6. "After this had continued for a time, the shark swam off in the wake of the vessel, his dorsal fin being long distinctly visible above the water. When he had gone, however, a considerable distance, he suddenly turned round, darted toward the vessel, and before the pilot-fish could overtake him and interpose, snapped at the bait, and was taken. In hoisting him on board, one of the pilot-fish was observed to cling to his side until he was half above water, when it fell off. All the pilots then swam about for a while, as if in search of their friend, with every apparent mark of anxiety, and then darted suddenly into the depths of the sea." 7. The dory, or John Dory, a fish of grotesque figure and uncommon colors, from twelve to eighteen inches in length, also belongs to the Mackerel family, although differing much in form from its kindred. In many towns on the Mediterranean it is called "St. Peter's fish," it being alleged that it was from the mouth of a fish of this species that the apostle obtained the coin to pay the tribute-money, and that the imprint of his two The Dory, Deus faber. fingers marks the species to the present day. 8. The fish generally known as the "dolphin of the sailors," and celebrated by the poets for its resplendent hues, "changing as it dies," also belongs to the famous Mackerel family. It is an active, voracious animal, greedily pursuing the flying-fish, which constitute its favorite food. When in eager pursuit of its prey, the undulations of its large dorsal fin reflect its varied markings of silvery blue and golden yellow with unwonted brilliancy. A scene at sea, in which a shoal of these fish are observed sporting in their native element, and a whale making his appearance near by, is thus beautifully described by the poet Montgomery: 9. "Next on the surge, A shoal of dolphins, tumbling in wild glee, Glowed with such orient tints, they might have been 10. Of the family of the ribbon-shaped fish, which contains about thirty known species, we have given, in the engraving at the head of this lesson, only one specimen, the scabbard fish. Concerning this family we quote from an eminent English naturalist, Mr. Swainson, the following remarks: 11. "This family contains the most singular and extraordinary fishes in creation. The form of the body, when compared to fishes better known, is much like that of an eel, the length being in the same proportion to the breadth; but then it is generally so much compressed that these creatures have acquired the popular name of ribbon-fish, lath, or deal-fish. The body, indeed, is often not thicker, except in its middle, than a sword; and as it is of the richest silver in brightness, and of great length, the undulating motion of these fishes in the sea must be resplendent and beautiful beyond measure. But these wonders of the mighty deep are almost hidden from the eye of man. These meteoric fishes appear to live in the greatest depths; and it is only at long intervals, and after a succession of tempests, that a solitary individual is cast upon the shore with its delicate body torn and mutilated on the rocks." 12. Of the family of the Mullets, which differ from the Surmullets already described, and of the family of the Blennies or Gobies, which are mostly small fish, we have many species on our coasts. Two of the blennies are pictured on page 223. Nature has endowed the mullets with a power which often aids their escape from the nets of the fisherman, and which is thus alluded to by the poet Oppian: "The mullet, when encircling seines5 inclose, The fatal threads and treacherous bosom knows. And finds from air th' escape which sea denies." When one takes the leap, the others, like sheep, follow instantly in succession. 13. The most grotesque-looking fishes of all that belong to the spine-rayed division are those which are embraced in the family of the Lophida. Here is found the famous fishing-frog, or angler, whose boldness and voracity, and peculiar modes of taking its prey, to say nothing of its uncouth form, have rendered it perhaps more celebrated than any other fish of equal size. 14. The angler is said to fish both with the net and with the line, luring its victims to destruction by means of the long thread-like streamers or feelers which issue from the top of its enormous head, and capturing them in the great sacs connected with its mouth and gills. The following is said to be the mode of procedure. The angler, lying close to the bottom, stirs up the sand or mud by means of its ventral and pectoral fins; hidden by the obscurity thus produced, it elevates its feelers, moves them in various directions by way of attracting as a bait, and then by a rapid movement seizes the fish which approach to examine them. 1. Blue-striped Wrasse, Labrus mixtus. 2. Trumpet-fish, Sea-snipe, or Bellows-fish, Centriscus scolopax. 3. American Tautog, Tautoga Americana. 15. The family of the Wrasses, or Rock-fish, includes our common bergalls, the New York tautog or common blackfish, and those fancy-colored species known as "old wives of the sea." Of the latter there are several varieties, such as the red old wife, the blue old wife, and the yellow old wife, which are so named in accordance with their prevailing colors. The thick pouting lips of the fish of this family are their most striking characteristic. The Wrasses were known to the poet Oppian, who describes the beds of sea-weed as their favorite places of resort: "And there thick beds of mossy verdure grow Sea-grass, and spreading wrack are seen: below, 16. The last family that we have to notice in the spinerayed division is that of the Trumpet fishes, which are distinguished by their long tubular beak, through which it is believed they draw their food as water is drawn up the pipe of a syringe. The above drawing of this singular fish will give a better idea of it than any detailed description. 1 GARB-AGE, waste meat; any thing of no3 value. TAFF'-BAIL, the uppermost rail of a ship's stern. L WAKE, track of a vessel in the water. 4O-RI-ENT (Eastern), bright; shining. SEINE (seen), a large net for taking fish. 6 LER'-ING, enticing. SECOND CLASS OF FISHES. SOFT-RAYED BONY FISHES. (Malacopterygis.) 2. The Roach, THE CARP FAMILY.-1. Golden Carp, or Gold-fish, Cyprinus auratus. Leuciscus rutilus. 3. The Loach, or Beardie, Cobitis barbatula. 4. The Tench, Tinca vulgaris. 5. The Barbel, Barbus vulgaris. 6. New York Shiner, Cyprinus crysoleucas. 7. Common Carp, Cyprinus carpis. 8. Common New York Sucker, Catostomus communis. LESSON VI.-SOFT-RAYED BONY FISHES WITH ABDOMINAL VENTRAL FINS. 1. THE carps may be placed at the head of the soft-rayed division. They are the least carnivorous' of all fishes, and embrace, besides the common carp and its kindred, the several species of the barbel, the gudgeon, the tench, the roach, the dace and shiners, the minnows, the loach, and the American suckers. They are the most abundant fish in the freshwater streams of Europe and America. 2. The common carp, which has been called the water-fox on account of his cunning, is a European fish, which has been naturalized in American waters. Another species, originally MAL-A-COP-TER-Yo'-II, from two Greek words, malakos, "soft," and pterugion, a little wing or "fin"-meaning those fish which are soft-finned or soft-rayed. The fin-rays in these fish are composed of bony pieces united by means of cartilage, which renders the finrays much more flexible than is seen in the long single spines of the class first described. brought from a mountain lake in China, but now domesticated in almost every country of the Old and the New World, is the gold-fish-those beautiful pets and playthings which have attracted so much attention and admiration on account of the exceeding brilliancy of their coloring. They are usually kept in glass globes filled with water, where their golden hues are reflected to the best advantage. Moore, in his Lallah Rookh, alludes to them in the following lines: "On one side, gleaming with a sudden grace 3. And very beautiful is the allusion which the poet Wordsworth makes to the crystal vase in which they are usually kept: "Type of the sunny human breast Is your transparent cell, Where fear is but a transient guest, 4. The Chinese ladies pay great attention to the rearing of these fish, having the richest glass vessels prepared for them in their apartments, and small ornamental ponds and basins in their gardens. If they are obliged to transport them from one vessel to another, they take great care not to touch them with the hand, and not to remove them entirely from the water. In this country they are usually fed with crumbs of bread, and yolks of eggs boiled hard and reduced to powder, and occasionally they should be supplied with a bed of moss or turf. A writer, in the following lines, seems to doubt the justice of making them prisoners for our pleasure: 5. "I ask what warrant fix'd them (like a spell While not one joy of ours by them was shared." 6. The golden carp, or gold-fish, vary not only in color, but in the shape, size, and number of their fins also. In color they exhibit almost every possible shade or combination of silver, brilliant orange, and purple. Some have dorsal fins extending |