. The remedy uſed by a fiſherman in our neighbourhood is the ſea ſand, with which he rubs the place affected for a conſiderable time ^*

This fiſh buries itſelf in the ſands, leaving only its noſe out, and if trod on immediately ſtrikes with great force; and we have ſeen them direct their blows with as much judgment as fighting cocks. Notwithſtanding this noxious property of the ſpines, it is exceeding good meat.

The Engliſh name ſeems to have no meaning, Name. being corrupted from the French, la vive, ſo called as being capable of living long out of the water, according to the interpretation of Belon.

It grows to the length of twelve inches, Deſcr. but is commonly found much leſs.

The irides are yellow: the under jaw is longer than the upper, and ſlopes very much towards the belly: the teeth are ſmall.

The back is ſtrait, the ſides flat, the belly promi⯑nent, the lateral line ſtrait: the covers of the gills are armed with a very ſtrong ſharp ſpine.

The firſt dorſal fin conſiſts of five very ſtrong ſharp ſpines, which, as well as the intervening mem⯑branes are tinged with black; this fin, when quieſ⯑cent, is lodged in a ſmall hollow.

The ſecond conſiſts of ſeveral ſoft rays, com⯑mences juſt at the end of the firſt, and continues [136]almoſt to the tail. The pectoral fins are pretty broad and angular; the ventral fins ſmall.

The vent is placed remarkably forward, very near the throat: the anal fin extends from it to a ſmall diſtance from the tail, is a little hollowed in the mid⯑dle, but not ſo much as to be called forked.

The ſides of this fiſh are marked lengthways with two or three dirty yellow lines, and tranſverſely by numbers of ſmall ones: the belly is ſilvery.

• Araneus minor, ſeptentriona⯑libus Anglis, an Otter Pike.
• Raii ſyn. piſc. 92. Wil. Icth. 289.

THIS is a ſpecies which Mr. Ray ſays he heard was found in the north of England, but that he was acquainted with it only by name.

• La Morue. Belon. 121.
• Molva. Rondel. 280.
• Molva ſive morhua altera. Geſ⯑ner piſc. 88.
• Kablauw. Schonevelde. 18.
• Aſellus major vulgaris. Wil. Icth. 165.
• Cod-fiſh, or Keeling. Raii ſyn. piſc. 53.
• Gadus dorſo tripterygio, ore cirrato, cauda aequali fere cum radio primo ſpinoſo. Arted. ſynon. 35.
• Gadus morhua. Lin. ſyſt. 436. Gronov. Zooph. No. 319.
• Cabblia. Faun. ſuec. No. 398.

THIS fiſh is found only in the northern part of the world; it is, as Rondeletius calls it, an ocean fiſh, and never met with in the Mediterranean ſea. ^*. It affects cold climates, and ſeems confined [138]between the latitudes 66 and 50: what are caught north and ſouth of thoſe degrees being either few in quantity, or bad in quality. The Greenland fiſh are ſmall and emaciated thro' want of food, being very voracious, and having in thoſe ſeas a dearth of pro⯑viſion.

This locality of ſituation is common to many other ſpecies of this genus, moſt of them being in⯑habitants of the cold ſeas, or ſuch that lie within zones that can juſt clame the title of temperate. There are nevertheleſs certain ſpecies found near the Ganary Iſlands, called Cherny ^*, of which we know no more than the name; but according to the un⯑fortunate Captain Glas, are better taſted than the Newfoundland kind.

The great rendezvouz of the cod fiſh is on the Banks of Newfoundland, and the other ſand banks that lie off the coaſts of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and New England. They prefer thoſe ſituations, by reaſon of the quantity of worms produced in thoſe ſandy bottoms, which tempt them to reſort there for food: but another cauſe of the particular attach⯑ment the fiſh have to theſe ſpots, is their vicinity to the polar ſeas, where they return to ſpawn; there they depoſe their roes in full ſecurity, but want of food forces them, as ſoon as the firſt more ſouthern ſeas are open, to repair thither for ſubſiſtence.

Few are taken north of Iceland, but on the ſouth and weſt coaſts they abound: they are again found to ſwarm on the coaſts of Norway, in the Baltic, off the Orkney and the Weſtern Iſles; after which their [139]numbers decreaſe, in proportion as they advance to⯑wards the ſouth, when they ſeem quite to ceaſe be⯑fore they reach the mouth of the Straits of Gib⯑raltar.

Before the diſcovery of Newfoundland, the greater fiſheries of cod were in the ſeas of Iceland, and of our Weſtern Iſles, which were the grand reſort of ſhips of all the commercial nations; but it ſeems that the greateſt plenty was met with near Iceland; for we find Queen Elizabeth condeſcending to aſk permiſſion to fiſh in thoſe ſeas from Chriſtian the IVth. of Denmark, yet afterwards ſhe ſo far repent⯑ed her requeſt, as to inſtruct her embaſſadors to that court, to inſiſt on the right of a free and univerſal fiſhery ^*

But the Spaniſh, the French, and the Britons, had much the advantage of us in all fiſheries at the be⯑ginning, as appears by the ſtate of that in the ſeas of Newfoundland in the year 1578 ^**, when the number of ſhips belonging to each nation ſtood thus:

• Spaniards, 100, beſides 20 or 30 that came from Biſcaie, to take whale for train, being about five or ſix thouſand tons.
• Portugueſe, 50, or three thouſand tons.
• French and Britons, 150, or ſeven thouſand tons.
• Engliſh, from 30 to 50.

But Mr. Anderſon, in his Dictionary of Commerce, I. 363, ſays, that the French began to fiſh there ſo [140]early as 1536; and we think we have ſomewhere read, that their firſt pretence for fiſhing for cod in thoſe ſeas, was only to ſupply an Engliſh convent with that article.

The encreaſe of ſhipping that reſort to thoſe fer⯑tile banks, are now unſpeakable: our own country ſtill enjoys the greateſt ſhare, which ought to be eſ⯑teemed our chiefeſt treaſure, as it brings wealth to individuals, and ſtrength to the ſtate.

All this immenſe fiſhery is carried on by the hook and line only ^*; the bait is herring, a ſmall fiſh called a Capelin, a ſhell fiſh called Clams, and bits of ſea fowl; and with theſe are caught fiſh ſufficient to find employ for near fifteen thouſand Britiſh ſeamen, and to afford ſubſiſtence to a much more numerous body of people at home, who are engaged in the various manufactures which ſo vaſt a fiſhery demands.

The food of the cod is either ſmall fiſh, Food. worms, teſtaceous, or cruſtaceous animals, ſuch as crabs, large whelks, &c. and their digeſtion is ſo powerful, as to diſſolve the greateſt part of the ſhells they ſwallow. They are very voracious, and catch at any ſmall body they perceive moved by the water, even ſtones and pebbles, which are often found in their ſtomachs.

Providence hath kindly ordained that this fiſh, Vaſtly prolific. ſo uſeful to mankind, ſhould be ſo very prolific as to [141]ſupply more than the deficiencies of the multitudes annually taken. Leuwenhoek counted nine millions three hundred and eighty-four thouſand eggs in a cod fiſh of a middling ſize, a number ſure that will baffle all the efforts of man, or the voracity of the inhabitants of the ocean to exterminate, and which will ſecure to all ages an inexhauſtible ſupply of grateful proviſion.

In our ſeas they begin to ſpawn in January, and depoſite their eggs in rough ground, among rocks. Some continue in roe till the beginning of April. The cod fiſh in general recover quicker after ſpawn⯑ing than any other fiſh, therefore it is common to take ſome good ones all the ſummer. When they are out of s;eaſon they are thin tailed and louſy, and the lice chiefly fix themſelves on the inſide of their mouths.

The fiſh of a middling ſize are moſt eſteemed for the table, and are choſen by their plumpneſs and roundneſs, eſpecially near the tail, by the depth of the ſulcus or pit behind the head, and by the regular undulated appearance of the ſides, as if they were ribbed. The glutinous parts about the head loſe their delicate flavor after it has been twenty-four hours out of the water, even in winter, in which theſe and other fiſh of this genus are in higheſt ſeaſon.

The largeſt that we ever heard of taken on our coaſts weighed ſixty-nine pounds, Size. but the general weight on the Yorkſhire ſeas is from fourteen to forty.

This ſpecies is ſhort in proportion to its bulk, Deſcr. the belly being very large and prominent.

[142]The jaws are of an equal length, at the end of the lower is a ſmall beard; the teeth are diſpoſed in the palate as well as jaws.

The eyes are large.

On the back are three ſoft fins; the firſt has four⯑teen, the two laſt nineteen rays a-piece. The ven⯑tral fins are very ſlender, and conſiſt but of ſix rays; the two firſt extending far beyond the others. It has two anal fins; the firſt conſiſting of twenty, the laſt of ſixteen rays.

The tail is almoſt even at the end: the firſt ray on each ſide is ſhort, and compoſed of a ſtrong bone.

The color of this fiſh is cinereous on the back and ſides, and commonly ſpotted with yellow: the belly is white, but they vary much, not only in color ^* but in ſhape, particularly that of the head.

The ſide line is white and broad, Side line ſtrait, till it reaches oppoſite the vent, when it bends towards the tail.

• Aſellus varius vel ſtriatus, Dorſch, Pamuchelen. Scho⯑nevelde, 19. Wil. Icth. 172. Raii ſyn. piſc. 54.
• Gadus dorſo tripterygio, ore cirrato, colore vario, max⯑illa ſuperiore longiore, cauda aequali. Arted. ſynon. 35.
• Gadus callarias. G. triptery⯑gius, cirratus varius, cauda integra, maxilla ſuperiore longiore. Liniſyſt. 436.
• Torſk. Faun. ſuec. No. 307.

THESE fiſh are found in great quantities in the Baltic, and the northern ſeas, particularly in Braſſa Sound ^*, and about the Orkney Iſles, and are ſuppoſed never to wander into the more ſouthern ſeas.

It is a fiſh much eſteemed for its delicacy; the meat divides into flakes on being boiled, like that of a ſalmon: for which reaſon, as Schonevelde tells us, the Germans call it Scheibendorſch.

It never grows to a large ſize, the greateſt not exceeding thirty inches ^**

The head is ſmall: the upper jaw is a little longer than the lower: in the firſt the teeth are diſpoſed in a ſingle row; in the upper in ſeveral. In the roof of the mouth is a rough triangular bone: at the end of the lower jaw is a ſmall beard.

Between the head and the firſt dorſal fin is a deep groove.

[144]The belly is a little prominent; the ſide line white, broad, placed nearer the back than the belly, and a little incurvated.

The dorſal fins are duſky, the two firſt ſpotted: the back, head, and ſides of a deep olive color, in ſome whitiſh, and marked with numerous yellow ſpots: the belly white.

The tail even at the end, and its rays ſoft.

• Aigrefin, ou aiglefin. Belon. 118.
• Tertia aſellorum ſpecies. Ron⯑del. 277.
• Tertia aſel. Sp. Eglefinus. Geſ⯑ner piſc. 86.
• Onos five aſinus veterum. Tur⯑ner epiſt. ad Geſner.
• Aſellus minor, Schelfiſch. Scho⯑nevelde. 18.
• Hadock. Wil. Icth. 170. Raii ſyn. piſc. 55.
• Gadus dorſo tripterygio, ore cirrato, max. ſup. longiore, corpore albicante, cauda pa⯑rum bifurca. Arted. ſynon. 36.
• Gadus Aeglefinus. G. tripte⯑rygius cirratus albicans, cau⯑da biloba. Lin. ſyſt. 435.
• Kolja. Faun. ſuec. No. 306.
• Gronov. Zooph. No. 321.

OUR countryman Turner conjectured this ſpe⯑cies to have been the [...], Name. or Aſinus, of the antients, and Belon, that it was the [...], and the [...] of Oppian. We have carefully conſulted moſt of the antient naturaliſts, but cannot diſcover any marks by which we can determine the ſpecies they intended. The words ^* [...], ^** Aſinus, Aſellus, ^† Callarias, and Bacchus, are familiarly applied [145]to ſeveral of our ſpecies of cod fiſh by the more modern writers; yet the antients from whom they are borrowed, have not authorized the application to any particular kind, either by deſcription or any other method.

Different reaſons have been aſſigned for giving the name of [...], or Aſinus to this genus, ſome ima⯑gining it to be from the color of the fiſh, others be⯑cauſe it uſed to be carried on the backs of aſſes to market; but we ſhall drop this uncertain ſubject, and proceed to what we have fuller aſſurance of.

Large hadocks begin to be in roe the middle of November, Seaſon. and continue ſo till the end of January; from that time till May they are very thin tailed, and much out of ſeaſon. In May they begin to re⯑cover, and ſome of the middling-ſized fiſh are then very good, and continue improving till the time of their greateſt perfection. The ſmall ones are ex⯑tremely good from May till February, and ſome even in February, March, and April, viz. thoſe which are not old enough to breed.

The fiſhermen aſſert, that in rough weather ha⯑docks ſink down into the ſand, and ooze in the bot⯑tom of the ſea, and ſhelter themſelves there till the ſtorm is over, becauſe in ſtormy weather they take none, and thoſe that are taken immediately after a ſtorm are covered with mud on their backs.

In ſummer they live on young herrings and other ſmall fiſh; Food. in winter on the ſtone-coated worms ^*, which the fiſhermen call hadock meat.

[146]The grand ſhoal of hadocks comes periodically on the Yorkſhire coaſts. Vaſt ſhoals. It is remarkable that they ap⯑peared in 1766 on the 10th of December, and exactly on the ſame day in 1767: theſe ſhoals extended from the ſhore near three miles in breadth, and in length from Flamborough head to Tinmouth caſtle, and per⯑haps much farther northwards. An idea may be given of their numbers by the following fact: three fiſhermen, within the diſtance of a mile from Scarbo⯑rough harbour, frequently loaded their coble or boat with them twice a-day, taking each time about a ton of fiſh: when they put down their lines beyond the diſtance of three miles from the ſhore, they caught nothing but dog fiſh, which ſhows how exactly theſe fiſh keep their limits.

The beſt hadocks were ſold from eightpence to a ſhilling per ſcore, and the poor had the ſmaller ſort at a penny, and ſometimes a halfpenny per ſcore ^*

The large hadocks quit the coaſt as ſoon as they go out of ſeaſon, and leave behind great plenty of ſmall ones. It is ſaid that the large ones viſit the coaſts of Hamburgh and Jutland in the ſummer.

It is no leſs remarkable than providential, that all kinds of fiſh (except mackrel) which frequent the Yorkſhire coaſt, approach the ſhore, and as if it were offer themſelves to us, generally remaining there as long as they are in high ſeaſon, and retire from us when they become unfit for uſe.

[147]It is the commoneſt ſpecies in the London markets.

They do not grow to a great bulk, Deſcr. one of four⯑teen pounds being of an uncommon ſize, but thoſe are extremely coarſe; the beſt for the table weigh⯑ing from two to three pounds.

The body is long, and rather more ſlender than thoſe of the preceding kinds: the head ſlopes down to the noſe: the ſpace between the hind part of the firſt dorſal fin is ridged: on the chin is a ſhort beard.

On the back are three fins reſembling thoſe of the common cod fiſh: on each ſide beyond the gills is a large black ſpot. Superſtition aſſigns this mark to the impreſſion St. Peter left with his finger and thumb when he took the tribute out of the mouth of a fiſh of this ſpecies, which has been continued to the whole race of hadocks ever ſince that mi⯑racle.

The lateral line is black: the tail is forked.

The color of the upper part of this ſpecies is duſky or brown; the belly and lower part of the ſides ſilvery.

• Aſellus mollis latus. Mr. Liſ⯑ter apud Wil. Ieth. Appl. 22.
• Whiting Pout, Londinenſibus. Raii ſyn. piſc. 55.
• Gadus dorſo tripterygio, ore cirrato, longitudine ad lati⯑tudinem tripla, pinna ani prima oſſiculorum triginta. Arted. ſynon. 37.
• Gadus barbatus. G. triptery⯑gius cirratus maxilla inferi⯑ore punctis utrinque ſeptem. Lin ſyſt. 437. Gronov. Zooph. No. 320.
• Sma-Torſk. Faun. ſuec. No. 311.

THIS ſpecies nevers grows to a large ſize, ſel⯑dom exceeding a foot in length.

It is diſtinguiſhed from all others by its great depth; one of the ſize abovementioned being near four inches deep in the broadeſt part.

The back is very much arched; the mouth ſmall; the beard ſhort.

The firſt dorſal fin is triangular, and terminates in a long fibre: the color of the fins and tail black: at the bottom of the pectoral fins is a black ſpot.

The lateral line is white, broad, and crooked.

The tail is even at the end.

The color of the body is white, but more obſcure on the back than the belly.

This fiſh was firſt diſcovered by Doctor Liſter, and communicated by him, with ſeveral other ſpecies, to Mr. Ray.

• Aſellus nanus, Dwergdorſch, Krumſtert? Schonevelde, 20.
• Bib & Blinds Cornubienſibus. Wil. Icth 169.
• Aſellus luſcus. Raii ſyn piſc. 54.
• Gadus dorſo tripterygio, ore cirrato, oſſiculo pinnarum ventralium primo in longam ſetam producto. Arted. ſynon. 35.
• Gadus luſcus. Lin. ſyſt. 437.

THIS ſpecies is ſuppoſed by Artedius to be the ſame with the former; but ſince it does not appear that he had an opportunity of examining it, we ſhall depend on the judgment of Mr. Ray, who had ſeen both, and ſhall form a ſeparate article of it from his deſcription, as it has not yet fell in our way.

It grows to the length of one foot: the body is deep, and the ſides compreſſed: the ſcales larger than thoſe of the cod fiſh, and adhere to the ſkin: the eyes are covered with a looſe membrane, which it is ſaid the fiſh can at pleaſure blow up like a blad⯑der. The mouth ſmall; the teeth diſpoſed like others of the kind: on the chin is a beard, which in grown fiſh is an inch long.

On the back are three fins; the firſt has twelve rays; the middle fin, which is the longeſt, has twen⯑ty-three; the laſt twenty.

The pectoral fins have about ſixteen rays; the ventral fins ſeven or eight, the firſt of which is very long and ſlender.

[150]The vent is placed at the diſtance of only one-third the length of the whole fiſh from the tip of the noſe; behind the vent are two fins.

The tail is almoſt even at the end.

The color of the back is light olive, Color. or dirty yellow; the belly ſilvery.

It is eſteemed a good eating fiſh, not unlike the whiting in taſte.

• Le Merlan? Belon. 120.
• Anthiae ſecunda ſpecies. Ron⯑del. 191. Geſner piſc. 56.
• Aſellus mollis minor, ſeu aſellus omnium minimus. MOLLO Venetiis. CAPELAN Maſſiliae. Wil. Icth. 171.
• Poor or Power Cornub. Mr. Ja⯑go. Raii ſyn. piſc. 163. fig. 6.
• Gadus dorſo tripterygio, ore cirrato, corpore ſeſcunciali, ano in medio corporis. Ar⯑ted. ſynon. 36.
• Gadus minutus. Lin. ſyſt. 438.

It is the ſmalleſt ſpecies yet diſcovered, Deſcr. being little more than ſix inches long.

On the chin is a ſmall beard: the eyes are covered with a looſe membrane: on the gill-covers, and the jaws are on each ſide, nine punctures.

The firſt dorſal fin has twelve rays; the ſecond nineteen; the third ſeventeen.

The pectoral fins thirteen; the ventral fins ſix: the firſt anal fin twenty-ſeven; the ſecond ſeven⯑teen.

The color on the back is a light brown; on the belly a dirty white.

We owe the diſcovery of this kind in our ſeas to the Rev. Mr. Jago.

[152]Three dorſal fins: chin beardleſs.

• Colfiſch. Belon. 128.
• Colfiſch Anglorum. Geſner piſc. 89.
• Aſellus niger. Kolfiſch, Koler. Schonevelde, 19.
• Cole fiſh Septentrionalium an⯑glorum. Rawlin Pollack Cor⯑nubienſium. Wil. piſc. 168. Raii ſyn. piſc. 54.
• Gadus dorſo tripterygio, ore imberbi, maxilla inferiore longiore et linea laterali recta. Arted. ſynon. 34.
• Gadus carbonarius. Lin. ſyſt. 438. Gronov. Zooph. No. 317.

THE coal fiſh takes its name from the black color that it ſometimes aſſumes. Belon calls it the Colfiſch, imagining it was ſo named by the Engliſh, from its producing the Icthyocolla, but Geſner gives the true etimology.

Theſe fiſh are common on moſt of our rocky and deep coaſts, but particularly thoſe of the north of Great Britain.

The young begin to appear on the Yorkſhire coaſt the beginning of July in vaſt ſhoals, Young. and are at that time about an inch and an half long. In Auguſt they are from three to five inches in length, and are taken in great numbers with the angling rod, and are then eſteemed a very delicate fiſh, but grow ſo coarſe when they are a year old that few people will eat them. Fiſh of that age are from eight to fif⯑teen inches long, and begin to have a little black⯑neſs [153]near the gills, and on the back, and the black⯑neſs encreaſes as they grow older.

The fry is known by different names in different places: they are called at Scarborough Parrs, and when a year old, Billets. About nine or ten years ago ſuch a glut of Parrs viſited that part, that for ſeveral weeks it was impoſſible to dip a pail into the ſea without taking ſome.

Tho' this fiſh is ſo little eſteemed when freſh, yet it is ſalted and dried for ſale; a perſon laſt year hav⯑ing cured above a thouſand at Scarborough.

The coal fiſh is of more elegant form than the cod fiſh: Deſcr. they generally grow to the length of two feet and an half, and weigh about twenty-eight or thirty pounds at moſt. The head is ſmall; the under jaw a little longer than the upper: the irides ſilvery, marked on one ſide with a black ſpot.

It has three dorſal fins, the firſt conſiſts of four⯑teen, the next of twenty, the laſt of twenty-two rays.

The pectoral fins of eighteen; the ventral of ſix: the firſt anal fin of twenty-two, the ſecond of nine⯑teen.

The tail is broad and forked.

Theſe fiſh vary in color. We have ſeen ſome whoſe back, noſe, dorſal fins and tail were of a deep black: the gill covers ſilver and black: the ventral and anal fins white; the belly of the ſame color.

We have ſeen others duſky, others brown, but in all the lateral line was ſtrait and white, and the lower part of the ventral and anal fins white.

• Aſellus vireſcens, Schwartres Kolmulen. Schonevelde, 20.
• Aſellus flaveſcens; Gelbe Kol⯑mulen. Ibid.
• Aſellus Huitingo-Pollachius. Wil. Icth. 167.
• Whiting Pollack. Raii ſyn. piſc. 53.
• Gadus dorſo tripterygio, ore imberbi, max. inf. longiore, linea laterali curva. Arted. ſynon. 35.
• Gadus Pollachius. Lin. ſyſt. 439. Gronov. Zooph. No. 318.
• Norwegis Scy. Bahuſiis Graſik? Faun. ſuec. No. 309.

THIS ſpecies is common on many of our rocky coaſts: during ſummer they are ſeen in great ſhoals frolicking on the ſurface of the water, and flinging themſelves into a thouſand forms. They are at that time ſo wanton as to bite at any thing that appears on the top of the waves, and are often taken with a gooſe's feather fixed to the hook. They are a very ſtrong fiſh, being obſerved to keep their ſtation at the feet of the rocks in the moſt turbulent and rapid ſea.

They are a good eating fiſh: they do not grow to a very large ſize; at leſt the biggeſt we have ſeen not exceeding ſix or ſeven pounds: but we have heard of ſome that were taken in the ſea near Scarborough, which they frequent during winter, that weighted near twenty-eight pounds.

The under jaw is longer than the upper; the head and body riſes pretty high, as far as the firſt dorſal fin.

The ſide line is incurvated, riſing towards the middle of the back, then ſinking and running ſtrait to the tail; it is broad, and a brown color.

[155]The firſt dorſal fin has eleven rays, the middle nineteen, the laſt ſixteen: the tail is a little forked.

The color of the back is duſky, of ſome inclin⯑ing to green: the ſides beneath the lateral line marked with lines of yellow; the belly white.

• Secunda aſellorum ſpecies. Rondel. 276.
• Merlanus. Rondel. Geſner piſc. 85.
• Aſellus candidus primus, Wit⯑ling. Schonevelde, 17.
• Aſellus mollis major, ſeu al⯑bus. Wil. Icth. 170.
• Whiting. Raii ſyn. piſc. 55.
• Gadus dorſo tripterygio, ore imberbi corpore albo, max⯑illa ſuperiore longiore. Ar⯑ted. ſynon. 34.
• Gadus merlangus. Lin. ſyſt. 438. Gronov. Zooph. No. 316.
• Hwitling, Widding. Faun ſuec. No. 310.

WHITINGS appear in vaſt ſhoals on our ſeas in the ſpring, keeping at the diſtance of about half a mile to that of three from the ſhore. They are caught in vaſt numbers by the line, and afford excellent diverſion.

They are the moſt delicate as well as the moſt wholeſome of any of the genus, but do not grow to a large ſize; the biggeſt we ever ſaw ^* not exceeding twenty inches, but that is very uncommon, the uſual length being ten or twelve.

It is a fiſh of an elegant make: the upper jaw is the longeſt; the eyes large, the noſe ſharp, the teeth of the upper jaw long, and appear over the lower when cloſed.

[156]The firſt dorſal fin has fifteen rays, the ſecond eighteen, the laſt twenty.

The color of the head and back is a pale brown; the lateral line white, and is crooked; the belly and ſides ſilvery; the laſt ſtreaked lengthways with yellow.

With only two dorſal fins.

• Le Merluz. Belon. 115.
• Aſellus, [...]. Rondel. 272.
• Merlucius. Geſner piſc. 84.
• Aſellus primus ſive Merlucius. Wil. Icth. 174.
• The Hake. Raii ſyn. piſe.
• Gadus dorſo dipterygio, max⯑illa inferiore longiore. Ar⯑ted. ſynon. 36.
• Gadus Merlucius. Lin. ſyſt. 439. Faun. ſuec. No. 314. Gronov. Zooph. No. 315.

A FISH that is found in vaſt abundance on many of our coaſts, and of thoſe of Ireland. There was formerly a vaſt ſtationary fiſhery of Hake on the Nymph Bank off the coaſt of Waterford, im⯑menſe quantities appearing there twice a year; the firſt ſhoal coming in June, during the Mackrel ſea⯑ſon, the other in September, at the beginning of the Herring ſeaſon, probably in purſuit of thoſe fiſh: it was no unuſual thing for ſix men with hooks and lines to take a thouſand Hake in one night, beſides a conſiderable quantity of other fiſh. Theſe were ſalted and ſent to Spain, particularly to Bilboa. ^* We are [157]at this time uninformed of the ſtate of this fiſhery, but find that Mr. Smith, who wrote the Hiſtory of the County of Waterford, complain even in his time (1746) of its decline. Many of the gregarious fiſh are ſubject to change their ſituations, and deſert their haunts for numbers of years, and then return again. We ſee p. 78, how unſettled the Baſking Shark appears to be: Mr. Smith inſtances the loſs of the Hadock on the Waterford ſhores, where they uſed to ſwarm; and to our own knowledge we can bring the capriciouſneſs of the herrings, which ſo frequently quit their ſtations, as another example.

Sometimes the irregular migration of fiſh is ow⯑ing to their being followed and haraſſed by an un⯑uſual number of fiſh of prey, ſuch as the ſhark kind.

Sometimes to deficiency of the ſmaller fiſh, which ſerved them as food.

And laſtly, in many places to the cuſtom of trawl⯑ing, which not only demoliſhes a quantity of their ſpawn, which is depoſited in the ſand, but alſo de⯑ſtroys or drives into deeper waters numberleſs worms and inſects, the repaſt of many fiſh.

The hake is in England eſteemed a very coarſe fiſh, and is ſeldom admitted to table either freſh or ſalted ^*

Theſe fiſh are from a foot and an half to near twice that length: Deſcr. they are of a ſlender make, of a pale aſh color on their backs, and of a dirty white on their bellies.

[158]Their head is flat and broad; the mouth very wide; the teeth very long and ſharp, particularly thoſe of the lower jaw.

The firſt dorſal fin is ſmall, conſiſting of nine rays; the ſecond reaches from the baſe of the former al⯑moſt to the tail, and is compoſed of forty rays, of which the laſt are the higheſt: the pectoral fins have about twelve, the ventral ſeven: the anal thirty⯑nine.

The tail is almoſt even at the end.

• Galee, claria marina. Belon. 126.
• Phycis. Rondel. 186. Geſner piſc. 718.
• Tinca marina. Aldr. Wil. Icth. 205. Raii ſyn. piſc. 75.
• Phycis. Arted. ſynon. App. iii.
• Blennius Phycis. Lin. ſyſt. 442.

THIS is the fiſh to which Rondeletius gives the name of Phycis, borrowing it from Ariſtotle and Pliny, who have not ſo ſufficiently characterized it, as to enable us to judge what ſpecies they in⯑tended. It is found in the Mediterranean more fre⯑quently than in our ſeas, and we believe is the fiſh mentioned by Mr. Armſtrong, and Doctor Cleghorn ^*, in their Hiſtories of Minorca, under the name of Molio, Mollera, and Molle. It is known on the coaſt of Cornwall by the name of the greater forked beard ^**, where it was firſt diſcovered by Mr. Jago.

[159]We place it in this genus, as it has more the appear⯑ance of the cod-fiſh kind, the hake eſpecially, than of the Blenny, into which genus Linnaeus has flung it; we therefore have given this ſpecies the name of the Leſſer Hake.

The length of one that was taken on the Flintſhire ſhores was eleven inches and an half, its greateſt depth three inches; but according to Doctor Borlaſe, ſome grow to be above eighteen inches long.

The head ſloped down to the noſe in the ſame eaſy manner with others of this genus: the mouth large: beſides the teeth in the jaws was a triangu⯑lar congeries of ſmall teeth in the roof of the mouth.

At the end of the lower jaw was a ſmall beard. The firſt dorſal fin was triangular; the firſt ray ex⯑tended far beyond the reſt, and was very ſlender: the ſecond fin began juſt behind the firſt, and extended almoſt to the tail: the ventral fins were three inches long, and conſiſted of only two rays, joined at the bottom, and ſeparated or bifurcated towards the end: the vent was in the middle of the body: the anal fin extended from thence juſt to the tail: the lateral line was incurvated: the tail was rounded.

The color was a cinereous brown.

• Barbus minor Cornubienſis cirris bifurcis. The leſſer forked beard. Mr. Jago. Raii ſyn. piſc. 164. fig. 8.

WE never ſaw this ſpecies, and having but very imperfect deſcriptions of it, cannot with any certainty pronounce it to be of this genus, but are unwilling to ſeparate them, as we found them united by that judicious Icthyologiſt Mr. Jago.

It is ſaid not to exceed five inches in length: the firſt dorſal fin (in the print) is ſhorter than that of the preceding; the ſecond reſembles that of the other kind: the ventral fins bifurcated. It has a ſmall beard, and a rounded tail, but the head is ſhorter and more ſteep; the color black, the ſkin ſmooth, and the appearance diſagreeable.

• Ling, Lingfiſche. Belon. 130. Geſner piſc. 95.
• Molva major Charletonex. piſc. 3.
• Aſellus longus, eine Lenge. Schonevelde, 18.
• Ling. Wil. Icth. 175. Raii ſyn. piſc. 56.
• Gadus dorſo dipterygio, ore ſer⯑rato, maxilla ſuperiore lon⯑giore. Arted. ſynon. 36.
• Gadus molva. Lin. ſyſt. 439.
• Langa. Faun. ſuec. No. 313.

THE ling takes its name from its length, being corrupted from the word long. It abounds about the Scilly Iſles, on the coaſts of Scarborough, [161]and thoſe of Scotland and Ireland, and forms a con⯑ſiderable article of commerce ^*

In the Yorkſhire ſeas they are in perfection from the beginning of February to the beginning of May, and ſome till the end of that month. In June they ſpawn, depoſiting their eggs in the ſoft oozy ground of the mouth of the Tees: at that time the males ſeparate from the females, and reſort to ſome rocky ground near Flamborough Head, where the fiſhermen take great numbers without ever finding any of the female or roed fiſh among them.

While a ling is in ſeaſon its liver is very white, Oil. and abounds with a fine flavored oil; but as ſoon as the fiſh goes out of ſeaſon, the liver becomes red as that of a bullock, and affords no oil. The ſame hap⯑pens to the cod and other fiſh in a certain degree, but not ſo remarkably as in the ling. When the fiſh is in perfection, a very large quantity of oil may be melted out of the liver by a ſlow fire, but if a violent ſudden heat be uſed for that purpoſe, they yield very little. This oil, which nature hoards up in the cellular membranes of fiſhes, returns into their blood, and ſupports them in the engendring ſeaſon, when they purſue the buſineſs of generation with ſo much eagerneſs as to neglect their food.

Vaſt quantities of ling is ſalted for exportation, as well as for home conſumption. When it is cut or ſplit for curing, it muſt meaſure twenty-ſix inches or upwards from the ſhoulder to the tail; if leſs than [162]that it is not reckoned a ſizeable fiſh, and conſe⯑quently not entitled to the bounty on exportation; ſuch are called Drizzles, and are in ſeaſon all ſum⯑mer.

The ufual ſize of a ling is from three to four feet; Deſcr. but we have heard of one that was ſeven feet long.

The body is very ſlender; the head flat; the up⯑per jaw the longeſt; the teeth in that jaw ſmall and very numerous; in the lower, few, ſlender, and ſharp: on the chin is a ſmall beard.

The firſt dorſal fin is ſmall, placed near the head, and conſiſts of fifteen rays: the ſecond is very long, reaching almoſt to the tail, and conſiſts of ſixty-five rays: the pectoral fins have fifteen radiated rays, the ventral fins ſix; the anal ſixty-two: the tail is rounded at the end.

Theſe fiſh vary in color, Color. ſome being of an olive hue on the ſides and back, others cinereous; the belly white.

• Strinſias, ou Botatriſſa. Belon. 300.
• Lota. Rondel. fluviat. 165. Geſ⯑ner piſc. 599.
• Quappen, Elff-quappen, Ti⯑der-quappen, Truſchen? Schonevelde, 49.
• Burbot, or Bird-bolt. Plot. Staff. 241. tab. 22. fig. 4.
• Muſtela fluviatilis noſtratibus Eel-pout. Wil. Icth. 125. Raii ſyn. piſc. 67.
• Aal-rutte, Rutte. Kram. 388.
• Gadus dorſo dipterygio, ore cirrato, maxillis aequalibus. Arted. ſynon. 38.
• Gadus Lota. Lin. ſyſt. 440.
• Gronov. Zooph. No. 97.
• Lake. Faun. ſuec. No. 113.

THIS fiſh is found in the Trent, Pla [...]e. but in greater plenty in the river Witham, and in the great Eaſt Fen in Lincolnſhire. It is a very delicate fiſh for the table, tho' of a diſguſting appearance when alive. It is very voracious, and preys on the fry and leſſer fiſh. It does not often take a bait, but is generally caught in weels.

It abounds in the lake of Geneva, where it is called Lota, and it is alſo met with in the Lago Maggiore, and Lugano.

The largeſt that we ever heard was taken in our waters weighed between two and three pounds, Deſcr. but abroad they are ſometimes found of double that weight.

Their body has ſome reſemblance to that of an eel, only ſhorter and thicker, and its motions alſo reſemble thoſe of that fiſh: they are beſides very ſmooth, ſlippery, and ſlimy.

[164]The head is very ugly, being flat, and ſhaped like that of a toad: the teeth are very ſmall, but numerous: the irides yellow.

On the end of the noſe are two ſmall beards; on the chin another: the number of its branchioſtegous rays are ſeven.

The firſt dorſal fin is ſhort: the ſecond is placed immediately behind it, and extends almoſt to the tail: the pectoral fins are rounded: the ventral fins conſiſt of ſix rays, of which the two firſt are di⯑vided near their ends from each other: the vent is placed in the middle of the belly, and the anal fin reaches almoſt to the tail: the tail is rounded at the end.

The color of this ſpecies varies; Color. ſome are duſky, others of a dirty green, ſpotted with black, and oftentimes with yellow, and the belly in ſome is white; but the real colors are frequently concealed by the ſlime.

• Muſtella vulgaris. Rondel. 281. Geſner piſc. 89.
• Sea Loche Ceſtriae, Whiſtle Fiſh Cornubiae. Wil. Icth. 121.
• Raii ſyn. piſc. 67. Rock⯑ling, Mr. Jago. Raii ſyn. piſc. 164. fig. 9.

THIS ſpecies commonly frequents the rocky ſhores of theſe iſlands, and is ſometimes taken with a bait.

It grows to the length of one foot: the head is large and flat: the eyes not remote from the end [165]of the noſe: the body is long, ſlender, and com⯑preſſed ſideways, eſpecially towards the tail: at the end of the upper jaw are two beards; on the chin one.

The teeth are numerous and ſmall, diſpoſed along the jaws in form of a broad plate: in the roof of the mouth is a ſet of ſmall teeth, diſpoſed in a tri⯑angular form.

The number of branchioſtegous rays is ſeven.

The firſt dorſal fin is lodged in a deep furrow juſt beyond the head, and conſiſt of a number of ſhort unconnected rays: the ſecond riſes juſt behind it, and reaches very near the tail: the pectoral fins are broad and roud: the ventral fins ſmall; the ſecond ray the longeſt: the anal fin reaches almoſt to the tail: the tail rounded at the end.

The ſcales are very ſmall: the color of the body and head a reddiſh yellow, marked above the lateral line with large black ſpots: the back fin and tail are darker; the vent fin of a brighter red, but all are ſpotted. The lateral line bends in the middle, then paſſes ſtrait to the tail.

• Gadus dorſo dipterygio, ſulco magno ad pinnam dorſi pri⯑mam, ore cirrato? Arted. ſynon. 37.
• Gadus muſtela. G. dipterygius cirris 5, pinna dorſali priore exoleta. Lin. ſyſt. 440. Gro⯑nov. Zooph. No. 314.

MR. Willoughby makes this ſpecies with five beards, a variety only of the former; but having opportunity of examining ſeveral ſpecimens, we muſt diſſent from his opinion, having always ob⯑ſerved [166]the number of beards in the ſpotted kind not to exceed three, nor the number in the brown kind to be leſs than five. The firſt ray of the firſt dorſal fin is very long. There is alſo ſome difference in the form as well as color, this ſpecies being rather thicker in proportion than the former.

Excepting theſe particulars, and the number of beards, there is a general agreement in the parts of both. The beards on the upper jaw are four, viz. Two at the very end of the noſe, and two a little above them: on the end of the lower jaw is a ſingle one.

Theſe fiſh are of a deep olive brown, their belly whitiſh. They grow to the ſame ſize as the former.

The Corniſh fiſhermen are ſaid to whiſtle, and make uſe of the words Bod, Bod vean, when they are de⯑ſirous of taking this fiſh, as if by that they facili⯑tated the capture. In the ſame manner the Sicilian fiſhermen repeat their Mamaſſu di pajanu, &c. when they are in purſuit of the Sword Fiſh ^*

• Adonis, ou exocetus. Belon. 219.
• Galerita. Rondel. 204. Geſner piſc. 14, 17, 18.
• Alauda criſtata, ſive Galerita. Wil. Icth. 134. Raii ſyn. piſc. 73.
• Blennius criſta capitis tranſ⯑verſa cutacea. Arted. ſynon. 44.
• Blennius Galerita. Lin. ſyſt. 441.

THIS ſpecies is found, tho' not frequently, on our rocky ſhores, and is commonly about four or five inches long.

On the head is a ſmall creſt-like fin, which it can erect or depreſs at pleaſure. On the top of the head between the eyes is a triangular lump point⯑ing backwards, and red about its edges.

[168]The ſkin at the corner of the upper jaw is looſe, and projects.

From the hind part of the head almoſt to the tail extends the dorſal fin: the ventral fin is ſmall: the vent is placed under the ends of the pectoral fins.

The body is ſmooth and ſlippery: the color brown, and ſpotted.

• Scorpioides. Rondel. 204. Geſ⯑ner piſc. 847.
• Gattorugine Venetiis. Wil. Icth. 132. Raii ſyn. piſc. 72.
• Blennius pinnulis duabus ad ad oculos, pinna ani oſſicu⯑lorum viginti trium. Arted. ſynon. 44.
• Blennius Gattorugine. Lin. ſyſt. 442.

THIS curious kind was diſcovered to be a Bri⯑tiſh fiſh, Place. by the Rev. Mr. Williams, who found it on the Angleſea coaſt, and favored us with it.

Its length was ſeven inches and an half: Deſcr. the body was ſmooth, and compreſſed on the ſides: the belly a little prominent: the vent ſituated as in the pre⯑ceding fiſh.

The teeth ſlender, almoſt ſetaceous, and very cloſe ſet: between the eyes was a ſmall hollow, and above each juſt on the ſummit was a narrow looſe membrane, trifurcated at the top, which diſtinguiſhes this from all other ſpecies.

The pectoral fins broad and rounded, conſiſting of fourteen rays, which extend beyond the webs, making the edges appear ſcalloped.

[169]The ventral fins like thoſe of others of the genus: the dorſal fin conſiſted of fourteen ſtrong ſpiny rays, and nineteen ſoft rays; the laſt of which were higher than the ſpiny rays.

The anal fin had twenty-one rays: the ends in every fin extended beyond their webs.

The tail was rounded at the end, and conſiſted of twelve rays, divided towards their extremities.

This fiſh in general was of a duſky hue, marked acroſs with wavy lines: the belly of a light-aſh color.

The lower part of the pectoral fins, and the ends of the ventral fins, of an orange color.

With a ſmooth head.

• La tierce eſpece de Exocetus? Belon. 219.
• Alauda non criſtata. Rondel. 205. Geſner piſc. 18.
• Mulgranoc, & Bulcard Cornu⯑biae. Wil. Icth. 133. Raii ſyn. piſc. 73.
• Cataphractus laevis Cornubien⯑ſis, Smooth Shan. Mr. Jago apud Raii ſyn. piſc. 164. fig. 10.
• Blennius maxilla ſuperiore lon⯑giore, capite ſummo acumi⯑nato. Arted. ſynon. 45.
• Blennius Pholis. Lin. ſyſt. 443. Gronov. Zooph. No. 259.

WE diſcovered this ſpecies in plenty lying un⯑der the ſtones among the tang on the rocky coaſts of Angleſea, Place. at the lower water-mark. It was very active and vivacious, and would by the help [170]of its ventral fins creep up between the ſtones with great facility. It bit extremely hard, and would hang at ones finger for a conſiderable time. It was very tenacious of life, and would live for near a day out of water.

It feeds on ſhells and ſmall crabs, whoſe remains we found in its ſtomach.

The length in general was five inches: Deſcr. the head large, and ſloping ſuddenly to the mouth: the irides red.

The teeth ſlender, very ſharp, and cloſe ſet: there were twenty-four in the upper, and nineteen in the lower jaw.

The pectoral fins broad and rounded, conſiſting of thirteen rays: the ventral fins of only two thick rays, ſeparated near their ends.

The dorſal fin conſiſted of thirty-two ſoft rays, and reached from the hind part of the head almoſt to the tail.

The vent was in the middle of the body: the anal fin extended almoſt to the tail, and conſiſted of nineteen rays, tipt with white.

The tail rounded at the end, and compoſed of twelve branched rays.

The color varied, ſome were quite black, but ge⯑nerally they were of a deep olive, prettily marbled with a deeper color; others ſpotted with white: the laſt often diſpoſed in rows above and beneath the lateral line.

• Gunnellus Cornubienſium, non⯑nullis Butter-fiſh, q. d. Lipa⯑ris. Wil. Icth. 115. Raii ſyn. piſc. 144.
• Blennius maculis circiter de⯑cem nigris limbo albicante utrinque ad pinnam dorſa⯑lem. Arted. ſynon. 45.
• Blennius Gunnellis. B. pinna dorſali ocellis X nigris. Lin. ſyſt. 443. Faun. ſuec. No. 318. Seb. Muſ. iii. p. 91. tab. 30. fig. 6.
• Pholis maculis annulatis ad pinnam dorſalem, pinnis ventralibus obſoletis. Gro⯑nov. Zooph. No. 267.

THIS ſpecies is found in the ſame place with the preceding, lurking like it under ſtones, is equally vivacious, and is uſed as a bait for larger fiſh.

Its length is ſix inches: the depth only half an inch: the ſides very much compreſſed, and extremely thin.

The head and mouth is ſmall; the laſt points up⯑wards, and the lower jaw ſlopes conſiderably towards the throat.

The teeth are very ſmall; the irides whitiſh.

The pectoral fins rounded, and of a yellow co⯑lor: inſtead of the ventral fins are two minute ſpines.

The dorſal fin conſiſt of ſeventy-eight ſhort ſpiny rays, and runs the length of the back almoſt to the tail: on the top of the back are eleven round ſpots, which reach the lower half of the dorſal fin; they are black, half encircled with white.

[172]The vent is in the middle of the body; the anal fin extends from it almoſt to the tail.

The tail is rounded, and of a yellow color.

The back and ſides are of a deep olive: the belly whitiſh.

• Muſtela marina vivipara, Ael⯑quappe, Ael-pute, Ael-mo⯑der. Schonevelde. 50. tab. 4.
• Guffer, Eelpout. Sib. Scot. iii. 25.
• Muſtela vivipara Schoneveldii. Wil. Icth. 122. Raii ſyn. piſc. 69.
• Blennius capite dorſoque fuſco flaveſcente lituris nigris, pin⯑na ani flava. Arted. ſynon. 45.
• Blennius viviparus, B. ore ten⯑taculis duobus. Lin. ſyſt. 443.
• Tanglake. Faun. ſuec. No. 317. Muſ. Ad. Fr. I. 69. tab. 32.
• Enchelyopus corpore lituris va⯑riegato; pinna dorſi ad cau⯑dam ſinuata. Gronov. Zooph. No. 265.

SCHONEVELDE firſt diſcovered this ſpecies; Sir Robert Sibbald afterwards found it on the Scotch coaſts; and Linnaeus has deſcribed it in his account of his Swediſh majeſty's Muſeum.

We are unacquainted with this fiſh; but on the authority of Sir Robert Sibbald, give it a place in this work, borrowing our deſcription from Schone⯑velde and Linnaeus.

They are viviparous, bringing forth two or three hundred young at a time. Their ſeaſon of parturi⯑tion is a little after the depth of winter. Before Mid⯑ſummer they quit the bays and ſhores, and retire into the deep, where they are commonly taken. They are a very coarſe fiſh, and eat only by the poor.

[173]They are commonly about a foot in length, and of an eel-like form: Deſcr. their ſkin ſmooth and ſlippery.

At the noſtrils are two ſmall beards: the jaws are very rough: the covers of the gills open.

The dorſal fin commences at the hind part of the head, and reaches almoſt to the tail; it conſiſts of eighty rays.

The pectoral fins are rounded, and are compoſed of nineteen rays: the ventral fins of only four very ſhort ones.

The anal fins extends to and unites with the tail, which is ſmall, and ends in a ſharp point.

The color of the back and head is a yellowiſh brown, ſtained with black ſtrokes: the ſides a little lighter: the belly of a dirty white: the dorſal fin marked in the ſame manner as the back.

• Gobio niger. Rondel. 200. Geſ⯑ner piſc. 395.
• Schwartzer Goeb. Schonevelde. 36.
• Sea Gudgeon. Rock-fiſh. Wil. Icth. 206. Raii ſyn. piſc. 76.
• Gobius ex nigricante varius, pinna dorſi ſecunda oſſicu⯑lorum quatuor decim. Arted. ſynon. 46.
• Gobius niger. Lin. ſyſt. 449.
• Eleotris capite cathetoplateo, pinnis ventralibus concretis. Gronov. Zooph. No. 281.

IT is to this fiſh that Naturaliſts have given the ſy⯑nonym of [...] and Gobio, names of certain ſpecies mentioned by Ariſtotle, Pliny, and Oppian. The two firſt have not left any characters for us to diſtinguiſh them by; and Oppian at once ſhews that he never intended this kind, as he has placed it, among thoſe which are armed with a poiſonous ſpine. Ariſtotle was acquainted with two ſpecies; one a ſea fiſh that frequented the rocks, another that was gregarious, and an inhabitant of rivers, which laſt ſeems to have been our common gudgeon.

[175]This ſpecies grows to the length of ſix inches: Deſcr. the body is ſoft, ſlippery, and of a ſlender form: the head is rather large; the cheeks inflated; the teeth ſmall, and diſpoſed in two rows: from the head to the firſt dorſal fin is a ſmall ſulcus.

The firſt dorſal fin conſiſts of ſix rays; the ſecond of fourteen; the pectoral fins of ſixteen or ſeven⯑teen, cloſely ſet together, and the middlemoſt the longeſt; the others on each ſide gradually ſhorter.

The ventral fins coaleſce and form a ſort of fun⯑nel, by which theſe fiſh affix themſelves immoveably to the rocks, for which reaſon they are called Rock⯑fiſh.

The tail is rounded at the end.

The color is brown, or deep olive, mixed with dark ſtreaks, and ſpotted with black: the dorſal and anal fins are of a pale blue, the rays marked with minute black ſpots.

• [...] Athen. lib. vii. p. 284.
• Aphia. Belon. 207.
• Aphya cobites. Rondel. 210. Geſner piſc. 67. Wil. piſc. 207. Raii ſyn. piſc. 76.
• Gobius Aphya et marſio dictus. Arted. ſynon. 47.
• Gobius Aphya. G. faſciis etiam pinnarum fuſcis. Lin. ſyſt. 450.

WE ſaw ſeveral of this ſpecies taken laſt ſum⯑mer on our ſandy ſhores in the ſhrimp nets. The length of the largeſt was not three inches: the noſe was blunt: the eyes large and prominent, ſtanding far out of the head: the irides ſappharine; the head flat; the tongue large; teeth in both jaws.

The firſt dorſal fin conſiſted of ſix rays, the ſe⯑cond of eleven, and placed at ſome diſtance from the other.

The ventral fins are united: the anal conſiſt of eleven rays: the tail is even at the end.

The body is of a whitiſh color, obſcurely ſpotted with ferruginous: the rays of the dorſal fins, and the tail, barred with the ſame color.

• [...]. Ariſt. Hiſt. an. lib. iv. c. 8.
• Chabot. Belon. 213.
• Cottus. Rondel. Fluviat. 202.
• Gobio capitatus. Geſner piſc. 401.
• Een Miiller. Schwenckfelt. Siles. 431.
• Bull-head, Miller's Thumb. Wil. Icth. 137. Raii ſyn. piſc. 76.
• Cottus alepedotus glaber, ca⯑pite diacantho. Arted. ſynon. 76.
• Cottus Gobio. C. laevis, ca⯑pite ſpinis duabus. Lin. ſyſt. 452.
• Sten-ſimpa, Slagg-ſimpa. Faun. ſuec. No. 323.
• Koppe. Kram. 384. Gronov. Zooph. No. 270.

THIS ſpecies is very common in all our clear brooks; it lies almoſt always at the bottom, either on the gravel or under a ſtone: it depoſits its ſpawn in a hole it forms in the gravel, and quits it with great reluctance. It feeds on water inſects; and we found in the ſtomach of one the remains of the freſh water ſhrimp, the pulex aquatilis of Ray.

This fiſh ſeldom exceeds the length of three inches and an half: the head large, broad, flat, and thin at its circumference, being well adapted for inſinu⯑ating itſelf under ſtones: on the middle part of the covers of the gills is a ſmall crooked ſpine turning inwards.

[178]The eyes are very ſmall: the irides yellow: the teeth very minute, placed in the jaws and the roof of the mouth.

The body grows ſlender towards the tail, and is very ſmooth.

The firſt dorſal fin conſiſts of ſix rays, the ſecond of ſeventeen: the pectoral fins are round, and pret⯑tily ſcalloped at their edges, and are compoſed of thirteen rays; the ventral of only four; the anal of thirteen; the tail of twelve, and is rounded at the end.

The color of this fiſh is as diſagreeable as its form, being duſky, mixed with a dirty yellow: the belly whitiſh.

• Cataphractus, Stein-bicker, Miiller, Turſs-bull. Schone⯑velde. 30. tab. 3.
• Cataphractus Schoneveldii Sep⯑tentr. Anglis a Pogge. Wil. Icth. 211. Raii ſyn. piſc. 77.
• Cottus cirris plurimis corpore octagono. Arted. ſynon. 77.
• Cottus Cataphractus. C. lori⯑catus, roſtro verrucoſo 2 bi⯑fidis, capite ſubtus cirroſo. Lin. ſyſt. 451.
• Botn-mus. Faun. ſuec. No. 324.
• Seb. Muſ. iii. tab. 28. Gronov. Zooph. No. 271.

THE pogge is very common on moſt of the Britiſh coaſts.

It ſeldom exceeds five inches and an half in length, and even ſeldom arrives at that ſize.

The head is large, bony, and very rugged: the end of the noſe is armed with four ſhort upright ſpines. on the throat are a number of ſhort white beards.

[179]The teeth are very minute, ſituated in the jaws.

The body is octagonal, and covered with a num⯑ber of ſtrong bony cruſts, divided into ſeveral com⯑partments, the ends of which project into a ſharp point, and form ſeveral echinated lines along the back and ſides from the head to the tail.

The firſt dorſal fin conſiſts of ſix ſpiny rays: the ſecond is placed juſt behind the firſt, and conſiſts of ſeven ſoft rays.

The pectoral fins are broad and rounded, and are compoſed of fifteen rays.

• Scorpios. Ovid. Halieut. 116.
• La Scorpene. Belon. 242.
• Scorpius marinus, Waelkuke, Buloffe, Schorp-fiſche. Scho⯑nevelde. 67. tab. 6.
• Scorpaenae Belonii ſimilis Cor⯑nub. Father-laſher. Wil. Icth. 138. Raii ſyn. piſc. 145. Scorpius virginianus. Idem. 142. Wil. Icth. App. 25.
• Cottus ſcorpius. C. capite ſpi⯑nis pluribus, maxilla ſuperi⯑ore paulo longiore. Lin. ſyſt. 452.
• Rot-ſimpa, Skrabba, Skialry⯑ta. Faun. ſuec. No. 323.
• Ulke. Crantz. Greenl. I. 95. Gronov. Zooph. No. 268.
• Sea Scorpion. Edw. 284.

THIS fiſh is not uncommon on the rocky coaſts of this iſland: it lurks under ſtones, and will take a bait.

It does not grow to a large ſize, Deſcr. ſeldom exceeding (as far as we have ſeen in the ſpecimens that are taken on our ſhores) eight or nine inches.

The head is very large, and has a moſt formidable appearance, being armed with vaſt ſpines, which it [180]can oppoſe to any enemy that attacks it, by ſwelling out its cheeks and gill covers to a large ſize.

The noſe and ſpace contiguous to the eyes are fur⯑niſhed with ſhort ſharp ſpines: Spines. the covers of the gills are terminated by exceeding long ones, which are both ſtrong and very ſharp pointed.

The mouth is large: the jaws covered with rows of very ſmall teeth: the roof of the mouth is fur⯑niſhed with a triangular ſpot of minute teeth.

The back is more elevated than that of others of this genus: the belly prominent: the ſide-line rough, the reſt of the body very ſmooth, and grows ſlender towards the tail.

The firſt dorſal fin conſiſts of eight ſpiny rays; the ſecond of eleven high ſoft rays: the pectoral fins are large, and have ſixteen; the ventral three; the anal eight: the tail is rounded at the end, and is compoſed of twelve bifurcated rays.

The color of the body is brown, or duſky and white marbled, and ſometimes is found alſo ſtained with red: the fins and tail are tranſparent, ſome⯑times clouded, but the rays barred regularly with brown: the belly is of a ſilvery white.

This kind is very frequent in the Newfoundland ſeas, Ameri⯑can. where it is called Scolping: it is alſo as com⯑mon on the coaſt of Greenland in deep water near ſhore. It is a principal food of the natives, and the ſoup made of it is ſaid to be agreeable as well as wholeſome.

• [...]. Athen. lib. vii. 328. Oppian Halieut. I. 133.
• Faber? Ovid Halieut. 110. Zeus idem Faber Gadibus. Plin. lib. ix. c. 18.
• La Dorèe. Belon. 146.
• Faber ſive Gallus marinus. Rondel. 328. Geſner piſc. 369.
• A Doree. Wil. Icth. 294. Raii ſyn piſc. 99.
• Zeus ventre aculeato, cauda in extremo circinato. Arted. ſynon. 78.
• Zeus Faber. Z. cauda rotun⯑data, lateribus mediis ocello fuſco, pinnis analibus dua⯑bus. Lin. ſyſt. 454. Gronov. Zooph. No. 311.
• Zeus ſpinoſus. Muſ. Fred. Ad. 67. tab. xxxi.

SUPERSTITION hath made the Doree rival to the Hadock, for the honor of having been the fiſh out of whoſe mouth St. Peter took the tribute-mony, leaving on its ſides thoſe inconteſtible proofs of the identity of the fiſh, the marks of his finger and thumb.

It is rather difficult at this time to determine on which part to decide the diſpute; for the Doree like⯑wiſe aſſerts an origin of its ſpots of a ſimilar nature, but of a much earlier date than the former. St. [182] Chriſtopher ^*, in wading thro' an arm of the ſea, hav⯑ing caught a fiſh of this kind en paſſant, as an eter⯑nal memorial of the fact, left the impreſſions on its ſides to be tranſmitted to all poſterity. Could this but be eſtabliſhed, we ſhould not heſitate to pro⯑nounce in favor of the hadock.

In our own country it was very long before this fiſh attracted our notice, at left as an edible one. We are indebted to that judicious actor and bon vivant the late Mr. Quin, for adding a moſt delicious fiſh to our table, who overcoming all the vulgar pre⯑judices on account of its deformity, has effectually eſtabliſhed its reputation.

This fiſh was ſuppoſed to be found only in the ſouthern ſeas of this kingdom, Place. but it has been diſ⯑covered laſt year on the coaſt of Angleſea. Thoſe of the greateſt ſize are taken in the Bay of Biſcay off the French coaſts: they are alſo very common in the Mediterranean; Ovid muſt therefore have ſtyled it rarus Faber, on account of its excellency not its ſcarcity.

The form of this fiſh is hideous: Deſcr. its body is oval, and greatly compreſſed on the ſides: the head large: the ſnout vaſtly projecting: the mouth very wide: the teeth very ſmall.

The eyes great: the irides yellow.

[183]The lateral line oddly diſtorted, ſinking at each end, and riſing near the back in the middle: beneath it on each ſide is a round black ſpot.

The firſt dorſal fin conſiſts of ten ſtrong ſpiny rays, with long filaments, reaching far beyond their ends: the ſecond is placed near the tail, and conſiſts of twenty-four ſoft rays, the middlemoſt of which are the longeſt.

The pectoral fins have fourteen rays, the ventral ſeven; the firſt ſpiny, the others ſoft: it has two anal fins; the firſt conſiſts of four ſharp ſpines, the ſecond of twenty-two ſoft ones, and reaches very near the tail.

The tail is round at the end, and conſiſts of fif⯑teen branched rays.

The color of the ſides are olive, varied with light blue and white, and while living is very reſplen⯑dent, and as if gilt, for which reaſon it is called the Doree.

The largeſt fiſh we have heard of weighed twelve pounds. Size.

• Hippogloſſus. Rondel. 325. Geſner piſc. 669.
• Heglbutte, Hilligbutte. Scho⯑nevelde. 62.
• Holibut, Septentr. Anglis Tur⯑bot. Wil. Icth. 99. Raii ſyn. piſc. 33.
• Pleuronectes oculis a dextris, totus glaber. Arted. ſynon. 31.
• Pleuronectes Hippogloſſus. Lin. ſyſt. 456.
• Halg-flundra. Faun. ſuec. No. 329. Gronov. Zooph. No. 247.

THIS is the largeſt of the genus; Size. ſome have been taken in our ſeas weighing from one to three hundred pounds; but much larger are found in thoſe of Newfoundland, Greenland, and Iceland, where they are taken with a hook and line in very deep water. They are part of the food of the Greenlanders ^*, who cut them into large ſlips, and dry them in the ſun.

They are common in the London markets, where they are expoſed to ſale cut into large pieces. They [185]are very coarſe eating, excepting the part which ad⯑heres to the ſide fins, which is extremely fat and de⯑licious, but ſurfeiting.

They are the moſt voracious of all flat fiſh. The laſt year there were two inſtances of their ſwallow⯑ing the lead weight at the end of a line, with which the ſeamen were ſounding the bottom from on board a ſhip, one off Flamborough Head, the other going into Tinmouth Haven: the latter was taken, the other diſengaged itſelf.

The holibut, Deſcr. in reſpect to its length, is the nar⯑roweſt of any of this genus except the ſole.

It is perfectly ſmooth, and free from ſpines either above or below. The color of the upper part is duſky; beneath of a pure white. We do not count the rays of the fins in this genus, not only becauſe they are ſo numerous, but becauſe nature hath given to each ſpecies characters ſufficient to diſtin⯑guiſh them by.

Theſe flat fiſh ſwim ſideways; for which reaſon Linnaeus hath ſtyled them Pleuronectes.

• Paſſer Cornubienſis aſper, magno oris hiatu. Mr. Jago. Raii ſyn. piſc. 163. fig. 2.

BY the figure Mr. Jago has left of this ſpecies, it bears a great reſemblance to the holibut. He calls it the Whiff, and ſays its mouth is large, its ſkin hard and rough, its color a dirty aſh, and its fleſh coarſe and good for nothing. The ſkin ap⯑pears to be much ſpotted, and the lateral line greatly incurvated at the beginning, and afterwards pro⯑ceeding in a ſtrait direction to the tail.

• Plateſſa? Auſonii Epiſt. ad. Theon. 62.
• Le Quarlet. Belon. 139.
• Quadratulus. Rondel. 318. Geſ⯑ner piſc. 665.
• Scholle, Pladiſe. Schonevelde. 61.
• Plaiſe. Wil. Icth. 96. Raii ſyn. piſc. 31.
• Pleuronectes oculis et tubercu⯑lis ſex a dextra capitis, late⯑ribus glabris, ſpina ad anum. Arted. ſynon. 30.
• Pleuronectes Plateſſa. Lin. ſyſt. 456. Gronov. Zooph. No. 246.
• Skalla, Rodſputta. Faun. ſuec. No. 328.

THESE fiſh are very common on moſt of our coaſts, and ſometimes taken of the weight of fifteen pounds; but they ſeldom reach that ſize, one of eight or nine pounds being reckoned a large fiſh.

[187]The beſt and largeſt are taken off Rye, on the coaſt of Suſſex, and alſo off the Dutch coaſts. They ſpawn in the beginning of February.

They are very flat, and much more ſquare than the preceding. Behind the left eye is a row of ſix tubercles, that reaches to the commencement of the lateral line.

The upper part of the body and fins is of a clear brown, marked with large bright orange-colored ſpots: the belly is white.

• Le Flez. Belon. 141.
• Paſſeris tertia ſpecies. Rondel. 319. Geſner piſc. 666, 670.
• Struff-butte. Schonevelde. 62.
• Flounder, Fluke, or But. Wil. Icth. 980. Raii ſyn. piſc. 32.
• Pleuronectes oculis a dextris, linea laterali aſpera, ſpinulis ſupiné ad radices pinnarum, dentibus obtuſis. Arted. ſynon. 31.
• Pleuronectes Fleſus. Lin. ſyſt. 457. Gronov. Zooph. No. 248.
• Flundra, Slatt-ſkadda. Faun. ſuec. No. 327.

THE flounder inhabits every part of the Bri⯑tiſh ſea, and even frequents our rivers at a great diſtance from the ſalt waters; and for this rea⯑ſon ſome writers call it the Paſſer fluviatilis. It ne⯑ver grows large in our rivers, but is reckoned ſweeter than thoſe that live in the ſea. It is inferior in ſize to the plaiſe, for we never heard of any that weighed more than ſix pounds.

It may very eaſily be diſtinguiſhed from the plaiſe, Deſcr. or any other fiſh of this genus, by a row of ſharp ſmall ſpines that ſurround its upper ſides, and are [188]placed juſt at the junction of the fins with the body. Another row marks the ſide-line, and runs half way down the back.

The color of the upper part of the body is a pale brown, ſometimes marked with a few obſcure ſpots of dirty yellow: the belly is white.

We have met with a variety of this fiſh with the eyes and lateral line on the left ſide. Linnaeus makes a diſtinct ſpecies of it under the name of Pleuronec⯑tes Paſſer, p. 459; but ſince it differs in no other reſpect from the common kind, we agree with Doctor Gronovius in not ſeparating them.

• La Limande. Belon. 142.
• Paſſer aſper, ſive ſquamoſus. Rondel. 319. Geſner piſc. 665.
• Dab. Wil. Icth. 97. Raii ſyn. piſc. 32.
• Pleuronectes oculis a dextra, ſquamis aſperis, ſpina ad anum, dentibus obtuſis. Ar⯑ted. ſynon. 33.
• Pleuronectes Limanda. Pl. ocu⯑lis dextris, ſquamis ciliatis, ſpinulis ad radicem pinna⯑rum dorſi, anique. Lin. ſyſt. 457.

THE dab is found with the other ſpecies, but is leſs common. It is in beſt ſeaſon during Fe⯑bruary, March, and April: they ſpawn in May and June, and become flabby and watery the reſt of the ſummer. They are ſuperior in goodneſs to the plaiſe and flounder, but far inferior in ſize.

It is generally of an uniform brown color on the upper ſide, Deſcr. tho' ſometimes clouded with a darker. The ſcales are ſmall and rough, which is a charac⯑ter [189]of this ſpecies. The lateral line is extremely in⯑curvated at the beginning, then goes quite ſtrait to the tail. The lower part of the body is white.

• Rhombus laevis Cornubienſis maculis nigris, a Kit. Mr.
• Jago. Raii ſyn. piſc. 162. fig. 1.

WE found one of this ſpecies at a fiſhmonger's in London laſt winter, where it is known by the name of the ſmear-dab.

It was a foot and an half long, and eleven inches broad between fin and fin on the wideſt part.

The head appeared very ſmall, as the dorſal fin began very near its mouth, and extended very near to the tail. It conſiſted of ſeventy nine rays.

The eyes were pretty near each other. The mouth full of ſmall teeth.

The lateral line was much incurvated for the firſt two inches from its origin, then continued ſtrait to the tail.

The back was covered with ſmall ſmooth ſcales, was of a light brown color, ſpotted obſcurely with yellow. The belly white, and marked with five large duſky ſpots.

It was a fiſh of goodneſs equal to the common dab.

• [...]. Athen. lib. viii. p. 288. Oppian Halieut. I. 99.
• La Sole. Belon. 142.
• Bugloſſus. Rondel. 320. Geſner piſc. 666.
• Tungen. Schonevelde. 63.
• Pleuronectes oculis a ſiniſtra corpore oblongo, maxilla ſuperiore longiore, ſquamis utrinque aſperis. Arted. ſyn. 32.
• Pleuronectes Solea Lin. ſyſt. 457. Gronov. Zooph. No. 251.
• Tunga, Sola. Faun. ſuee. No. 326.

THE ſole is found on all our coaſts, but thoſe on the weſtern ſhores are much ſuperior in ſize to thoſe of the north. On the former they are ſome⯑times taken of the weight of ſix or ſeven pounds, but towards Scarborough they rarely exceed one pound; if they reach two, it is extremely uncom⯑mon.

They are uſually taken in the trawl-net: they keep much at the bottom, and feed on ſmall ſhell fiſh.

It is of a form much more narrow and oblong than any other of the genus. Deſcr. The irides are yellow; the pupils of a bright ſappharine color: the ſcales are ſmall, and very rough: the upper part of the body is of a deep brown: the tip of one of the pectoral fins black: the under part of the body is white: the lateral line ſtrait: the tail rounded at the end.

It is a fiſh of a very delicate flavor; but the ſmall ſoles are much ſuperior in goodneſs to large [191]ones ^* The chief fiſhery for them is at Blixham, and in Torbay.

• Solea? Ovid. Halieut. 124.
• Arnogloſſus ſeu Solea laevis.
• Wil. Icth. 102. Raii ſyn. piſc. 34.

THIS, as deſcribed by Mr. Ray, (for we have not ſeen it) is extremely thin, pellucid, and white, and covered with ſuch minute ſcales, and thoſe inſtantly deciduous, as to merit the epithet ſmooth.

It is a ſcarce ſpecies, but is found in Cornwall, where, from its tranſparency, it is called the Lan⯑tern Fiſh.

It is probable that Ovid intended this ſpecies, by his Solea; for the common kind does by no means merit his deſcription.

[192]With the eyes on the left ſide.

• Rhombus. Ovid. Halieut.
• Le Turbot. Belon. 134.
• Rhombus, aculeatus. Rondel. 310. Geſner piſc. 661.
• Steinbutt, Torbutt, Treen⯑butt, Dornbutt. Schone⯑velde. 60.
• Turbot. in the north a Bret. Wil. Icth. 94.
• Rhombus maximus aſper non ſquamoſus. Raii ſyn. piſc. 31.
• Pleuronectes oculis a ſiniſtra, corpore aſpero. Arted. ſynon. 32.
• Pleuronectes maximus. Lin. ſyſt. 459. Gronov. Zooph. No. 254.
• Butta. Faun. ſuec. No. 325.

TURBOTS grow to a very large ſize; Size. we have ſeen them of three and twenty pounds weight, but have heard of ſome that weighed thirty. They are taken chiefly off the north coaſt of England, and others off the Dutch coaſt; but we believe the laſt has, in many inſtances, more credit than it de⯑ſerves for the abundance of its fiſh.

The large turbots, and ſeveral other kinds of flat fiſh, Fiſhery. are taken by the hook and line, for they lye in deep water: the method of taking them in wares, or ſtaked nets, is too precarious to be de⯑pended on for the ſupply of our great markets, be⯑cauſe it is by meer accident that the great fiſh ſtray into them.

It is a misfortune to the inhabitants of many of our fiſhing coaſts, eſpecially thoſe of the north part of North Wales, that they are unacquainted with the [193]moſt ſucceſsful means of capture: for their benefit, and perhaps that of other parts of our iſland, we ſhall lay before them the method practiſed by the fiſhermen of Scarborough, as it was communicated to us by Mr. Travis.

When they go out to fiſh, each perſon is provided with three lines. Lines. Each man's lines are fairly coiled upon a flat oblong piece of wicker-work; the hooks being baited, and placed very regularly in the centre of the coil. Each line is furniſhed with 14 ſcore of hooks, at the diſtance of ſix feet two inches from each other. The hooks are faſtened to the lines upon ſneads of twiſted horſe-hair, 27 inches in length.

When fiſhing there are always three men in each coble, and conſequently nine of theſe lines are faſ⯑tened together, and uſed as one line, extending in length near three miles, and furniſhed with 2520 hooks. An anchor and a buoy are fixed at the firſt end of the line, and one more of each at the end of each man's lines; in all four anchors, which are commonly perforated ſtones, and four buoys made of leather or cork. The line is always laid acroſs the current. The tides of flood and ebb continue an equal time upon our coaſt, and when undiſturbed by winds run each way about ſix hours. They are ſo rapid that the fiſhermen can only ſhoot and haul their lines at the turn of tide; and therefore the lines always remain upon the ground about ſix hours ^*. The ſame rapidity of tide prevents their uſing hand⯑lines; [194]and therefore two of the people commonly wrap themſelves in the ſail, and ſleep while the other keeps a ſtrict look-out, for fear of being run down by ſhips, and to obſerve the weather. For ſtorms often riſe ſo ſuddenly, that it is with extreme difti⯑culty they can ſometimes eſcape to the ſhore, leav⯑ing their lines behind.

The coble is 20 feet 6 inches long, Coble. and 5 feet ex⯑treme breadth. It is about one ton burthen, rowed with three pair of oars, and admirably conſtructed for the purpoſe of encountering a mountanous ſea: they hoiſt ſail when the wind ſuits.

The five-men boat is 40 feet long and 15 broad, and of 25 tons burthen: it is ſo called, tho' navigated by ſix men and a boy, becauſe one of the men is commonly hired to cook, &c. and does not ſhare in the profits with the other five. All our able fiſher⯑men go in theſe boats to the herring fiſhery at Yar⯑mouth the latter end of September, and return about the middle of November. The boats are then laid up until the beginning of Lent, at which time they go off in them to the edge of the Dogger, and other places, to fiſh for turbot, cod, ling, ſkates, &c. They always take two cobles on board, and when they come upon their ground, anchor the boat, throw out the cobles, and fiſh in the ſame manner as thoſe do who go from the ſhore in a coble, with this dif⯑ference only; that here each man is provided with double the quantity of lines, and inſtead of wait⯑ing the return of tide in the coble, return to the boat and bait their other lines; thus hawling one ſet, and ſhooting another every turn of tide. They [195]commonly run into harbour twice a week to deliver their fiſh. The five-men boat is decked at each end, but open in the middle, and has two large lug-ſails.

The beſt bait for all kinds of fiſh is freſh herring cut in pieces of a proper ſize; Bait. and notwithſtanding what has been ſaid to the contrary, they are taken here at any time in the winter, and all the ſpring, whenever the fiſhermen put down their nets for that purpoſe. The five-men boats always take ſome nets for that end. Next to herrings are the leſſer lam⯑preys ^*, which come all winter by land-carriage from Tadcaſter. The next baits in eſteem are ſmall ha⯑docks cut in pieces, ſand worms, muſcles, and lim⯑pets (called here Flidders;) and laſtly, when none of theſe can be had they uſe bullock's liver. The hooks uſed here are much ſmaller than thoſe em⯑ployed at Iceland and Newfoundland. Experience has ſhewn that the larger fiſh will take a living ſmall one upon the hook, ſooner than any bait that can be put on; therefore they uſe ſuch as the ſmall fiſh can ſwallow. The hooks are two inches and an half long in the ſhank, and near an inch wide between the ſhank and the point. The line is made of ſmall cording, and is always tanned before it is uſed.

Turbots, and all the rays, are extremely delicate in their choice of baits. If a piece of herring or hadock has been twelve hours out of the ſea, and then uſed as bait, they will not touch it.

[196]This and the pearl are of a remarkable ſquare form: Deſcr. the color of the upper part of the body is cine⯑reous, marked with numbers of black ſpots of dif⯑ferent ſizes: the belly is white: the ſkin is without ſcales, but greatly wrinkled, and mixed with ſmall ſhort ſpines, diſperſed without any order.

• La Barbue. Belon. 137.
• Rhombus laevis. Rondel. 312. Geſner piſc. 662.
• Schlichtbutt. Schonevelde. 60.
• Rhombus non aculeatus ſqua⯑moſus the Pearl. Londinens. Cornub. Lug-aleaf. Wil. Icth. 95. Raii ſyn. piſc. 31.
• Pleuronectes oculis a ſiniſtris, corpore glabro. Arted. ſyn. 31.
• Pleuronectes Rhombus. Lin. ſyſt. 458. Gronov. Zooph. No. 249.
• Pigghvarf. It wgoth. 178.

IT is frequently found in the London markets, but is inferior to the turbot in goodneſs as well as ſize.

The irides are yellow: the ſkin is covered with ſmall ſcales, but is quite free from any ſpines or in⯑equalities.

The upper ſide of the body is of a deep brown, marked with ſpots of dirty yellow: the under ſide is of a pure white.

• [...] Oppian Halieut. I. 169.
• Chryſophrys. Ovid. Halieut. iii.
• Aurata Plinii. lib. ix. c. 16.
• La Dorade. Belon. 186. Chry⯑ſophry Caii opus. 112.
• Aurata. Rondel. 115. Geſner piſc. 110. 112.
• Gilt-head or Gilt-poll. Wil. Icth. 307. Raii ſyn. piſc. 131.
• Sparus dorſo acutiſſimo, linea arcuata inter oculos. Arted. ſynon. 63.
• Sparus lunula aurea inter oculos. Lin. ſyſt. 467. Gronov. Zooph. No. 220.

THIS is one of the piſces ſaxatiles, or fiſh that haunt deep waters on bold rocky ſhores: thoſe that form this genus, as well as the following, feed chiefly on ſhell fiſh, which they comminute with their teeth before they ſwallow; the teeth of this genus in particular being extremely well adapted for that pur⯑poſe, the grinders being flat and ſtrong, like thoſe of certain quadrupeds: beſides thoſe are certain bones in the lower part of the mouth, which aſſiſt in grind⯑ing their food.

[198]They are but a coarſe fiſh; nor did the Romans hold them in any eſteem, except they had fed on the Lucrine oyſter.

They grow to the weight of ten pounds: Deſcr. the form of the body is deep, not unlike that of a bream: the back is very ſharp and of a duſky green color: the irides of a ſilvery hue: between the eyes is a ſemilunar gold color'd ſpot, the horns of which point towards the head: on the upper part of the gills is a black ſpot, beneath that another of purple.

The dorſal fin extends almoſt the whole length of the back, and conſiſts of twenty-four rays, the eleven firſt ſpiny, the others ſoft: the pectoral fins conſiſt of ſeventeen ſoft rays; the ventral of ſix rays, the firſt of which is very ſtrong and ſpiny: the anal fin of fourteen; the three firſt ſpiny.

The tail is much forked.

It takes its name from its predominant color; that of the forehead and ſides being as if gilt, Color. but the laſt is tinged with brown.

• Pagur? Ovid. Halieut. 107.
• Le Pagrus. Belon. 245.
• Pagrus. Rondel. 142. Geſner. piſc. 656.
• Sea Bream. Wil. Icth. 312. Raii ſyn. piſc. 131.
• Sparus rubeſcens, cute ad ra⯑dicem pinnarm dorſi et ani in ſinum producta. Arted. ſynon. 64.
• Sparus Pagrus. Lyn. ſyſt. 469.

THIS ſpecies grows to a ſize equal with that of the former: Deſcr. its ſhape and the figure of the teeth are much the ſame.

The irides are ſilvery: the inſide of the covers of the gills, the mouth, and the tongue, are of a fine red.

At the baſe of the pectoral fins is a ferruginous ſpot.

What is peculiar to this ſpecies is, that the ſkin at the end of the dorſal and anal fins is gathered up, and hides the laſt rays.

The ſcales are large: the tail forked.

The color of the whole body is red. Color.

• Brama marina cauda forcipata D. Jonſton. Raii ſyn. piſc. 115.

THIS ſpecies was communicated to Mr. Ray by his friend Mr. Jonſton, a Yorkſhire gentle⯑man, who informed him it was found on the ſands near the mouth of the Tees, Sept. 18, 1681.

It was a deep fiſh, formed like a roch, twenty⯑ſix inches long, ten broad, and grew very ſlender to⯑wards the tail.

The eyes large, like thoſe of quadrupeds. In the lower jaw were two rows of teeth, in the upper a ſingle row of ſmall ones. The aperture of the gills very large, and like thoſe of a ſalmon: the body ſcaly.

In the middle of the back was one fin extending almoſt to the tail; behind the vent another.

The back black; the ſides of a brighter color: the belly quite of a ſilvery brightneſs.

• Opah, or King-Fiſh. Phil. Tranſ. Abridg. vol. xi. 879. tab. v.

WE have only four inſtances of this fiſh being taken in our ſeas, each of them in the North, viz. twice off Scotland ^*, once off Northum⯑berland, and once in Filey-Bay, Yorkſhire. This laſt was caught about two years ago, and exhibited as a ſhew at Scarborough.

It is of that genus which Linnaeus diſtinguiſhes by the name of Chaetodon, from its briſtly teeth, and is ſaid to be very common on the coaſt of Guinea.

It is well deſcribed by an anonymous writer in the London Magazine for October, 1767, which we ſhall borrow, as the account is confirmed to us by Mr. Travis, who had an opportunity of examining one of the ſame ſpecies.

Newcaſtle, Sept. 12. On Saturday laſt was thrown upon the ſands at Blyth, a very rare and beautiful fiſh, weighing between ſeventy and eighty pounds ^**, [202]ſhaped like the ſea bream. The length was three feet and an half; the breadth from back to belly almoſt two feet; but the thickneſs from ſide to ſide not above ſix inches.

The mouth ſmall for the ſize of the fiſh, forming a ſquare opening, and without any teeth in the jaws. The tongue thick, reſembling that of a man, but rough and thick ſet with beards or prickles, pointing backwards, ſo that any thing might eaſily paſs down, but could not eaſily return back, there⯑fore theſe might ſerve inſtead of teeth to retain its prey ^*. The eyes remarkably large, covered with a membrane, and ſhining with a glare of gold. The cover of the gills like the ſalmon.

The body diminiſhes very ſmall to the tail, which is forked, and expands twelve inches: the gill fins are broad, about eight inches long, and play hori⯑zontally: a little behind their inſertion the back fin takes its original, where it is about ſeven inches high, but ſlopes away very ſuddenly, running down very near the tail, and at its termination becomes a little broader: the belly fins are very ſtrong, and placed near the middle of the body: a narrow fin alſo runs from the anus to the tail.

All the fins, and alſo the tail, are of a fine ſcarlet; but the colours and beauty of the reſt of the body, which is ſmooth and covered with almoſt impercep⯑ticle ſcales, beggars all deſcription; the upper part being a kind of bright green, variegated with whi⯑tiſh [203]ſpots, and enriched with a ſhining golden hue, much reſembling the ſplendor of the peacock's fea⯑thers; this by degrees vaniſhes in a bright ſilver; and near the belly the gold begins again to predomi⯑nate in a lighter ground than on the back.

• Vieille, Poule de mer, Gallot, une Roſſe. Belon. 248.
• Turdorum undecimum genus. Rondel. 179. Geſner piſc. 1019.
• Turdus vulgatiſſimus. Wil. Icth. 319.
• Wraſſe, or Old Wife. Raii ſyn. piſc. 136.
• Labrus roſtro ſurſum reflexo cauda in extremo circulari. Arted. ſynon. 56.
• Labrus Tinca. Lin. ſyſt. 477.

THIS ſpecies is found in deep water adjacent to the rocks. It will take a bait, tho' its uſual food is ſhell-fiſh, and ſmall cruſtacea.

[204]It grows to the weight of four or five pounds: it bears ſome reſemblance to a carp in the form of the body, and is covered with large ſcales.

The noſe projects; the lips are large and fleſhy, and the one turns up, the other hangs down: the mouth is capable of being drawn in or protruded.

The irides are red: Teeth. the teeth are diſpoſed in two rows; the firſt are conic, the ſecond very minute, and as if ſupporters to the others: in the throat juſt before the gullet are three bones, two above of an oblong form, and one below of a triangular ſhape; the ſurface of each riſing into roundiſh protube⯑rances: theſe are of ſingular uſe to the fiſh, to grind its ſhelly food before it arrives at the ſto⯑mach.

The dorſal fin conſiſts of ſixteen ſharp and ſpiny rays, and nine ſoft ones, which are much longer than the others.

The pectoral fins large and round, and are com⯑poſed of fifteen rays.

The ventral of ſix; the firſt ſharp and ſtrong: the anal of three ſharp ſpines, and nine flexible.

The tail is rounded at the end, and is formed of fourteen ſoft branching rays.

The lateral line much incurvated near the tail.

The Welch call this fiſh Gwrach, Name. or the old wo⯑man; the French, la Vieille; and the Engliſh give it the name of Old Wife. Why they all agree in theſe ſynonyms it is difficult to aſſign a reaſon, except one too ill-bred and malignant to pollute our page.

• Labrus bimaculata. L. pinna dorſali ramentacea, macula fuſca in latere medio, et ad caudam. Lin. ſyſt. 477.
• Sciaena bimaculata. Mus. Ad. Fred. I. 66. tab. xxxi. fig. 66.

MR. Brunnich obſerved this ſpecies at Penzance, and referred me to Linnaeus's deſcription of it in the Muſeum Ad. Fred. where it is deſcribed under the name of Sciaena Bimaculata.

The body is pretty deep, Deſcr and of a light color, marked in the middle on each ſide with a round brown ſpot; on the upper part of the baſe of the tail is another: the lateral line is incurvated.

The branchioſtegous rays are ſix in number ^*: the firſt fifteen rays of the dorſal fin are ſpiny; the other eleven ſoft, and lengthened by a ſkinny appendage: the pectoral fins conſiſt of fifteen rays; the ventral [206]of ſix; the firſt ſpiny; the ſecond and third ending in a ſlender briſtle: the anal fin is pointed; the four firſt rays being ſhort and ſpiny; the reſt long and ſoft.

THE ſpecies we examined was taken on the coaſt of Angleſea; its length was eight inches. It was of an oblong form; the noſe long; the teeth ſlender; the fore teeth much longer than the others.

The eyes large: branchioſtegous rays, five.

The back fin conſiſted of ſeventeen ſpiny rays, and thirteen ſoft ones; beyond each extended a long nerve.

The pectoral fins were round, and conſiſted of fifteen branched rays.

The ventral fins conſiſted of ſix rays; the firſt ſpiny.

The anal fin of twelve; the three firſt ſhort, very ſtrong, and ſpiny; the others ſoft and branched.

The tail was rounded.

The lateral line was ſtrait at the beginning of the back, but grew incurvated towards the tail.

The body covered with large red ſcales; the covers of the gills with ſmall ones.

On each ſide of the lower part of the back fin were two large ſpots, and between the fin and the tail another.

THIS was taken off the Skerry Iſles, on the coaſt of Angleſea; its length was ten inches. The form was oblong, Deſcr but the beginning of the back a little arched: the lips large, double, and much turned up: the teeth like thoſe of the pre⯑ceding: branchioſtegous rays, five.

The number of rays in the back, pectoral, and ventral fins, the ſame as in thoſe of the former.

In the anal fin were fifteen rays; the three firſt ſtrong and ſpiny.

The tail almoſt even at the end, being very little rounded: the covers of the gills cinereous, ſtriped with fine yellow.

The ſides marked with four parallel lines of green⯑iſh olive, Color. and the ſame of moſt elegant blue.

The back and belly red; but the laſt of a much paler hue, and under the throat almoſt yellow.

Along the beginning of the back fin was a broad bed of rich blue; the middle part white; the reſt red.

At the baſe of the pectoral fins was a dark olive ſpot.

The ends of the anal fin, and ventral fins, a fine blue.

The upper half of the tail blue; the lower part of its rays yellow.

THIS ſpecies was taken off Angleſea: its length was eight inches; the greateſt depth three: it was of a very deep and elevated form, the back being vaſtly arched, and very ſharp or ridged.

From the beginning of the head to the noſe, was a ſteep declivity.

The teeth like thoſe of the others.

The eyes of a middling ſize; above each a duſky ſemilunar ſpot.

The neareſt cover of the gills finely ſerrated.

The ſixteen firſt rays of the back ſtrong and ſpiny; the other nine ſoft and branched.

The pectoral fins conſiſted of thirteen, the ven⯑tral of ſix rays; the firſt ray of the ventral fin was ſtrong and ſharp.

The anal fin conſiſted of fourteen rays, of which the three firſt were ſtrongly aculeated.

The tail was large, rounded at the end, and the rays branched; the ends of the rays extending be⯑yond the webs.

The lateral line was incurvated towards the tail.

The gill covers and body covered with large ſcales.

The firſt were moſt elegantly ſpotted, Color. and ſtriped with blue and orange, and the ſides ſpotted in the ſame manner; but neareſt the back the orange was diſpoſed in ſtripes: the back fin and anal fin were of a ſea green, ſpotted with black.

[209]The ventral fins and tail a fine pea green.

The pectoral fins yellow, marked at their baſe with tranſverſe ſtripes of red.

• Goldfinny Cornubienſium. Mr. Jago. Raii ſyn. piſc. 163. fig. 3.

THIS and the two following ſpecies were diſ⯑covered by Mr. Jago on the coaſt of Corn⯑wall: we never had an opportunity of examining them, therefore are obliged to have recourſe to his deſcriptions, retaining their local names.

In the whole form of the body, lips, teeth, and fins, it reſembles the Wraſſe: it is ſaid never to ex⯑ceed a palm in length: near the tail is a remarkable black ſpot: the firſt rays of the dorſal fin are tinged with black.

The Melanurus of Rondeletius (adds he) takes its name from the black ſpot near the tail; but in many inſtances it differs widely from this ſpecies, the tail of the firſt is forked, that of the Goldſinny is even at the end.

• Comber Cornub. Raii ſyn. piſc. 163. fig. 5.

THE comber is a ſmall ſcaly fiſh, with the ſkin of a vermilion color. By the figure it is of an oblong form, and the tail rounded.

• Cook (i. e. coquus) Cornubienſium. Raii ſyn. piſc. 163. fig. 4.

THIS ſpecies, Mr. Jago ſays, is ſometimes taken in great plenty on the Corniſh coaſts. It is a ſcaly fiſh, and does not grow to any great ſize. The back is purple and dark blue; the belly yellow. By the figure it ſeems of the ſame ſhape as the comber, and the tail rounded.

Beſides theſe ſpecies we recollect ſeeing taken at the Giants Cauſeway in Ireland, a moſt beautiful kind of a vivid green, ſpotted with ſcarlet; and others at Bandooran, in the county of Sligo, of a pale green. We were at that time inattentive to this branch of natural hiſtory, and can only ſay they were of a ſpecies we have never ſince ſeen.

• [...]. Ariſt. Hiſt. an. lib. vi. c. 14.
• Perca Auſonii Moſella. 115.
• Une Perche de riviere. Belon. 291.
• Perca fluviatilis. Rondel. fluviat. 196. Geſner. piſc. 698.
• Ein Barſs. Schonevelde. 55.
• A Perch. Wil. Icth. 291. Raii ſyn. piſc. 97.
• Perca lineis utrinque ſex tranſ⯑verſis nigris, pinnis ventra⯑libus rubris. Arted. ſynon. 66.
• Perca fluviatilis. P. pinnis dor⯑ſalibus diſtinctis, ſecunda ra⯑diis ſedecim. Lin. ſyſt. 481. Gronov. Zoopb. No. 301.
• Abborre. Faun. ſuec. No. 332.
• Perſchling, Barſchieger. Kram. 384. Wulff Boruſs. No. 27.

THE perch of Ariſtotle and Auſonius is the ſame with that of the moderns. That men⯑tioned by Oppian, Pliny, and Athenaeus ^**, is a ſea⯑fiſh probably of the Labrus or Sparus kind, being enumerated by them among ſome congenerous ſpe⯑cies. Our perch was much eſteemed by the Ro⯑mans:

[212]It is not leſs admired at preſent as a firm and de⯑licate fiſh; and the Dutch are particularly fond of it when made into a diſh called Water Souchy.

It is a gregarious fiſh, and loves deep holes and gentle ſtreams. It is a moſt voracious fiſh, and eager biter: if the angler meets with a ſhoal of them, he is ſure of taking every one.

It is a common notion that the pike will not at⯑tack this fiſh, being fearful of the ſpiny fins which the perch erects on the approach of the former. This may be true in reſpect to large fiſh; but it is well known the ſmall ones are the moſt tempting bait that can be laid for the pike.

The perch is a fiſh very tenacious of life: we have known them carried near ſixty miles in dry ſtraw, and yet ſurvive the journey.

Theſe fiſh ſeldom grow to a large ſize: Size. we once heard of one that was taken in the Serpentine river, Hyde-Park, that weighed nine pounds, but that is very uncommon.

The body is deep: Deſcr. the ſcales very rough: the back much arched.

The irides golden: the teeth ſmall, diſpoſed in the jaws and on the roof of the mouth: the edges of the covers of the gills ſerrated: on the lower end of the largeſt is a ſharp ſpine.

The firſt dorſal fin conſiſts of fourteen ſtrong ſpiny rays; the ſecond of ſixteen ſoft ones: the pec⯑toral fins are tranſparent, and conſiſt of fourteen rays; the ventral of ſix; the anal of eleven.

The tail is a little forked.

[213]The colors are beautiful: Color. the back and part of the ſides being of a deep green, marked with five broad black bars pointing downwards: the belly is white, tinged with red: the ventral fins of a rich ſcarlet; the anal fins and tail of the ſame color, but rather paler.

In a lake called Llyn Raithlyn, Crooked Perch. in Merionethſhire, is a very ſingular variety of perch: the back is quite hunched, and the lower part of the back bone, next the tail, ſtrangely diſtorted: in color, and in other reſpects, it reſembles the common kind, which are as numerous in the lake as theſe deformed fiſh. They are not peculiar to this water, for Linnaeus takes notice of a ſimilar variety found at Fahlun, in his own country.

• [...]? Ariſt. Hiſt. an. lib. iv. c. 10. &c.
• Lupus? Ovid. Halieut. 112.
• Le Bar, le Soup. Belon. 113.
• Lupus. Rondel. 268. Geſner piſc. 506.
• A Baſſe. Wil. Icth. 271. Raii ſyn. piſc. 83.
• Perca radiis pinnae dorſalis ſe⯑cundae tredecim, ani quatu⯑ordecim. Arted. ſynon. 69.
• Perca Labrax. Lin. ſyſt. 482. Gronov. Zooph. No. 300.

THE baſſe is a ſtrong, active, and voracious fiſh: Ovid calls them rapidi lupi, a name con⯑tinued to them by after-writers.

That which we had an opportunity of examining was ſmall; Size. but they are ſaid to grow to the weight of fifteen pounds.

[214]The irides are ſilvery: the mouth large: the teeth are ſituated in the jaws, and are very ſmall: in the roof of the mouth is a triangular rough ſpace, and juſt at the gullet are two others of a roundiſh form.

The ſcales are of a middling ſize, are very thick ſet, and adhere cloſely.

The firſt dorſal fin has nine ſtrong ſpiny rays, of which the firſt is the ſhorteſt, the middlemoſt the higheſt; the ſecond dorſal fin conſiſts of thirteen rays, the firſt ſpiny, the others ſoft.

The pectoral fins have fifteen ſoft rays; the ven⯑tral ſix rays, the firſt ſpiny: the anal fourten rays, the three firſt ſpiny, the others ſoft: the tail is a lit⯑tle forked.

The body is formed ſomewhat like that of a ſal⯑mon.

The color of the back is duſky, tinged with blue.

The belly white. In young fiſh the ſpace above the ſide line is marked with ſmall black ſpots.

It is eſteemed a very delicate fiſh.

• Cernua. Belon. 186.
• Percae fluviatilis genus minus. Geſner piſc. 701.
• Aſpredo Caii opuſc. 107.
• Ein ſtuer, ſtuerbarſs. Schone⯑velde. 56.
• Cernua fluviatilis. Wil. Icth. 334.
• Ruffe. Raii ſyn. piſc. 143.
• Perca dorſo monopterygio, ca⯑pite cavernoſo. Arted. ſyn. 68.
• Perca cernua. P. pinnis dorſa⯑libus unitis radiis 27. ſpinis 15. cauda bifida. Lin. ſyſt. 487. Gronov. Zooph. No.
• Giers, Snorgers. Faun. ſuec. No. 119.
• Schroll, Pfaffenlaus. Schaeff. piſc. 37. tab. ii. Wulff Boruſs. No. 35.

THIS fiſh is found in ſeveral of the Engliſh ſtreams: it is gregarious, aſſembling in large ſhoals, and keeping in the deepeſt part of the water.

It is of a much more ſlender form than the perch, and ſeldom exceeds ſix inches in length.

The teeth are very ſmall, and diſpoſed in rows.

It has only one dorſal fin extending along the greateſt part of the back: the firſt rays like thoſe of the perch are ſtrong, ſharp, and ſpiny; the others ſoft.

The pectoral fins conſiſt of fifteen rays; the ventral of ſix; the anal of eight; the two firſt ſtrong and ſpiny: the tail a little bifurcated.

The body is covered with rough compact ſcales.

The back and ſides are of a dirty green, the laſt Inclining to yellow, but both ſpotted with black.

The dorſal fin is ſpotted with black: the tail marked with tranſverſe bars.

• The Black Fiſh. Mr. Jago. Borlaſe Cornwall. 271, tab. xxv. fig. 8.

MR. Jago has left ſo brief a deſcription of this fiſh, that we find difficulty in giving it a proper claſs: it agrees with the Ruffe in the form of the body, and the ſmallneſs of the teeth, in having a ſingle extenſive fin on the back, a forked tail, and being of that ſection of bony fiſh, termed Thoracic: theſe appear by the figure, the teeth ex⯑cepted. The other characters muſt be borrowed from the deſcription.

‘It is ſmooth, with very ſmall thin ſcales, fifteen inches long, three quarters of an inch broad; head and noſe like a peal or trout; little mouth; very ſmall teeth, beginning from the noſe four inches and three quarters, near ſix inches long; a forked tail; a large double noſtril. Two taken at Loo, May 26, 1721, in the Sean, near the ſhore, in ſandy ground with ſmall ore weed.’

• La Grande Eſpinoche, un Epi⯑nard, une Artiere. Belon. 328.
• Piſciculi aculeati prius genus. Rondel. fluviat. 206. Geſner piſc. 8.
• Stickleblack, Banſtickle, or Sharpling. Wil. Icth. 341. Raii ſyn. piſc. 145.
• Gaſteroſteus aculeis in dorſo tribus. Arted. ſynon. 80.
• Gaſteroſteus aculeatus. Lin. ſyſt. 489. Gronov. Zooph. No. 406.
• Spigg, Horn-fiſk. Faun. ſuec. No. 336.
• Stichling, Stachel-fiſch. Wulff. Boruſs. No. 37.

THESE are common in many of our rivers, but no where in greater quantities than in the Fens of Lincolnſhire, and ſome of the rivers that creep out of them. At Spalding there are, once in ſeven or eight years, amazing ſhoals that appear in the Welland, and come up the river in form of a vaſt column. They are ſuppoſed to be the multitudes that have been waſhed out of the fens by the floods of ſeveral years, and collected in ſome deep hole, 'till overcharged with numbers, they are periodically obliged to attempt a change of place. The quan⯑tity is ſo great, that they are uſed to manure the land, and trials have been made to get oil from [218]them. A notion may be had of this vaſt ſhoal, by ſaying that a man employed by the farmer to take them, has got for a conſiderable time four ſhil⯑lings a day by ſelling them at a halfpenny per buſhel.

This ſpecies ſeldom reaches the length of two inches: Deſcr. the eyes are large: the belly prominent: the body near the tail ſquare: the ſides are covered with large bony plates, placed tranſverſely.

On the back are three ſharp ſpines, that can be raiſed or depreſſed at pleaſure: the dorſal fin is placed near the tail: the pectoral fins are broad: the ventral fins conſiſt each of one ſpine, or rather plate, of unequal lengths, one being large, the other ſmall; between both is a flat bony plate, reaching almoſt to the vent: beneath the vent is a ſhort ſpine, and then ſucceeds the anal fin.

The tail conſiſts of twelve rays, and is even at the end.

The color of the back and ſides is an olive green; the belly white; but in ſome the lower jaws and belly are of a bright crimſon.

• La petite Eſpinoche. Belon. 328.
• Piſciculi aculeati alterum ge⯑nus. Rondel. fluviat. 206. Geſner piſc. 8.
• Leſſer Stickleback. Wil. Icth. 342. Raii ſyn. piſc. 145.
• Gaſteroſteus aculeis in dorſo decem. Arted. ſynon. 80.
• Gaſteroſteus pungitius. Lin. ſyſt. 491. Gronov. Zooph. No. 405.
• Benunge, Gaddſur, Gorquad. Faun. ſuec. No. 337.

THIS ſpecies is much ſmaller than the former, and of a more ſlender make.

The back is armed with ten ſhort ſharp ſpines, which do not incline the ſame way, but croſs each other.

The ſides are ſmooth, not plated like thoſe of the preceding: in other particulars it reſembles the former.

The color of the back is olive: the belly ſil⯑very.

• Aculeatus, ſive Pungitius ma⯑rinus longus, Stein-bicker, Ersſkruper. Schonevelde. 10. tab. iv. Sib. S [...]t. iii. 24. tab. 19.
• Aculeatus marinus major. Wil. Icth. 340. App. 23. Raii ſyn. piſc. 145.
• Gaſteroſteus aculeis in dorſo quindecim. Arted. ſynon. 81.
• Gaſteroſteus ſpinachia. Lin. ſyſt. 492. Gronov. Zooph. No. 407. Faun. ſuec. No. 338.

THIS ſpecies inhabits the ſea, and is never found in freſh water.

Its length is above ſix inches: the noſe is long and ſlender: the mouth tubular: teeth ſmall.

The fore part of the body is covered on each ſide with a row of bony plates, forming a ridge; the body afterwards grows very ſlender, and is quadrangular.

Between the head and the dorſal fin are fifteen ſmall ſpines: the dorſal fin is placed oppoſite the anal fin: the ventral fins are wanting.

The tail is even at the end.

The color of the upper part is a deep brown: the belly white.

• [...]. Ariſt. Hiſt. an lib. vi. c. 17. ix. c. 2, Athenaeus. lib. iii. 121. vii. 321. Op⯑pian Halieut. I. 142.
• Scomber. Ovid. Halieut. 94. Plinii lib. ix. c. 15, xxxi. c. 8.
• Macarello, Scombro. Salvian. 241. ^*
• Le Macreau. Belon. 197.
• Scomber. Rondel. 233. Geſner piſc. 841. (pro 861.)
• Makerel. Schonevelde. 66.
• Mackrell, or Macarel. Wil. Icth. 181. Raii ſyn. piſc. 58.
• Scomber pinnulis quinque in extremo dorſo, polypterygio, aculeo brevi ad anum. Ar⯑ted. ſynon. 48.
• Scomber Scomber. Lin. ſyſt. 492. Gronov. Zooph. No. 304.
• Mackrill. Faun. ſuec. No. 339.

THE mackrel is a ſummer fiſh of paſſage that viſits our ſhores in vaſt ſhoals. It is leſs uſe⯑ful than other ſpecies of gregarious fiſh, being very tender, and unfit for carriage; not but that it may be preſerved by pickling and ſalting, a method, we believe, practiſed only in Cornwall ^**, where it proves a great relief to the poor during winter.

It was a fiſh greatly eſteemed by the Romans, Garum. be⯑cauſe it furniſhed the pretious Garum, a ſort of pickle that gave a high reliſh to their ſauces, and was be⯑ſides uſed medicinally. It was drawn from different [222]kinds of fiſh, but that made from the mackrel had the preference: the beſt was made at Carthagena, vaſt quantities of mackrel being taken near an adja⯑centiſle, called from that circumſtance, Scombraria ^*, and the Garum, prepared by a certain company in that city, bore a high price, and was diſtinguiſhed by the title of Garum Sociorum ^**

This fiſh is eaſily taken by a bait, but the beſt time is during a freſh gale of wind, which is thence called a mackrel gale.

It is not often that it exceeds two pounds in weight, Size. yet we heard that there was one ſold laſt ſummer in London that weighed five and a quarter.

The noſe is taper and ſharp pointed: Deſcr. the eyes large: the jaws of an equal length: the teeth ſmall, but numerous.

The form of this fiſh is very elegant.

The body is a little compreſſed on the ſides: to⯑wards the tail it grows very ſlender, and a little an⯑gular.

The firſt dorſal fin is placed a little behind the pec⯑toral fin, is triangular, and conſiſts of nine or ten ſtiff rays; the ſecond lies at a diſtance from the other, and has twelve ſoft rays; the pectoral twenty; the ventral ſix: at the baſe of the anal fin is a ſtrong ſpine.

Between the laſt dorſal fin and the tail, are five ſmall fins, and the ſame number between the anal fin and the tail.

[223]The tail is broad and ſemilunar: Color. The color of the back and ſides above the lateral line, is a fine green, varied with blue, marked with black lines, pointing downwards; beneath the line the ſides and belly are of a ſilvery color.

It is a moſt beautiful fiſh when alive; for nothing can equal the brilliancy of its color, which death impairs, but does not wholly obliterate.

• [...]. Ariſt. Hiſt, an. lib. ii. c. 13. &c. Athenaeus. lib. vii. 301. Oppian Halieut. iii. 620.
• Thunnus. Ovid. Halieut. 95. 95. Plinii. lib. ix. c. 15.
• Tonno. Salvian. 123.
• Le Thon. Belon. 99.
• Thunnus. Rondel. 241. Geſner piſc. 957.
• Thunnus vel orcynus. Schone⯑velde. 75.
• Tunny fiſh, or Spaniſh Mack⯑rell. Wil. Icth. 176. Raii ſyn. piſc. 57.
• Scomber pinnulis octo vel no⯑vem in extremo dorſo, ex ſulco ad pinnas ventrales, Arted. ſynon. 49.
• Scomber Thunnus. Sc. pinnulis utrinque octo. Lin. ſyſt. 493. Gronov. Zooph. No. 305.

THE tunny was a fiſh well known to the antients, it made a conſiderable branch of commerce; the time of its arrival into the Mediterranean from the ocean was obſerved, and ſtations for taking them eſta⯑bliſhed in places it moſt frequented; the eminencies above the fiſhery were ſtyled [...] ^*, and the watchmen that gave notice to thoſe below of the mo⯑tions of the fiſh, [...] ^**. From one of the [224]for⯑mer the lover in Theocritus threatened to take a deſ⯑perate leap, on account of his miſtreſs's cruelty.

The very ſame ſtation, in all probability, is at this time made uſe of, as there are very conſiderable thunny fiſheries on the coaſt of Sicily, as well as ſeve⯑ral other parts of the Mediterranean ^*, where they are cured, and make a great article of proviſion in the adjacent kingdoms. They are caught in nets, and amazing quantities are taken, for they come in vaſt ſhoals, keeping along the ſhores.

They grow to a large ſize, Size. ſometimes being found of above a hundred weight.

They are not common in our ſeas, but are ſome⯑times taken off the weſt of England.

Its form is leſs elegant than that of the mackrel, Deſcr. being rather thicker in the middle: the jaws are of an equal length; the mouth black within: beſides the teeth of the jaws, are others in the roof of the mouth.

The firſt dorſal fin is placed not remote from the head, and conſiſts of fourteen rays, and is lodged in a ſmall channel; the ſecond is almoſt contiguous to the other, and has the ſame number of rays.

[225]The pectoral fin conſiſts of thirty-four rays; the ventral fins are ſmall, and have ſix rays; the anal, thirteen: between the laſt dorſal fin and the tail, are from eight to ten ſmall ones, and between the anal fin and the tail eight.

The body near the tail is ſlender, and almoſt qua⯑drangular; the tail is in the form of a creſcent.

The color of the upper part of the body is duſky, Color. varied with blue and green: the ſides and the belly ſilvery.

• Sauro. Salvian. 79.
• Un Sou, Macreau baſtard. Belon. 186.
• Trachurus. Rondel. 233.
• Lacertus Bellonii. Geſner piſc. 467.
• Muſeken, Stocker. Schonovelde. 75.
• Scad, Horſe-mackrell. Wil. Icth. 290. Raii ſyn. piſc. 92.
• Scomber linea laterali aculeata, pinna ani oſſiculorum 30. Arted. ſynon. 50.
• Scomber Trachurus. Sc. pinnis unitis, ſpina dorſali recum⯑bente, linea laterali loricata. Lin. ſyſt. 494. Gronov. Zooph. No. 308.

THAT which we examined was ſixteen inches long: the noſe ſharp; the eyes very large; the irides ſilvery: the lower jaw a little longer than the upper: the edges of the jaws were rough, but without teeth.

On the upper part of the covers of the gills was a large black ſpot.

The ſcales were large and very thin: the lower half of the body quadrangular, and marked each [226]ſide with a row of thick ſtrong ſcales, prominent in the middle, extending to the tail.

The firſt dorſal fin conſiſted of eight ſtrong ſpines: the ſecond lay juſt behind it, and conſiſted of thirty-four ſoft rays, and reached almoſt to the tail: the pectoral fins narrow and long, and compoſed of twenty rays: the ventral of ſix branched rays.

The vent was in the middle of the belly; the anal fin extended from it to the tail, which was greatly forked.

The head and upper part of the body varied with green and blue: the belly ſilvery.

This fiſh was taken in the month of October, was very firm and well taſted, having the flavor of mackrel.

• [...]? Ariſt. Hiſt. an. lib. ii. Oppian Halieut. I. 590.
• [...] Athenaeus. lib. vii. 325.
• Mullus. Ovid. Halieut. 123. Plinii lib. ix. c. 17.
• Triglia. Salvian. 235.
• Le Rouget barbé, Surmurlet. Belon. 170.
• Mullus barbatus. Rondel. 290. Geſner piſc. 565.
• Petermanneken, Goldeken. Schonevelde. 47.
• Mullus Bellonii. Wil. Icth. 285. Raii ſyn. piſc. 90.
• Trigla capite glabro, cirris ge⯑minis in maxilla inferiore. Arted. ſynon. 71.
• Mullus cirris geminis, corpo⯑re rubro. Lin. ſyſt. 495. Gro⯑nov. Zooph. No. 286.

THIS fiſh was highly eſteemed by the Romans, and bore an exceeding high price. The ca⯑pricious epicures of Horace's ^* days, valued it in proportion to its ſize, not that the larger were more delicious, but that they were more difficult to be got. The price that was given for one in the time of Juvenal, and Pliny, is a ſtriking evidence of the luxury and extravagance of the age:

[228]But Aſinius Celer ^*, a man of conſular dignity, gave a ſtill more unconſcionable ſum, for he did not ſcruple beſtowing eight thouſand nummi, or ſixty-four pounds eleven ſhillings and eight-pence, for a fiſh of ſo ſmall a ſize as the mullet; for according to Horace, a Mullus trilibris, or one of three pounds, was a great rarity; ſo that Juvenal's ſpark muſt have had a great bargain in compariſon of what Celer had.

But Seneca ſays that it was not worth a farthing, except it died in the very hand of your gueſt: that ſuch was the luxury of the times, that there were ſtews even in the eating rooms, ſo that the fiſh could at once be brought from under the table, and placed on it: that they put the mullets in tranſparent vaſes, that they might be entertained with the various changes of its rich color while it lay expiring ^**. Apicius ^†, a wonderful genius for luxurious inven⯑tions, firſt hit upon the method of ſuffocating them in the exquiſite Carthaginian ^‡ pickle, and afterwards procured a rich ſauce from their livers. This is the ſame gentleman whom Pliny, in another place, ho⯑nors with the title of Nepotum omnium altiſſimus gurges ^§, an expreſſion too forcible to be rendered in our language

[229]We have heard of this ſpecies being taken on the coaſt of Scotland, but had no opportunity of exa⯑mining it; and whether it is found in the weſt of England with the other ſpecies, or variety, we are not at this time informed. Salvianus makes it a diſtinct ſpecies, and ſays, that it is of a purple co⯑lor, ſtriped with golden lines, and that it did not commonly exceed a palm in length: no wonder then that ſuch a prodigy as one of ſix pounds ſhould ſo captivate the fancy of the Roman epicure.

Mr. Ray eſtabliſhes ſome other diſtinctions, ſuch as the firſt dorſal ſin having nine rays, and the color of that fin, the tail, and the pectoral fins, being of a very pale purple.

On theſe authorities we form different ſpecies of theſe fiſh, having only examined what Salvianus and Mr. Ray call the Mullus major, which we deſcribe under the title of

• Mullus major. Salvian. 236.
• Mullus major noſter et Salvi⯑ani. 95. Cornubienſibus.
• A Surmullet. Wil. Icth. 285. Raii ſyn. piſc. 91.
• Trigla capite glabro, lineis utrinque quatuor luteis, lon⯑gitudinalibus, parallelis. Ar⯑ted. ſynon. 72.
• Mullus cirris geminis lineis lu⯑teis longitudinalibus. Lin. ſyſt. 496.

THIS ſpecies was communicated to us by Mr. Pitfield of Exeter; its weight was two pounds and an half; its length was fourteen inches; the thickeſt circumference eleven. It appears on the [230]coaſt of Devonſhire in May, and retires about No⯑vember.

The head ſteep: the noſe blunt: the body thick: the mouth ſmall: the lower jaw furniſhed with very ſmall teeth: in the roof of the mouth is a rough hard ſpace: at the entrance of the gullet above is a ſingle bone, and beneath are a pair, each with echi⯑nated ſurfaces, that help to comminute the food be⯑fore it paſſes down.

From the chin hung two beards, two inches and an half long.

The eyes large: the irides purple: the head and covers of the gills very ſcaly.

The firſt dorſal fin was lodged in a deep furrow, and conſiſted of ſix ſtrong, but flexible rays; the ſecond of eight; the pectoral fins of ſixteen; the ventral of ſix branched rays; the anal of ſeven: the tail is much forked.

The body very thick, and covered with large ſcales; beneath them the color was a moſt beautiful roſyred; ^* the changes of which, under the thin ſcales, gave that entertainment to the Roman epicures as above mentioned: the ſcales on the back and ſides were of a dirty orange; thoſe on the noſe a bright yellow: the tail a reddiſh yellow.

The ſides were marked lengthways with two lines of a light yellow color: theſe with the red color of the dorſal fins, and the number of their rays, Mr. Ray makes the character of the Corniſh Surmullet: theſe are notes ſo liable to vary by accident, that till [231]we receive further informations from the inhabitants of our Weſtern coaſts, where theſe fiſh are found, we ſhall remain doubtful whether we have done right in ſeparating this from the former, eſpecially as Doctor Gronovius has pronounced them to be only varieties.

• Gurnatus ſeu Gurnardus griſe⯑us, the Grey Gurnard. Wil. Icth. 279. Raii ſyn. piſc. 88.
• Trigla vario roftro diacantho, aculeis geminis ad utrum⯑que oculum. Arted. ſynon. 74.
• Trigla Gurnardus, Tr. digitis ternis dorſo maculis nigris rubriſque. Lin. ſyſt. 497. Gronov. Zooph. No. 283.

THE noſe pretty long, and ſloping: the end bifurcated, and each ſide armed with three ſhort ſpines.

The eyes very large; above each were two ſhort ſpines: the forehead and covers of the gills ſil⯑very; the laſt finely radiated.

The teeth ſmall, placed in the lower and upper jaws, in the roof of the mouth, and baſe of the tongue.

[232]Noſtrils minute, and placed on the ſides of the noſe.

On the extremity of the gill covers was a ſtrong, ſharp, and long ſpine: beneath that, juſt above the pectoral fins, another.

The firſt dorſal fin conſiſted of eight ſpiny rays; the ſides of the three firſt tuberculated.

The ſecond dorſal fin of nineteen ſoft rays: both fins lodged in a groove, rough on each ſide, but not ſerrated.

The pectoral fins tranſparent, and ſupported by ten rays, bifurcated from their middle: the three beards at their baſe as uſual.

The ventral fins had ſix rays, the firſt ſpiny, and the ſhorteſt of all.

The anal fin nineteen, each ſoft.

The tail bifurcated.

The lateral line very prominent, and ſtrongly ſer⯑rated.

The back, tail, and a ſmall ſpace beneath the ſide line, were of a deep grey, covered with ſmall ſcales, and in parts ſpotted with white; the belly ſilvery. We could not perceive any yellow ſpots, as Mr. Ray mentions, but poſſibly they vary.

• [...]? Ariſt. Hiſt. an lib. iv. c. 9. Oppian Halieut. I. 97.
• [...]. Athenaeus lib. vii. 309.
• Peſce capone, Cocco, Organo. Salvian. 191.
• Le Rouget. Belon. 199.
• Cuculus. Rondel. 287. Geſner piſc. 305.
• Smiedecknecht, Kurre-fiſche. Schonevelde. 32.
• Red Gurnard, or Rotchet. Wil. Icth. 281. Raii ſyn. piſc. 89.
• Trigla tota rubens, roſtro pa⯑rum bicorni, operculis bran⯑chiarum ſtriatis. Arted. ſynon. 74.
• Trigla cuculus. Tr. digitis ternis, linea laterali mutica. Lin. ſyſt. 497.

THIS ſpecies agrees in its general appearance with the tub fiſh; but in theſe particulars differs.

The covers of the gills are radiated: the ſpines are leſs and ſhorter in thoſe of the red gurnard.

The fins and body are of a fuller red: the ſcales are larger: the head leſs: the pectoral fins are ſhorter, and edged with purple, not with blue.

• [...]? Ariſt. Hiſt. an. lib. iv. c. 9.
• Lyra. Rondel. 298. Geſner piſc. 516.
• The Piper. Wil. Icth. 282. Raii ſyn. piſc. 89.
• Trigla roſtro longo diacantho, naribus tubuloſis. Arted. ſyn. 74.
• Trigla Lyra. Tr. digitis ter⯑nis, naribus tubuloſis. Lin. ſyſt. 496.

THIS ſpecies is frequently taken on the weſtern coaſts of this kingdom, and eſteemed an ex⯑cellent fiſh.

The weight of one which was communicated to us by Mr. Pitfield ^* was three pounds and an half; the thickeſt circumference thirteen inches, the leſt, which was next the tail, only three: the length near two feet.

The head was very large, and that part of the body next to it very thick: the noſe divided into two broad plates, each terminated with three ſpines: on the inner corner of each eye is a ſtrong ſpine: the bony plates of the head terminate on each ſide with another.

The covers of the gills are armed with one very ſharp and ſtrong ſpine, and are prettily ſtriated: im⯑mediately over the pectoral fin is another ſpine very large and ſharp pointed.

The noſtrils very minute: the eyes large.

The lower jaw much ſhorter than the upper: the teeth in both very minute.

[235]The firſt dorſal fin conſiſted of nine very ſtrong ſharp ſpines, the ſecond of which is the longeſt; the ſecond fin begins juſt behind the firſt, and con⯑ſiſts of eighteen ſoft rays: the pectoral fins were long, and had twelve branched rays; the ventral fins ſix, very ſtrong and thick: the anal eighteen, the firſt ſpiny: the tail ſmall, in proportion to the ſize of the fiſh, and forked.

The back on each ſide the dorſal fin was armed with a ſet of ſtrong and very large ſpines, pointing towards the tail like the teeth of a ſaw.

The ſcales were ſmall, but very hard and rough: the lateral line bent a little at its beginning, that went ſtrait to the tail, and was almoſt ſmooth.

• Hirundo Aldrov. the Tub-fiſh, Cornub. Wil. Icth. 280. Raii ſyn. piſc. 88.
• Trigla capite aculeato, ap⯑pendicibus utrinque tribus ad pinnas pectorales. Arted. ſynon. 73.
• Trigla hirundo. Tr. digitis ternis, linea laterali acu⯑leata. Lin. ſyſt. 497.
• Knorrhane, Knoding, Knot, Smed. Faun. ſuec. No. 340.

THIS ſpecies is of a more ſlender form than the preceding.

The pupil of the eye is green: on the inner cor⯑ner of each are two ſmall ſpines. But what at once diſtinguiſhes this from the other ſpecies is the breadth and colors of the pectoral fins, which are very broad, of a pale green, moſt beautifully edged, and ſpotted with rich deep blue.

[236]The dorſal fins are lodged between two rows of ſpines, of a ſerrated form: the back is of a greeniſh caſt: the ſide line is rough: the ſides are tinged with red; the belly white.

Theſe fiſh are found on the coaſt of Cornwall. We have alſo taken them off Angleſea.

• Cuculus lineatus, the Streaked Gurnard. Raii ſyn. piſc. 165. fig. 11.

THIS is one of the Corniſh fiſh communicated to Mr. Petiver by Mr. Jago. He ſays the head is large, and diſtinguiſhed with ſtellated marks; the eyes great; the covering of the gills thorny; the mouth ſmall, and without teeth. By the figure the noſe ſeems not to be bifurcated. The pectoral fins large, and ſpotted, beneath them three filaments: the color of the body red: the belly white, marked with many ſtreaks, pointing downwards, from the back.

Mr. Jago imagines it to be the Mullis imberbis of Rondeletius. Wil. Icth. 278.

• La Loche franche. Belon. 321.
• Cobitis barbatula. Rondel. flu⯑viat. 204.
• Cobitis fluviatilis barbatula. Geſner piſc. 404.
• Smerling, Smerle. Schonevelde. 31.
• Loche, or Groundling. Wil. Icth. 265. Raii ſyn. piſc. 124.
• Cobitis tota glabra maculoſa, corpore ſubtereti. Arted. ſy⯑non. 2.
• Cobitis Barbatula. C. cirris ſex capite inermi compreſſo. Lin. ſyſt. 499. Gronov. Zooph. No. 202.
• Gronling. Faun. ſuec. No. 341.
• Grundel. Kram. 396. Wulff. Boruſs. No. 40.

THE loche is found in ſeveral of our ſmall rivers, keeping at the bottom on the gravel, and is on that account, in ſome places, called the Ground⯑ling: it is frequent on the ſtream near Ameſbury, in Wiltſhire, where the ſportſmen, thro' frolick, ſwallow it down alive in a glaſs of white wine.

The largeſt we ever heard of was four inches and three quarters in length, Deſcr. but they ſeldom arrive to that ſize.

[238]The mouth is ſmall, placed beneath, and has no teeth: on the upper mandible are ſix ſmall beards, one at each corner of the mouth, and four at the end of the noſe.

The dorſal fin conſiſts of eight rays; the pectoral of eleven; the ventral of ſeven; the anal of ſix: the tail is broad, and has ſixteen or ſeventeen rays.

The body is ſmooth and ſlippery, Color. and almoſt of the ſame thickneſs: the color of the head, back, and ſides, is in ſome white, in others of a dirty yel⯑low, very elegantly marked with large ſpots, con⯑ſiſting of numberleſs minute black ſpecks: the pec⯑toral, dorſal, and caudal fins are alſo ſpotted: the belly and ventral fins of a pure white: the tail broad, and a little rounded.

• Salmo Plinii lib. ix. c. 18. Au⯑ſonius. Moſel. 97.
• Salmone. Salvian. 100.
• Le Saulmon. Belon. 271.
• Salmo. Rondel. fluviat. 167. Geſner piſc. 824. Schonevelde. 64.
• Salmon. Wil. Icth. 189. Raii ſyn. piſc. 63.
• Salmo roſtro ultra inferiorem maxillam ſaepe prominente. Arted. ſynon. 22.
• Salmo Salar. Lin. ſyſt. 509. Gronov. Zooph. No. 369.
• Lax. Faun. ſuec. No. 122.
• Lachſs. Wulff. Boruſs. No. 42.

THE ſalmon is a northern fiſh, being unknown in the Mediterranean ſea, and other warm climates: it is found in France in ſome of the rivers that empty themſelves into the ocean ^*, and north as far as Greenland; whether it reaches America we are not at this time aſſured: Charlevoix, Lauſon, and Cateſby do not mention it; nor have we any authority for its being found there, except that of the romantic Lahontan. Salmons are taken in the rivers of Kamt⯑ſchatka, ^** but whether they are of the ſame ſpecies with the European kind is not very certain.

[240]They are in ſeveral countries a great article of commerce, being cured different ways, by ſalting, pickling, and drying: there are ſtationary fiſheries in Iceland, Norway ^*, and the Baltic, but we be⯑lieve no where greater than thoſe at Colraine in Ire⯑land; and in Great-Britain at Berwick, and in ſome of the rivers of Scotland.

The ſalmon was known to the Romans but not to the Greeks: Pliny ſpeaks of it as a fiſh found in the rivers of Aquitaine: Auſonius enumerates it among thoſe of the Moſel.

The ſalmon is a fiſh that lives both in the ſalt and freſh waters, Aſcends rivers. quitting the ſea at certain ſeaſons for [241]the ſake of depoſiting its ſpawn in ſecurity, in the gravelly beds of rivers remote from their mouths. There are ſcarce any difficulties but what they will overcome, in order to arrive at places fit for their purpoſe: they will aſcend rivers hundreds of miles, force themſelves againſt the moſt rapid ſtreams, and ſpring with amazing agility over cataracts of ſeveral feet in height. Salmon are frequently taken in the Rhine as high up as Baſil; Salmon leaps. they gain the ſources of the Lapland rivers ^* in ſpite of their torrent-like currents, and ſurpaſs the perpendicular falls of Leixſlip ^**, Kennerth ^†, and Pont aberglaſtyn ^†; theſe laſt feats we have been witneſs to, and ſeen the efforts of ſcores of fiſh, ſome of which ſucceeded, others miſcarried during the time of our ſtay.

It may here be proper to contradict the vulgar error of their taking their tail in their mouth when they attempt to leap; ſuch as we ſaw, ſprung up quite ſtrait, and with a ſtrong tremulous motion.

Other particulars relating to the natural hiſtory of this fiſh, we ſhall relate in our accounts of the fiſheries, either from our own obſervations, or from ſuch as have been communicated to us from different places: the fulleſt we have been favored with is from Mr. Potts, of Berwick, Tweed fiſhery. to whom the publick is indebted for the following very curious hiſtory of the ſalmon fiſhery on the Tweed.

[242]At the latter end of the year, or in the month of November, the ſalmon begin to preſs up the rivers as far as they can reach, in order to ſpawn; when that time approaches they ſearch for a place fit for the purpoſe: Spawn⯑ing. the male and female unite in forming a proper receptacle for it in the ſand or gravel, about the depth of eighteen inches; in this the female de⯑poſits her ſpawn, the male his milt, which they cover carefully, as it is ſaid, with their tails, for after ſpawning they are obſerved to have no ſkin on that part.

The ſpawn lies buried till ſpring, if not diſturbed by violent floods; but the ſalmon haſten to ſea as ſoon as they are able, to purify and cleanſe them⯑ſelves, and to recover their ſtrength; for after ſpawn⯑ing they become very poor and lean, and then are called Kipper.

About the latter end of March the ſpawn begins to exclude the young, which gradually increaſe to the length of four or five inches, and are then termed Smelts or Smouts: about the beginning of May the river is full of them; it ſeems to be all alive; there is no having an idea of the numbers without ſeeing them; but a ſeaſonable flood then hurries them all to the ſea, ſcarce any or very few being left in the river.

About the middle of June the earlieſt of the fry begin to drop, as it were, into the river again from the ſea, at that time about twelve, fourteen, or ſix⯑teen inches, and by a gradual progreſs, increaſe in number and ſize till about the end of July, which is at Berwick termed the height of Gilſe time, the [243]name given to the fiſh at that age: the end of July, or beginning of Auguſt they leſſen in number, but encreaſe in ſize, ſome being ſix, ſeven, eight, or nine pounds in weight; this appears to be a ſurpri⯑ſing quick growth, Quick growth. yet we have received from a gen⯑tleman at Warrington, an inſtance ſtill more ſo: a kipper ſalmon weighing 7lb. three quarters, taken on the 7th of February, being marked with a ſciſſars on the back, fin, and tail, and turned into the river, was again taken the 17th of March following, and then was found to weigh 17lb. and a half.

The capture in the Tweed, Capture. about the month of July, is prodigious; in a good fiſhery, often a boat load, and ſometimes near two, are taken in a tide: ſome few years ago there were above ſeven hundred fiſh taken at one hawl, but from fifty to a hundred is very frequent: the coopers in Berwick then begin to ſalt both Salmon and Gilſes in pipes, and other large veſſels, and afterwards barrel ^* them to ſend abroad, having then far more than the London markets can take off their hands.

Moſt of the ſalmon taken before April, or to the ſetting in of the warm weather, is ſent freſh to Lon⯑don in baſkets, unleſs now and then the veſſel is diſ⯑appointed by contrary winds, of ſailing immediately; in that caſe the fiſh is brought aſhore again to the coopers offices, and boiled, pickled, and kitted, and ſent to the London markets by the ſame ſhip, and freſh ſalmon put in the baſkets in lieu of the ſtale ones. At the beginning of the ſeaſon, when a ſhip [244]is on the point of ſailing, a freſh clean ſalmon will ſell from a ſhilling to eighteen pence a pound, Price. and moſt of the time that this part of the trade is carried on, the prices are from five to nine ſhillings per ſtone, ^* the value riſing and falling according to the value riſing and falling according to the plenty of fiſh, or the proſpect of a fair or foul wind. Some fiſh are ſent in this manner to London the lat⯑ter end of September, when the weather grows cool, but then the fiſh are full of large roes, grow very thin bellied, and are not eſteemed either palatable or wholeſome.

The price of freſh fiſh in the month of July, when they are moſt plentiful, has been known to be as low as 8d. per ſtone, but laſt year never leſs than 16d. and from that to 2s. 6d.

The ſeaſon for fiſhing in the Tweed begins No⯑vember the 30th, Seaſon. but the fiſhermen work very little till after Chriſtmas; it ends on Michaelmas-Day; yet the corporation of Berwick (who are conſervators of the river) indulge the fiſhermen with a fornight paſt that time, on account of the change of the ſtyle.

There are on the river forty-one conſiderable fiſh⯑eries extending upwards, about fourteen miles from the mouth (the others above being of no great va⯑lue) which are rented for near 5400l. per annum. The expences attending the ſervants wages, nets, boats, &c. amount to 5000l. more, which together makes up the ſum 10400l. Now in conſequence [245]the produce muſt defray all, and no leſs than twenty times that ſum of fiſh will effect it, ſo that 208000 ſalmon muſt be caught there one year with an⯑other.

There is a misfortune attending the river Tweed, which is worthy a parlementary remedy; for there is no law for preſerving the fiſh in it during the fence months, as there is in the caſe of many other Britiſh rivers. This being the boundary between the two kingdoms, part of it belongs to the city of Berwick, and the whole north ſide (beginning about two miles from the town) is entirely Scotch pro⯑perty. From ſome diſagreement between the par⯑ties they will not unite for the preſervation of the fiſh, ſo that in ſome fiſheries on the north ſide they continue killing ſalmon the whole winter, when the death of one fiſh is the deſtruction of thouſands.

The legiſlature began very early to pay attention to this important article: by the 13th Edward Iſt. there is an act which prohibits the capture of the ſalmon from the Nativity of our Lady to St. Mar⯑tin's Day, in the waters of the Humber, Owſe, Trent, Done, Arre, Derwent, Wharfe, Nid, Yore, Swale, and Tees; and other monarchs in after-times, pro⯑vided in like manner for the ſecurity of the fiſh in other rivers.

Scotland poſſeſſes great numbers of fine fiſheries on both ſides of that kingdom. Scotland. The ſalmon are cured in the ſame manner as at Berwick, and a great quantity is ſent to London in the ſpring; but after that time the adventurers begin to barrel and ex⯑port them to foreign countries: but we believe that [246]commerce is far leſs lucrative than it was in former times, partly owing to the great encreaſe of the Newfoundland fiſhery, and partly to the general re⯑laxation of the diſcipline of abſtinence in the Ro⯑miſh church.

Ireland (particularly the north) abounds with this fiſh: Ireland. the moſt conſiderable fiſhery is at Cranna, on the river Ban, about a mile and an half from Cole⯑raine. When I made the tour of that hoſpitable kingdom in 1754, it was rented by a neighboring gentleman for 620l. a year, who aſſured me that the tenant, his predeceſſor, gave 1600l. per ann. and was a much greater gainer by the bargain for the reaſons before-mentioned, and on account of the number of poachers who deſtroy the fiſh in the fence months.

The mouth of this river faces the north, and is finely ſituated to receive the fiſh that roam along the coaſt, in ſearch of an inlet into ſome freſh wa⯑ter, as they do all along that end of the kingdom which oppoſes itſelf to the northern ocean. We have ſeen near Ballicaſtle, nets placed in the ſea at the foot of the promontories that jut into it, which the ſalmon ſtrike into as they are wandering cloſe to ſhore, and numbers are taken by that method.

In the Ban they fiſh with nets eighteen ſcore yards long, and are continually drawing night and day the whole ſeaſon, which we think laſts about four months, two ſets of ſixteen men each alter⯑nately relieving one another. The beſt drawing is when the tide is coming in: we were told that at a ſingle draught there were once eight hundred and forty fiſh taken.

[247]A few miles higher up the river is a ware, where a conſiderable number of fiſh that eſcape the nets are taken. We were lately informed, that in the year 1760 about 320 tons were taken in the Cranna fiſhery.

The ſalmon are cured in this manner: they are firſt ſplit, and rubbed with fine ſalt; and after ly⯑ing in pickle in great tubs, or reſervoirs, for ſix weeks, are packed up with layers of coarſe brown Spaniſh ſalt in caſks, ſix of which make a ton. Theſe are exported to Leghorn and Venice at the price of twelve or thirteen pounds per ton, but formerly from ſixteen to twenty-four pounds each.

The ſalmon is a fiſh ſo generally known, Deſcr. that a very brief deſcription will ſerve. The largeſt we ever heard of weighed ſeventy-four pounds. The color of the back and ſides are grey, ſometimes ſpotted with black, ſometimes plain: the covers of the gills are ſubject to the ſame variety: the belly ſilvery: the noſe ſharp pointed: the end of the un⯑der jaw in the males often turns up in form of a hook; ſometimes this curvature is very conſidera⯑ble: it is ſaid that they loſe this hook when they re⯑turn to the ſea.

The teeth are lodged in the jaws and on the tongue, and are ſlender, but very ſharp.

The tail is a little forked.

• The Grey, i. e. cinereus ſeu Griſeus. Wil. Icth. 193. Raii ſyn. piſc. 63.
• Salmo maculis cinereis, caudae extremo aequali. Arted. ſynon. 23.
• Salmo eriox. Lin. ſyſt. 509.
• Gralax. Faun. ſuec. No. 346.
• Lachſs-forellen mit Schwarz⯑grauen flecken oder punkt⯑chens. Wulff. Boruſs. No. 43.

WE are uncertain whether this is not a meer variety of the ſalmon; but on the authority of Mr. Ray, we deſcribe them ſeparate. He ſays it is a very ſtrong fiſh, that it does not aſcend the freſh waters till Auguſt, when it ruſhes up with great violence, that it is rarely taken, and not much known.

We ſaw one laſt ſummer caught near Gloddaeth, in Caernarvonſhire, which weighed twenty-two pounds: the body was much deeper than that of the ſalmon; the head larger: the irides were ſilvery: the back, firſt dorſal fin, the ſides above the lateral line, were of a deep grey, ſpotted with numbers of dark purpliſh ſpots: the belly ſilvery: the tail quite even at the end. The fiſhermen called it a ſhe ſalmon.

Mr. Ray deſcribes it among the fiſh of the trout kind, communicated to him by Mr. Johnſon, who made his obſervations in the north of England: but it is not peculiar to that part, for we have heard of its being taken in the river Wye, where it is known by the name of Sewin, or Shewin.

• Trutta taurina, apud nos in Northumbria a Bull-trout. Charlton. ex. piſc. 36.
• Trutta Salmonata, the Salmon Trout, Bull-trout, or Scurf. Raii ſyn. piſc. 63. Wil. Icth. 193. 198.
• Salmo latus, maculis rubris ni⯑griſque, cauda aequali. Ar⯑ted. ſynon. 24.
• Salmo trutta. S. ocellis nigris, iridibus brunneis, pinna pec⯑torali punctis ſex. Lin. ſyſt. 509. Gronov. Zooph. No. 367.
• Orlax, Borting. Faun. ſuec. No. 347.

THIS ſpecies is in ſome places called the bull trout, from the thickneſs and ſhortneſs of its head. Its fleſh is white, and leſs delicate than that of others of this genus.

It ſeldom exceeds twenty inches in length: the back is aſh-colored: the head and ſides are marked with large black ſpots, encircled with brown.

The firſt dorſal fin is ſpotted with black: the pectoral fin marked with oblong ſpots: the belly white.

The tail is even at the end.

• Salar. Auſonius Moſel. 88.
• Salar et varius, Trotta. Sal⯑vian. 96.
• La Truitte. Belon. 274.
• Trutta fluviatilis. Rondel. flu⯑viat. 169. Geſner piſc. 1002.
• Foren, Forellen. Schonevelde. 77.
• A Trout. Wil. Icth. 199. Raii ſyn. piſc. 65.
• S. maculis rubris, maxilla in⯑feriore longiore. Arted. ſynon. 23.
• Salmo Fario. Lin. ſyſt. 509.
• Laxoring, Forell, Stenbit. Faun. ſuec. No. 348.

IT is matter of ſurprize that this common fiſh has eſcaped the notice of all the antients, except Auſonius: it is alſo ſingular, that ſo delicate a ſpecies ſhould be neglected at a time when the folly of the table was at its height; and that the epicures ſhould overlook a fiſh that is found in ſuch quantities in the lakes of their neighborhood, when they ran⯑ſacted the univerſe for dainties. The milts of Mu⯑raenae were brought from one place; the livers of Scari from another; ^* and Oyſters even from ſo re⯑mote a ſpot as our Sandwich: ^** but there was, and is a faſhion in the article of good living. The Ro⯑mans ſeem to have deſpiſed the trout, the piper, and the doree; and we believe Mr. Quin himſelf would have reſigned the rich paps of a pregnant ſow ^† the heels of camels, ^† and the tongues of Flamingos, ^§ tho' dreſſed by Heliogabalus's cooks, for a good jowl of ſalmon with lobſter ſauce.

[251]When Auſonius ſpeaks of this fiſh, he makes no euloge on its goodneſs, but celebrates it only for its beauty.

Theſe marks point out the ſpecies he intended: what he meant by his Fario is not ſo eaſy to deter⯑mine: whether any ſpecies of trout, of a ſize be⯑tween the ſalar and the ſalmon; or whether the ſal⯑mon itſelf, at a certain age, is not very evident.

In fact the colors of the trout, and its ſpots, vary greatly in different waters, and in different ſeaſons; yet each may be reduced to one ſpecies. In Llyndivi, a lake in South Wales, are trouts called Coch y dail, marked with red and black ſpots as big as ſix⯑pences; others unſpotted, and of a reddiſh hue, that ſometimes weigh near ten pounds, but are bad taſted.

In Lough Neagh in Ireland, are trouts called there Buddaghs, which I was told ſometimes weighed thirty pounds, but it was not my fortune to ſee any during my ſtay in the neighbourhood of that vaſt water.

[252]Trouts (probably of the ſame ſpecies) are alſo taken in Hulſewater, a lake in Cumberland, of a much ſu⯑perior ſize to thoſe of Lough Neagh. Theſe are ſup⯑poſed to be the ſame with the trout of the lake of of Geneva, a fiſh I have eaten more than once, and think but a very indifferent one.

In the river Eynion, Crooked trouts. not far from Machyntleth, in Merionethſhire, and in one of the Snowdon lakes, are found a variety of trout, which are naturally de⯑formed, having a ſtrange crookedneſs near the tail, reſembling that of the perch before deſcribed. We dwell the leſs on theſe monſtrous productions, as our friend the Hon. Daines Barrington, has already given an account of them in an ingenious differtation on ſome of the Cambrian fiſh, publiſhed in the Philo⯑ſophical Tranſactions of the year 1767.

Trouts are moſt voracious fiſh, and afford excel⯑lent diverſion to the angler: the paſſion for the ſport of angling is ſo ſtrong in the neighborhood of Lon⯑don, that the liberty of fiſhing in ſome of the ſtreams in the adjacent counties, is purchaſed at the rate of ten pounds per annum.

Theſe fiſh ſhift their quarters to ſpawn, and, like ſalmon, make up towards the heads of rivers to de⯑poſit their roes. The under jaw of the trout is ſub⯑ject, at certain times, to the ſame curvature as that of the ſalmon.

A trout taken in Llynallet, Deſcr. in Denbighſhire, which is famous for an excellent kind, meaſured ſeventeen inches, its depth three and three quarters, its weight one pound ten ounces: the head thick, the noſe ra⯑ther ſharp: the upper jaw a little longer than the [253]lower; both jaws, as well as the head, were of a pale brown, blotched with black: the teeth ſharp and ſtrong, diſpoſed in the jaws, roof of the mouth and tongue, as is the caſe with the whole genus, ex⯑cept the Gwyniad, which is toothleſs, and the Gray⯑ling, which has none on its tongue.

The back was duſky; the ſides tinged with a purpliſh bloom, marked with deep purple ſpots, mixed with black, above and below the ſide line which was ſtrait: the belly white.

The firſt dorſal fin was ſpotted; the ſpurious fin brown, tipped with red; the pectoral, ventral, and anal fins, of a pale brown; the edges of the anal fin white: the tail very little forked when ex⯑tended.

• Le Tacon? Belon. 275.
• Salmulus, Herefordiae Samlet dictus. Wil. Icth. 192.
• Salmulus, the Samlet Herefor⯑dienſibus, Branlin et Fingerin Eboracenſibus. Raii ſyn. Piſc. 63.
• Salmoneta, a Branlin. Ray's Letters, 199.

THE ſamlet is the leſt of the trout kind, is frequent in the Wye, in the upper part of the Severn, and the rivers that run into it, in the north of England, and in Wales. It is by ſeveral imagined to be the fry of the ſalmon; but our reaſons for diſſenting from that opinion are theſe:

• Firſt, It is well known that the ſalmon fry never [254]continue in the freſh waters the whole year; but as numerous as they appear on their firſt eſcape from the ſpawn, all vaniſh on the firſt vernal flood that happens, which ſweeps them into the ſea, and leaves ſcarce one behind.
• Secondly, The growth of the ſalmon fry is ſo quick and ſo conſiderable, as ſuddenly to exceed the bulk of the largeſt ſamlet: for example, the fry that have quitted the freſh water in the ſpring, not larger than gudgeons, return into it again a foot or more in length.
• Thirdly, The ſalmon attain a conſiderable bulk before they begin to breed: the ſamlets, on the contrary, are found male and female ^*, (dſtinguiſhed by the milt and roe) of their common ſize.
• Fourthly, They are found in the freſh waters in all times of the year, and even at ſeaſons when the ſalmon fry have gained a conſiderable ſize. It is well known, that near Shrewſbury (where they are called Samſons) they are found in ſuch quantities in the month of September, that a ſkilful angler, in a coracle, will take with a fly from twelve to ſixteen dozen in a day.

They ſpawn in November and December, at which time thoſe of the Severn puſh up towards the head of that fair river, quitting the leſſer brooks, and re⯑turn into them again when they have done.

They have a general reſemblance to the trout, therefore muſt be deſcribed comparatively.

• Firſt, The head is proportionably narrower, and the mouth leſs than that of the trout.
• Secondly, Their body is deeper.
• Thirdly, They ſeldom exceed ſix or ſeven inches in length.
• Fourthly, The pectoral fins have generally but one large black ſpot, tho' ſometimes a ſingle ſmall one attends it; whereas the pectoral fins of the trout are more numerouſly marked.
• Fifthly, The ſpurious or fat fin on the back is ne⯑ver tipped with red; nor is the edge of the anal fin white.
• Sixthly, The ſpots on the body are fewer, and not ſo bright. It is alſo marked from the back to the ſides with ſix or ſeven large bluiſh bars; but this is not a certain character, as the ſame is ſome⯑times found in young trouts.
• Seventhly, The tail of the ſamlet is much more forked than that of the trout.

• L'Omble, ou Humble. Belon. 281.
• Umbla ſeu Humble Belonii. Geſner piſc. 1005.
• Umbla minor. Geſner piſc. 1013.
• Torgoch Wallis. Weſtmorlandis Red Charre Lacus Winander mere. Wil. Icth. 196. Raii ſyn. piſc. 65.
• Salmo vix pedalis, pinnis ven⯑tralibus rubris, maxilla in⯑feriore longiore. Arted. ſyn. 25.
• Salmo Alpinus. Lin. ſyſt. 510. Gronov. Zooph. No. 372.
• Roding, Lapponibus Raud. Faun. ſuec. No. 124.
• Charr-fiſh. Phil. Tranſ. 1755. 210.

THE charr is an inhabitant of the lakes of the north, and of thoſe of the mountanous parts of Europe. It affects clear and pure waters, and is very rarely known to wander into running ſtreams, except into ſuch whoſe bottom is ſimilar to the neighboring lake.

In ſuch excurſions thoſe vacant people find a luxu⯑rious and ready repaſt in theſe fiſh, which they dreſs and eat without the addition ^** of ſauces; for exer⯑ciſe and temperance render uſeleſs the inventions of epicuriſm.

There are but few lakes in our iſland that pro⯑duce this fiſh, and even thoſe not in any abundance. It is found in Winander Mere in Weſtmorland; in Llyn Quellyn, near the foot of Snowdon; and before the diſcovery of the copper-mines, in thoſe of Llyn⯑berris, but the mineral ſtreams have entirely deſtroyed the fiſh in the laſt lakes ^† Whether the waters of Ireland afford the charr, we are uncertain, but ima⯑gine not, except it has been overlooked by their writers on the natural hiſtory of that kingdom. In Scotland it is found in Loch Inch, and other neigh⯑boring lakes, and is ſaid to go into the Spey to ſpawn.

[258]The largeſt and moſt beautiful we ever received were taken in Winander Mere, and were communi⯑cated to us by the Rev. Mr. Farriſh, of Carliſle, with an account of their natural hiſtory. He favored me with five ſpecimens, two under the name of the Caſe Charr, male and female; another he called the Gelt Charr, i. e. a charr which had not ſpawned the preceding ſeaſon, and on that account is reckoned to be in the greateſt perfection. The two others were inſcribed, the Red Charr, the Silver or Gilt Charr, the Carpio Lacus BENACI, Raii ſyn. piſc. 66, which laſt are in Weſtmorland diſtinguiſhed by the epithet red, by reaſon of the fleſh aſſuming a higher color than the other when dreſſed.

On the cloſeſt examination, Varie⯑ties. we could not diſcover any ſpecific differences in theſe ſpecimens, therefore muſt deſcribe them as the ſame fiſh, ſubject only to a ſlight variation in their form, hereafter to be noted. But there is in another reſpect an eſſential difference, we mean in their oeconomy, which is in all beings invariable; the particulars we ſhall deli⯑ver in the very words of our obliging informant.

The Umbla minor, Spawn⯑ing of the caſe aharr. or caſe charr, ſpawns about Michaelmas, and chiefly in the river Brathy, which uniting with another called the Rowthay, about a quarter of a mile above the lake, they both fall into it together. The Brathy has a black rocky bottom; the bottom of the Rowthay is a bright ſand, and into this the charr are never obſerved to enter. Some of them however ſpawn in the lake, but always in ſuch parts of it which are ſtony, and reſemble the [259]channel of the Brathy. They are ſuppoſed to be in the higheſt perfection about May, and continue ſo all the ſummer, yet are rarely caught after April. When they are ſpawning in the river they will take a bait, but at no other time, being commonly taken, as well as the other ſpecies, in what they call breaſt nets, which are in length about twenty-four fathoms, and about five, where broadeſt.

The ſeaſon which the other ſpecies ſpawns in is from the beginning of January to the end of March. Gilt charr. They are never known to aſcend the rivers, but al⯑ways in thoſe parts of the lake which are ſpringy, where the bottom is ſmooth and ſandy, and the water warmeſt. The fiſhermen judge of this warmth, by obſerving that the water ſeldom freezes in the places where they ſpawn, except in intenſe froſts, and then the ice is thinner than in other parts of the lake. They are taken in greateſt plenty from the end of September to the end of November: at other times they are hardly to be met with. This ſpecies is much more eſteemed for the table than the other, and is very delicate when potted.

We muſt obſerve, that this account of the ſpawn⯑ing ſeaſon of the Weſtmorland charrs, agrees very nearly with that of thoſe of Wales, the laſt appear⯑ing about a month later, keep moving from ſide to ſide of the pool, and then retire into the deep wa⯑ter, where they are ſometimes but rarely taken.

This remarkable circumſtance of the different ſeaſon of ſpawning in fiſh, apparently the ſame (for the red charr of Winander, is certainly not the [260] Carpio Lacus BENACI ^*) puzzles us greatly, and makes us wiſh that the curious, who border on that lake, would pay farther attention to the natural hiſtory of theſe fiſh, and favor us with ſome further lights on the ſubject.

We ſhall now deſcribe the varieties by the names aſcribed to them in the north.

The length of the red charr to the diviſion in its tail, Red charr. was twelve inches; its biggeſt circumference almoſt ſeven. The firſt dorſal fin five inches and three quarters from the tip of its noſe, and conſiſted of twelve branched rays; the firſt of which was ſhort, the fifth the longeſt: the fat fin was very ſmall.

Each of the five fiſh had double noſtrils, and ſmall teeth in the jaws, roof of the mouth, and on the tongue.

The head, back, dorſal fin, and tail of each, was of a duſky blue; the ſides rather paler, marked with numbers of bright red ſpots: the bellies of the Red Charr were of a full and rich red; thoſe of the Caſe Charr rather paler; from this particular the Welch call theſe fiſh Torgoch, or red belly.

The firſt rays of the anal and ventral fins of each, were of a pure white; the reſt of each fin on the lower part of the body, tinged with red.

The lateral line ſtrait, dividing the fiſh in two equal parts, or nearly ſo.

The jaws in the Caſe Charr are perfectly even; on the contrary, thoſe of the Red Charr were unequal, [261]the upper jaw being the broadeſt, and the teeth hung over the lower, as might be perceived on paſſing the finger over them.

The branchioſtegous rays were, on different ſides of the ſame fiſh, unequal in number, viz. 12,—11, 11,—10, 10—9, except in one, where they were 11,—11.

The Gelt, or Barren Charr, Gelt charr. was rather more ſlender than the others, as being without ſpawn. The back of a gloſſy duſky blue: the ſides filvery, mixed with blue, ſpotted with pale red: the ſides of the belly were of a pale red, the bottom white.

The tails of each bifurcated.

The charrs we have ſeen, brought from the Snow⯑don lakes, were rather ſmaller than thoſe of Weſt⯑morland: their colors paler. The ſuppoſed males very much reſemble the Gelt Charr; but that is not a cer⯑tain diſtinction of ſex, for the Rev. Mr. Far⯑rington, ^* has told me that the fiſhermen do not make that diſtinction.

• [...] Aelian. de an. lib. xiv. c. 22. Umbra Auſonii Moſella. 90.
• Thymalus, Thymus. Salvian. 81. Belon. 276.
• Thymus, Umbra fluviatilis. Rondel. fluv. 187, 172. Geſ⯑ner piſc. 132.
• A Grayling, or Umber. Wil. Icth. 187. Raii ſyn. piſc. 62, Coregonus maxilla ſuperiore longiore, pinna dorſi oſſicu⯑lorum viginti trium. Arted. ſynon. 20.
• Salmo Thymallus. Lin. ſyſt. 512. Gronov. Zoopb. No. 375. Aſch. Kram. 390.

THE grayling haunts clear and rapid ſtreams, and particularly ſuch that flow thro' mounta⯑nous countries. It is found in the rivers of Derby⯑ſhire; in ſome of thoſe of the north; in the Tame near Ludlow; and in the Lug, and other ſtreams near Leominſter: it is alſo very common in Lapland; the inhabitants make uſe of the guts of this fiſh inſtead of rennet, to make the cheeſe which they get from the milk of the rein deer. ^*

It is a voracious fiſh, riſes freely to the fly, and will very eagerly take a bait. It is a very ſwift ſwim⯑mer, and diſappears like the tranſient paſſage of a ſhadow, from whence we believe is derived the name of Umbra.

Thymalus and Thymus, are names beſtowed on it on account of the imaginary ſcent, compared by ſome [263]to that of thyme; but we never could perceive any particular ſmell.

It is a fiſh of an elegant form; Deſcr. leſs deep than that of a trout: the largeſt we ever heard of was taken near Ludlow, which was above half a yard long, and weighed four pounds ſix ounces, but this was a very rare inſtance.

The irides are ſilvery, tinged with yellow: the teeth very minute, ſeated in the jaws and the roof of the mouth, but none on the tongue: the head is duſky: the covers of the gills of a gloſſy green: the back and ſides of a fine ſilvery grey, but when the fiſh is juſt taken, varied ſlightly with blue and gold: the ſide-line is ſtrait.

The ſcales large, and the lower edges duſky, forming ſtrait rows from head to tail.

The firſt dorſal fin has twenty-one rays; the three or four firſt are the ſhorteſt, the others almoſt of equal lengths; this fin is ſpotted, all the others are plain.

The tail is much forked.

• Epelan de mer. Belon. 282.
• Eperlanus. Rondel. fluviat. 196. Geſner piſc. 362.
• Spirincus et Stincus. Geſner Paralip. 29.
• A Spyrling a Sprote. Turner epiſt. ad. Geſn.
• Stindt, et Stinckfiſch. Schone⯑velde. 70.
• A Smelt. Wil Icth. 202. Raii ſyu. piſc. 66.
• Oſmerus radiis pinnae ani ſep⯑tendecim. Arted. ſynon. 21.
• Salmo eperlanus. S. capite di⯑aphano, radiis pinnae ani ſeptendecim. Lin. ſyſt. 511. Gronov. Zooph. No.
• Nors, Slom. Faun ſuec. No. 350.

THE ſmelt inhabits the ſeas of the northern parts of Europe, and we believe never is found as far ſouth as the Mediterranean: the Seine is one of the French rivers which receive it, but whether it is found ſouth of that, we have not at preſent authority to ſay. If we can depend on the obſer⯑vations of navigators, who generally have too much to think of to attend to the minutiae of natural hiſ⯑tory, theſe fiſh are taken in the ſtraits of Magel⯑lan, ^* and of a moſt ſurpriſing ſize, ſome meaſuring twenty inches in length, and eight in circumference.

They inhabit the ſeas that waſh theſe iſlands the whole year, and never go very remote from ſhore, except when they aſcend the rivers. It is remarked in certain rivers that they appear a long time before they ſpawn, being taken in great abundance in No⯑vember, December, and January, in the Thames and Dee, but in others not till February, and in March [265]and April they ſpawn; after which ^* they all return to the ſalt water, and are not ſeen in the rivers till the next ſeaſon. It has been obſerved, that they never come into the Merſey as long as there is any ſnow water in the river.

Theſe fiſh vary greatly in ſize, but the largeſt we ever heard of was thirteen inches long, and weighed half a pound.

They have a very particular ſcent, from whence is derived one of their Engliſh names Smelt, i. e. ſmell it. That of Sparling, which is uſed in Wales, and the north of England, is taken from the French Eperlan. There is a wonderful diſagreement in the opinion of people in reſpect to the ſcent of this fiſh; ſome aſſert it flavors of the violet; the Germans, for a very different reaſon, diſtinguiſh it by the elegant title of Stinckfiſch. ^**

It is a fiſh of a very beautiful form and color: the head is tranſparent, and the ſkin in general ſo thin, that with a good microſcope the blood may be ob⯑ſerved to circulate.

The irides are ſilvery: the pupil of a full black: Deſcr. the under jaw is the longeſt: in the front of the up⯑per jaw are four large teeth; thoſe in the ſides of both are ſmall; in the roof of the mouth are two [266]rows of teeth; on the tongue two others of large teeth.

The firſt dorſal fin has eleven rays; the pectoral fins the ſame number; the ventral eight; the anal fourteen.

The ſcales are ſmall, and readily drop off: the tail conſiſts of nineteen rays, and is forked.

The color of the back is whitiſh, with a caſt of green, beneath which it is varied with blue, and then ſucceeds a beautiful gloſs of a ſilvery hue.

Beſides this ſpecies is another, South⯑ampton ſmelt. which was commu⯑nicated to us by the Hon. Daines Barrington, who deſcribes it in theſe words:

The Southampton ſmelt agrees with the common kind in having two back fins, but both of them are radiated; the firſt with eight radii, the ſecond with twelve; the belly fins have only five or ſix radii: the upper jaw is longer than the lower, and has a few teeth, whereas the lower has none: in color, tranſparency of the back and head, ſilver ſtripes on the ſides, forked tail, &c. it agrees nearly with the former, but has nothing of the violet ſmell or taſte. It ſwarms in that ſea, and is the common bait for whiting, mackrell, flat-fiſh, &c. It is eaten fried, is tender and ſweet, and without any ſmall bones, but muſt be gutted before it is dreſſed. It grows to three or four inches in length, but is com⯑monly much leſs.

• Le Lavaret. Belon. 278.
• Lavaretus; Piſcis Lemani lacus Bezola vulgo nuncupatus. Alius Piſcis proprius Lemani lacus. Rondel. fluviat. 162, 163, 164. Geſner piſc. 29, 30, 31.
• Albula nobilis, Snepel, Helte? Schonevelde 12.
• Vandeſius et Gevandeſius. Sib. Scot. 26.
• Guiniad Wallis piſcis lacus Ba⯑lenſis, Ferrae (uc puto) idem. Wil Icth. 183. Raii ſyn. piſc. 61.
• Lavaretus Allobrogum, Schelley Cumberlandis. Wil. Icth. 183. Raii ſyn. piſc. 61.
• Albula caerulea. Scheuchzer it. Alp. ii. 481.
• Coregonus maxilla ſuperiore longiore plana, pinna dorſi oſſiculorum 14. Arted. ſynon. 19.
• Salmo Lavaretus. Lin. ſyſt. 512.
• Sijk, Stor-ſijk. Faun. ſuec. No. 352.
• Gwiniad. Phil. Tranſ. 1767. 211.
• Adelfiſch, Gangfiſch, Weiſs⯑fiſch, Weiſſer Blauling, Schna⯑pel. Wulff Boruſs, 37.
• Reinankl. Kram. 389.

THIS fiſh is an inhabitant of ſeveral of the lakes of the Alpine parts of Europe. It is found in thoſe of Suitzerland, Savoy, and Italy; of Norway, Sueden, Lapland ^*, and Scotland; in thoſe of Ireland, and of Cumberland; and in Wales, in that of Llyntegid, near Bala, in Merionethſhire.

[268]It is the ſame with the Ferra of the lake of Geneva, the Schelly ^*, of Hulſe-water, the Pollen of Lough Neagh, and the Vangis and Juvangis of Loch Mabon. The Scotch have a tradition that it was firſt introduced there by the beauteous queen, their unhappy Mary Stuart; and as in her time the Scotch court was much frenchified, it ſeems likely that the name was derived from the French, vendoiſe, a dace; to which a ſlight obſerver might be tempted to compare it from the whiteneſs of its ſcales. The Britiſh name Gwiniad, or whiting, was beſtowed on it for the ſame reaſon.

It is a gregarious fiſh, and approaches the ſhores in vaſt ſhoals in ſpring and in ſummer, which prove in many places a bleſſed relief to the poor of inland countries, in the ſame degree as the annual return of the herring is to thoſe who inhabit the coaſts. The Rev. Mr. Farriſh, of Carliſle, wrote me word, that he was aſſured by a Hulſe-water fiſherman, that laſt ſummer he took between ſeven and eight thouſand at one draught. I muſt not paſs by that gentleman without acknowleging my obligations to him for an account of the Charrs and the Schelly; he being one of the valuable embelliſhers of this work, for whom I am indebted to the friendſhip of his late worthy prelate.

The Gwiniad is a fiſh of an inſipid taſte, and muſt be eaten ſoon, for it will not keep long; thoſe that chooſe to preſerve them do it with ſalt. They die very ſoon after they are taken. Their ſpawning ſea⯑ſon in Llyntegid is in December.

[269]It has long ago been obſerved in Cambden ^*, that theſe fiſh never wander into the Dee, nor the ſalmon never ventures into the lake: this muſt be allowed to be generally the caſe; but by accident the firſt have been known to ſtray as far as Llandrillo, ſix miles down the river, and a ſalmon has now and then been found treſpaſſing in the lake ^**

The largeſt Gwiniad we ever heard of weighed between three and four pounds: we have a Ferre we brought with us out of Suitzerland, that is fifteen inches long; but theſe are uncommon ſizes: the fiſh which we deſcribe was eleven inches long, its greateſt depth three.

The head ſmall, ſmooth, and of a duſky hue: the eyes very large: the pupil of a deep blue: the noſe blunt at the end: the jaws of equal length: the mouth ſmall and toothleſs: the branchioſtegous rays nine: the covers of the gills ſilvery, powdered with black.

The back is a little arched, and ſlightly carinated: the color, as far as the lateral line, gloſſed with deep blue and purple, but towards the lines aſſumes a ſilvery caſt, tinged with gold, beneath which thoſe colors entirely prevale.

The ſide line is quite ſtrait, and conſiſts of a ſeries of diſtinct ſpots of a duſky hue: the belly is a little prominent, and quite flat on the bottom.

The firſt dorſal fin is placed almoſt in the middle, and conſiſts of fourteen branched rays; the ſecond is thin, tranſparent, and not diſtant from the tail.

[270]The pectoral fins had eighteen rays, the firſt the longeſt, the others gradually ſhortening; the ventral fins were compoſed of twelve, and the anal of fif⯑teen, all branched at their ends; the ventral fins in ſome are of a fine ſky blue, in others as if powdered with blue ſpecks; the ends of the other lower fins are tinged with the ſame color.

The tail is very much forked: the ſcales large, and adhere cloſe to the body.

• Lucius. Auſonii Moſella, 122.
• Luccio. Salvian. 94.
• Le Brochet. Belon. 292. Itin. 104.
• Lucius. Rondel. fluviat. 188. Geſner piſc. 500.
• Heket, Hecht. Schonevelde. 44.
• Pike, or Pickerel. Wil. Icth. 236. Raii ſyn. piſc. 112.
• Eſox roſtro plagioplateo. Arted. ſynon. 26.
• Eſox Lucius. Lin. ſyſt. 516. Gronov. Zooph. No. 361.
• Gjadda. Faun. ſuec. No. 355.
• Hecht. Kram. 388.

THE pike is common in moſt of the lakes of Europe, but the largeſt are thoſe taken in Lapland, which, according to Schaeffer, are ſome⯑times eight feet long. They are taken there in great abundance, dried, and exported for ſale. The largeſt fiſh of this kind which we ever heard of in England, weighed thirty-five pounds.

[271]All writers who treat of this ſpecies bring in⯑ſtances of its vaſt voraciouſneſs. We have known one that was choaked by attempting to ſwallow one of its own ſpecies that proved too large a morſel. It does not confine itſelf to feed on fiſh and frogs; it will devour the water rat, and draw down the young ducks as they are ſwimming about. In a manuſcript note which we found, p. 244, of our copy of Plott's Hiſtory of Staffordſhire, is the fol⯑lowing extraordinary fact: ‘At Lord Gower's ca⯑nal at Trentham, a pike ſeized the head of a ſwan as ſhe was feeding under water, and gorged ſo much of it as killed them both. The ſervants perceiving the ſwan with its head under water for a longer time than uſual, took the boat, and found both ſwan and pike dead ^*’

But there are inſtances of its fierceneſs ſtill more ſurprizing, and which indeed border a little on the marvellous. Geſner ^** relates, that a famiſhed pike in the Rhone ſeized on the lips of a mule that was brought to water, and that the beaſt drew the fiſh out before it could diſengage itſelf. That people have been bit by theſe voracious creatures while they were waſhing their legs, and that they will even con⯑tend with the otter for its prey, and endeavour to force it out of its mouth ^†

Small fiſh ſhew the ſame uneaſineſs and deteſta⯑tion at the preſence of this tyrant, as the little [272]birds do at the ſight of the hawk or owl. When the pike lies dormant near the ſurface (as is fre⯑quently the caſe) the leſſer fiſh are often obſerved to ſwim around it in vaſt numbers, and in great an⯑xiety. Pike are often haltered in a nooſe, and taken while they lie thus aſleep, as they are often found in the ditches near the Thames in the month of May.

In the ſhallow water of the Lincolnſhire fens they are frequently taken in a manner peculiar, we be⯑lieve, to that county, and the iſle of Ceylon ^*. The fiſhermen makes uſe of what is called a crown-net, which is no more than a hemiſpherical baſket, open at top and bottom. He ſtands at the end of one of the little fen-boats, and frequently puts his baſket down to the bottom of the water, then poking a ſtick into it, diſcovers whether he has any booty by the ſtriking of the fiſh; and vaſt numbers of pike are taken in this manner.

The longevity of this fiſh is very remarkable, Longevi⯑ty. if we may credit the accounts given of it. Rzaczyn⯑ſki ^** tells us of one that was ninety years old; but Geſner ^† relates, that in the year 1497, a pike was taken near Hailbrun, in Suabia, with a brazen ring affixed to it, on which were thoſe words in Greek characters: I am the fiſh which was firſt of all put into this lake by the hands of the governor of the uni⯑verſe, FREDERICK the Second, the 5th of October, 1230:" ſo that the former muſt have been an in⯑fant to this Methuſalem of a fiſh.