son one hundred and fifty miles to deposit their spawn, and descend in the latter part of May, when they are called back shad, and are then lean, and scarcely fit to be eaten. They were formerly taken in immense quantities, but their numbers are gradually diminishing.

9. The anchovy, which is a small fish from four to five inches in length, chiefly distinguished from the herrings by having the head pointed, the upper jaw the longest, and the mouth deeply divided, is abundant in the Mediterranean, and was well known to the Greeks and Romans, by whom the liquor prepared from it was held in high estimation. It is pickled in large quantities for exportation, and the well-known anchovy sauce, used for seasoning, is prepared from it.

1 MI-GRA'-TION, removal.

2 BRACK'-ISH, saltish.

LES. IX.-SOFT-RAYED BONY FISHES, WITH THE VENTRAL FINS BENEATH THE PECTORALS: called Sub-brachials.

[The families of the Cod, Flat-fish, and Salt-water Suckers.]

2.

THE COD FAMILY.-1. Three-bearded Rockling, or Sea-loche, Motella tricirrata. The Torsk, Brosmius vulgaris. 3. The Haddock, Morrhua æglefinus. 4. Coal-fish, Merlangus carbonarius. 5. The Ling, Lota molva. 6. Five-bearded Rockling, Motella quinquecirrata. 7. The Whiting, Merlangus vulgaris. 8. Great Forked Hake, Phycis furcatus. 9. Common Cod, Morrhua vulgaris,

THE second division of the soft-rayed bony fishes consiste

of the Cod family, the family of the Flat-fish, and the two families of the salt-water Suckers.

1. At the head of the Cod family is the common cod, which is the largest, best known, and most valuable member of it. It is found universally in European Seas, from the coast of Spain to Iceland; and on the eastern American coast, and among its numerous islands, northward from the latitude of New York, it is even still more abundant. The Grand Banks of Newfoundland, reaching six hundred miles in length, seem to be literally covered with cod-fish, which are taken in vast quantities during the fishing season, which opens at the beginning of June, and lasts till about the middle of October. The cod are taken in deep water by hooks, usually baited with pork, sea-fowl, or shell-fish; and from two hundred to five hundred are often caught by one man in a single day. Notwithstanding the vast quantities taken-estimated at forty millions of fish annually-their numbers do not seem to diminish.

2. The haddock and the whiting, both fish of the Cod family, are almost as generally known as the common cod, and in Europe are considered nearly equal to the cod in value, but are not so highly esteemed in this country. The coal-fish, the ling, the rocklings, the torsk, and the great forked hake, are additional members of the same family, which we have represented in the engraving.

A CHARADE' ON-Cod.

Cut off my head, and singular I act;

Cut off my tail, and plural I appear;

Cut off my tail and head-oh! wondrous fact,
Although my middle's left, there's nothing here.

What is my head cut off? a sounding sea.

What is my tail cut off? a flowing river.

Far in the ocean depths I fearless play;

Giver of sweetest sounds, yet mute forever.

2. FAMILY OF THE FLAT-FISH. (Pleuronectidæ.)

"Flat-fish, with eyes distorted, square, ovoid, rhomboid, long,

Some cased in mail, some slippery-back'd, the feeble and the strong."

In one of Mr. Yarrell's volumes we find the following description of the flat-fish, the prominent species of which we have exhibited in the annexed engraving:

1. "The character and appearance of the various species of flat-fish are so peculiar as to claim particular notice. The want of symmetry in the form of the head; both eyes placed on the same side, one higher than the other, frequently not in the same vertical line, and often unequal in size; the position of the mouth; the inequality of the two sides of the head, and

FLAT-FISH FAMILY.-1. The Turbot, Rhombus maximus. 2. Oblong Flounder, Platessa oblonga. 3. The Plaice, Platessa vulgaris (similar in form to the Rusty Dab of our coasts). 4. The Halibut, Hippoglossus vulgaris. 5. Common Sole, Solea vulgaris.

the frequent want of uniformity in those fins that are in pairs, the pectoral and ventral fins of the under or white side being in some species smaller than those of the upper; and the whole of the color of the fish confined to one side, while the other side remains perfectly white, produce a grotesque2 appearance; yet a little consideration will prove that these various and seemingly obvious anomalies are perfectly in harmony with that station in nature which an animal bearing these attributes1 is appointed to fill.

2. "As birds are seen to occupy very different stations, some obtaining their food on the ground, others on trees, and not a few at various degrees of elevation in the air, so are fishes destined to reside in different situations in the water: the flat-fishes and the various species of skate are, by their depressed form of body, admirably adapted to inhabit the lowest position, and where they occupy least space, among their kindred fishes.

3. "Preferring sandy or muddy shores, and unprovided with swimming bladders, their place is close to the ground, where, hiding their bodies horizontally in the loose soil at the bottom, with the head only slightly elevated, an eye on the under side of the head would be useless; but both eyes placed on the upper surface affords them an extensive range of view in those various directions in which they may either endeavor to find suitable food or avoid dangerous enemies. Having little or no means of defense, had their color been placed only above the lateral line on each side, in whatever position they moved their piebalds appearance would have rendered them conspicuous objects to all their enemies.

4. "When near the ground they swim slowly, maintaining their horizontal position; and the smaller pectoral and ventral fins on the under side are advantageous where there is so much less room for their action, than with

As sweet unto a chanhard as a king Ah, what is love? A pretty thing:

the larger fins that are above. When suddenly disturbed they sometimes make a rapid shoot, changing their position from horizontal to vertical: if the observer happens to be opposite the white side, they may be seen to pass with the rapidity and flash of a meteor; but they soon sink down, resuming their previous motionless horizontal position, and are then distinguished with difficulty, owing to their great similarity in color to the surface on which they

rest.

From another writer, Mr. Swainson, we quote the following remarks:

5. "The resemblance between the colors of the flat-fish, in general, and those of the ground they repose upon, is so admirably ordered as to claim both attention and admiration. The upper surface, or that which is exposed to view and to the action of the light, is invariably of some shade of earthen brown or of grayish sand-color: this is broken by dots and blotches, either light or dark, blackish or reddish, but always so disposed as perfectly to resemble those under shades, as they may be called, which are caused by the inequalities of the ground and the presence of particles of different tints that may be upon it.

6. "Thus, whether we contemplate the God of nature in his most sublime productions, or in those provisions which he makes for the well-being of his most irrational creatures, the same principle of design-the same absolute perfection in execution-is equally conspicuous. This exquisite finish is bestowed upon millions which the eye of man "hath not seen;""nor hath it entered into his heart to conceive" the faculties and the instincts they possess, still less to form ideas on all the reasons of their creation. Such knowledge, indeed, we can not attain to in this stage of our existence, but the good shall most assuredly enjoy it in the next."

7. The European turbot, so well known, and so celebrated as an article of luxury, is considered the best of the flat-fishes. It has never been found on the coasts of the United States, although the spotted turbot, or New York plaice, much resembles it. The turbot is supposed to have been the rhombus of the Romans, of which a specimen of enormous size is said to have been taken in the reign of Domitian, who called a meeting of the senate to decide upon the best mode of bringing it to the table! Juvenal says:

"No vessel he finds to hold such a fish,

And the senate's convoked to decree a new dish."

1 CHA-RADE' (sha-rāde'), a word whose syl-2 GRO-TESQUE', ludicrous; odd. lables or letters are described, first sepa-3 A-NOM'-A-LY, irregularity. rately and then together, so as to form a 4 AT-TRI-BUTE, inherent quality; property. kind of riddle. 5 PIE-BALD, of various colors.

3. THE SALT-WATER SUCKERS.

1. Of the fish known as the salt-water Suckers, there are two families. In the first the ventral fins, which are very much dilated beneath, are united around a circular disk, which acts as a sucker. By means of this instrument these fishes are able to attach themselves to any firm bodies in a

SALT-WATER SUCKERS.-1. White-tailed Remora, or Shark Sucker, Echeneis albicauda. 2. The Common Remora, or Sucking-fish, Echeneis remora. 3. Cornish Sucker, Lepadogastes cornubiensis. 4. Lump Sucker, Cyclopterus lumpus.

strong current of water, and thus to obtain food in places where most other fish would be swept away. The small Cornish sucker, found on the European coasts, and the common lump sucker, a beautifully colored fish found throughout all the Northern Seas, are the best known. Pennant relates that upon throwing a lump sucker into a pail of water, it adhered so firmly to the bottom that, upon taking hold of the fish by the tail, he lifted the whole vessel, although it held several gallons.

2. The few fishes which compose the second family of the Suckers are natives of Southern Seas, although a few species are occasional visitors of our American coasts. In this family the adhesive disk is placed on the crown of the head, in the form of a large oval shield, as may be seen in the famous remora of the Mediterranean, and the shark sucker, drawings of which we have given. The shark sucker is often found adhering to the shark, and is frequently met with in the vicinity of New York. The common rem'ora was familiar to the Greeks and Romans, from whom we have received many fabulous accounts of its extraordinary powers in attaching itself to the sides of ships, and arresting their course.

3. Even the naturalist Pliny asserts that it was this little fish which stayed the progress of Mark Antony's ship in the