% Me v vy y Wy win me y VSIA AN A i Vy ¥ iv Ni Viv; vv 5 yy) / 7 VY Ves user My * Wy We vw \ “ Vv meer vy vd YIDIIISS HAA VU Wey vy v A2/ FS NAS vy 4 . Weve Af \ @ UVIWY Ww y Zid hl I hf es (ae Poe f a A : 4 i i Wy. p . 3 A A We NSW EN Ny AW, Ah J fm - Fast AL | We V YY UI DY, : PNINS ¥ hd DDD D. 2B ep >> >>> yw»? ee 2D ee >» \ 5 i = dant A PA 1 4 t WV uy vJ \e \ } Fi\ A . FA AOL t Ai VWF)\ AN N/T NAS ANAINE } t \ Wi WAC Shri i f 4 ‘ | Wiha A Ss he AMAA ¥ wy: ; NY Y vi My, v V N y SS ny ' V NG) ¥ Y y Wy y RAN PAIN Why ey v UY . v Ras AT Ww “ wv Wvduyy WN QUG WU A Wy An 4) ce W uv\ F at hi! iq “ . § | win We Ve fs, oe i Not ' WW UU vy V MM, WWW Wy v ENA Oi very ViVIN) ve Ay d¥y VIET YY vv UY ti Ni aN Oe Nate Ne AZ “eS ap} RST OE ME eS ae ra. ) >) aha’ vA | FS eg PAY i il “f i Vey IS) S.F. BAIRD. NATURAL HISTOGEHY OF THE 4 FISHES RECN RABID) HPL DE PINE OD. x we MASSACHUSETTS “ Lae Sox Sait ie, i | Fo 7 Alan’ - y va, 4 4 nN ; a A ‘ BOSTON: ALLEN AND TICKNOR. 1838. ee “} ES Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1832, by ALLEN AND TICKNOR, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. o3 Sot RG if TO THE HOON) t Ov t A By QU IN) CY, This Volume RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED % BY THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. In the course of several years residence on a small island in Boston harbor, the author became interested in the study of ichthyology. The daily opportunities which the locality afforded of examining a large portion of the species described in the following pages, resulted, three years since, in a catalogue of the fishes of the Northern States ; — but within a few months past, the manuscript has been revised, and that part of it is now presented, which more particularly relates to Massa- chusetts. There are many unfortunate errors, and repetitions, which escaped notice, till it was too late to make the corrections. The distance at which the writer resides from the compositor, and the extreme difficulty, often- times, of going to the city, against wind and tide, are some, among many apologies, that might be offered in extenuation of these vexatious deformities. A table of errata, however, is inserted at the end. With respect to the engravings, they are far short, in many instances, of what was anticipated. Some of — V1 PREFACE. them are beautifully and accurately executed ; but others are miserable caricatures. The artist was young and inexperienced, and when he would have willingly made a second drawing, the press could not be kept in waiting. Asa revised and enlarged edition, embracing the natural history of all the fishes of the North, is con- templated, the engravings in that will not only be more numerous, but correctly delineated on copper. No pretensions are made to originality; the object has been to collect and preserve such facts as are already known in this interesting department of local Natural History. The remarks and observations of other writers have been freely introduced, wherever they were perti- nent to the subject under consideration. _ The collection of native fishes, from which the scien- tific arrangement has been made, will probably be deposited with the Boston Society of Natural History. | With a little exertion on the part of the members, it might become a most valuable ichthyological cabinet. Those gentlemen who have so promptly and kindly forwarded specimens from various sections of the State, will please accept our sincere thanks. To Davin — Ecxtey, Esq., of Boston, the author is particularly in- debted. His exact knowledge of the habits and char- acters of the aquatic tribes, and his truly philosophical energy, demand the warmest gratitude. All that is interesting to the practical angler, in the second part of the volume, originated with that gentleman. The services of Capt. J. P. Cournovy, in procuring and preserving the marine fishes of this coast, during a period of several years, with reference to a correct classification, also place the writer under lasting obliga- tions, PREFACE. Vil To Sotomon Lincotn, Esq., acknowledgments are made in another place, for his valuable services. A digest of the Fishery Laws, by the Hon. Joun Pickering, to have been annexed, and to have con- stituted part the third, was not seasonably completed, and may therefore be expected hereafter, should the present Essay meet the approbation of the public. J. V. C. Smiru. QUARANTINE GROUND, Port of Boston, May, 1833. » 4a 9 Meg i he is , THE IMPORTANCE OF 1 Os as la si lw i sa ih op =e Ir was an opinion of Pliny, “that nature’s great and wonderful power is more demonstrated in the sea than on the land.” This power is dis- played in forms of exquisite beauty, and awful grandeur. : It is exhibited on the mountain wave, and in the unexplored caverns of the deep. It appears, in an eminent degree, among the myriads of tribes which traverse the ocean with a veloci- ty far surpassmg that produced by human power, equallmg almost that of the tenants of the air. Science has not so far penetrated this field of agreeable research, as to induce us to suppose, that we have anything like a complete history of the watery tribes. We have indeed new J 2 THE IMPORTANCE OF names, but with their increase, we have not a corresponding knowledge of the habits and char- acter of the marine inhabitants. Linneus has given names to upwards of four hundred species ; yet it is probable that the recesses of the fathom- less sea contain a great variety of tribes never seen by man. Imagination has frequently been busy in tenanting these unexplored regions with unreal creations, and superstition has exercised her inventive faculties to impose a belief in their existence, on credulous and inexperienced minds. It would be an agreeable employment to enter into a detail of the interesting facts connected with this branch of Natural History. It would afford a rich pratification to the inquirmg mind, to discover the singular adaptation to its state of existence, which is to be found in this class of animated nature, and to witness the order and beauty which here, as well as elsewhere, is stamped upon the works of the Almighty. The object, however, in this introductory part of the following work, is rather more of a prac- tical nature, than an examination of the history of the marine tribes; rather to exhibit the im- portance of the fisheries as a matter of sound political economy, than to enter upon the sub- ject with the enthusiasm which would be felt alone by the man of science,—to show how Dsl THE FISHERIES, 3 much individuals and even nations may, from in- considerable sources, derive comfort, strength and power. To increase the physical and moral power of a nation, to the greatest possible extent, regard must be had to the proper adaptation of the means to produce desired results, under every variety of circumstances. Education must, in some measure, be adapted to the genius of the people, in order to give the greatest efficacy to their institutions. Even forms of religion must be shaped to correspond with the prevailing dis- positions, habits and taste. A grave, sober peo- ple will prefer great simplicity in their forms of worship, and others. whose local circumstances ‘place them more under the dominion of the im- agination, will avoid whatever appears to them cold and austere, and seek to elevate their feel- ings and indulge their taste by more showy and imposing observances. So, also, in relation to the ordinary pursuits of life, employments which in some nations tend most to promote general pros- perity, in others are found not to be adapted to their habits or circumstances. It will often occur also, m a country like ours, full of resources — putting forth its strength in every variety of form, where under favorable auspices, any individual with common skill and 4 THE IMPORTANCE OF prudence, if he but throws himself upon the cur- rent, will be sure of being borne on to prosperous results, — that those pursuits which can be turned to the quickest account in building up fortunes, are followed to an unreasonable extent, and that the result, under a change of circumstances, is frequent distress and disappointment. The avidity with which the Spanish adventur- ers rushed into the pursuit of the glittering trea- sures of South America, absorbed all inclination to cultivate those practical arts, upon which ex- perience shows, that the prosperity of a nation mainly depends ; and its operation was to weaken and undermine the very foundations of the strength and glory of the Spanish monarchy. A prevalent desire among a people to gather riches too fast, and to swell their fortunes under the influence of a feverish excitement, by means ill adapted to employ all the powers whose exer- cise contributes to ultimate and permanent good, is frequently cherished by an ignorance of the true principles of a wise political economy. We should not think it strange even in our own coun- try, where so much has been done, and is now being done, to ascertain the mutual connexion and dependence of the arts of life, and their bearing on general interests. We should not think it strange if the importance of some of the humbler THE FISHERIES. 7 5 and less attractive pursuits should be overlooked or undervalued. It is for these reasons, that we have been in- duced to comply with a request to offer some remarks on the history, nature, extent and im- portance of the Fisheries. In the language of an early historian of Vir- ginia,* “therefore, honorable and worthy coun- trymen, let not the meanness of the word fish distaste you, for it will afford as good gold as the mines of Guiana or Potosi, with less hazard and charge, and more certaimty and facility.” Sir Henry Wotton remarked of fishing, that it was “a rest to the mind, a cheerer of his spirits, a diverter of sadness, a calmer of unquiet thoughts, a moderator of passions, a procurer of contentedness ; and that it begat habits of peace and patience.” «The Romans, in the height of their glory,” says the celebrated Walton, “made fish the mis- tress of all their entertamments,’ of which the value and importance are confirmed not only by their historians, but by their essayists and bards. It is not for us, however, to speak of the de- licious entertamments which may be provided from the treasures of the deep; we shall remark * Smith. 6 THE IMPORTANCE OF on them with the more useful design of fostering the fisheries as a branch of industry, as wise economy for a state or nation like our own. The first knowledge we have of the fisheries on the American coasts, was in the year 1504, when vessels from Biscay, Bretagne and Normandy, were employed in the cod fishery, on the coasts of Newfoundland. In 1517, the French, Spanish and Portuguese had vessels engaged in this fish- ery. England had then one ship employed in this lucrative trade. Prince was in error when he dated the commencement of the English fishing trade in 1560, because in 1548, an act was passed by Parliament, prohibiting the admirals and others from making exactions in money or fish, from English fishermen, going on the service of fishing at Newfoundland. ‘This was the first act of par- liament which had any relation to this country ; and it indicates the sagacity of the English states- men, in protecting a trade which has ever smce been of great value to their nation. In 1578, England employed fifteen vessels in the trade, France one hundred and fifty, Spain one hundred, and Portugal fifty. In 1615, the num- ber of British vessels had increased to two hun- dred and fifty, and those of other nations to four hundred. It is an interesting fact to us, that had it not THE FISHERIES. y: been for the treasures of the sea, the pilgrim fa- thers of New England would have probably perished by famine. ‘The pious Brewster and his associates lived for months almost entirely upon fish, and his daily thanks were given, that he and his associates could “‘ suck of the abundance of the seas, and of the treasures hid in the sands.”” ‘The infant colony of Plymouth was nourished into strength and power by the trade of fishing. It was, for a long series of years, one of the princi- pal sources from whence they derived sustenance for themselves, and articles of traffic, in exchange for which they obtained commodities necessary for their comfort and protection. It is due to that noble race of natives, who were afterwards almost entirely swept from New England by pestilence and war, here to state, that to them were our fa- thers indebted for their first knowledge of the man- ner of taking fish, as well as of the rudiments of Indian agriculture. It is a smeular and an interesting fact, that our beautiful system of free schools took its rise in Plymouth Colony, from the fisheries. ‘The sub- ject was commenced in 1663, in the Colony Court, by the following proposition: “It is proposed by the court unto the several townships in this juris- diction, asa thing that they ought to take into se- rious consideration, that some course may be taken 8 ' THE IMPORTANCE OF in every town, that there may be a school-master set up to train up children to reading and writing.” In 1670, “ the court did freely give and grant all such profits as might or should accrue annually to the colony, for fishing with nets or seines, at Cape Cod, for mackerel, bass or herring, to be improv- ed for and towards a free school, in some town of this jurisdiction, for the training up of youth in literature for the good and benefit of posterity, provided a beginning be made within one year af- ter said grant, &c.” This school was immediate- ly established at Plymouth, and was supported by the proceeds of the Cape fishery, until 1677, when they were distributed among several towns for the same purpose. After the union of Massa- chusetts with Plymouth, in 1692, this fishery be- came free.* | Many of the towns in the colony of Massachu- setts began at an early date to cultivate their river fisheries. Wears were erected upon the rivers in Watertown and Roxbury, as early as 1631. In 1641, we learn from Winthrop, that 300,000 dry fish were sent to market. The English commenced the whale fishery at a very early period. Before the American Revolu- tion, it had grown into an important branch of trade, then considered of great value to the na- ,* Deane’s History of Scituate. THE FISHERIES. 9 tion; yet the whole amount of tonnage employed did not equal that of the port of New Bedford at the present time. The enterprising Hollanders, however, surpassed the English in this trade, and during nine years preceding the year 1778, their ships bore to those of Great Britain the proportion of two to one. Previously to the American Revolution, the cod fishery of Massachusetts employed 28,000 tons of shipping, and four thousand seamen. The annual value of their industry and enterprise was about ¢ 1,000,000. In 1775, Great Britam deeming the various fish- eries of essential importance to the colonies, and hike an unnatural parent, desirous of enforcing obedience by arbitrary and oppressive measures at the instigation of Lord North, passed the ob- noxious act, prohibiting the colonies the exercises of the right of fishery on the banks of Newfound- land. ‘This unwise act of arbitrary power drew forth the powerful invectives of Fox and Burke, and sixteen peers regarded it with so much dis- pleasure as to enter their protest against the pas- sage of the bill. It was in a debate preceding the passage of the act, that in allusion to the enter- prise of the Americans in the whale fishery, the eloquent Burke said — | “While we follow them among the tumbling 10 THE IMPORTANCE OF mountains of ice, and behold them penetrating into the deepest frozen recesses of Hudson’s and Davis’s Straits, while we are looking for them be- neath the Arctic circle, we hear that they have pierced into the opposite region of polar cold, that they are at the Antipodes, and engaged under the frozen serpent of the south. Faulkland isl- and, which seemed too remote and romantic an object for the grasp of national ambition, is but a stage and resting place for their vectorious indus- try. Nor is the equinoctial heat more discourag- ing to them, than the accumulated winter of both poles. We know that while some of them draw the line or strike the harpoon on the coast of Af vica, others run the longitude, and pursue their gigantic game on the coast of Brazil. No sea, but what is vexed with their fisheries. Neither the perseverance of Holland, nor the activity of France, nor the dexterous and firm sagacity of English enterprise, have carried their most perilous mode of hardy industry to the extent to which it has been pursued by this recent people, who are still m the gristle, and not hardened into man- hood.” , The war of our independence, however, gave a new direction to the “ victorious industry,’ which was carried to an extent which far surpassed “ the sagacity of English enterprise,’ whether in the THE FISHERIES. 11 cabinet or the field. It was the spirit of men tramed to such daring pursuits, accustomed to perilous undertakings, which, in the course of eight years, obtamed from Great Britain a recog- nition ‘‘as a right” of that which had been with- held, at the commencement of that period, as a privilege, to be dispensed at the pleasure of par- lament. The restoration of peace revived the fisheries of this country. ‘The state of Massachusetts, alive to its true interests, and desirous of strengthening this essential branch of national industry, made a representation to Congress in 1790, asking some encouragement in the form of bounty, on export- ed fish. ‘This was granted, and a few years after- wards a bounty was allowed to vessels employed in the business for a given length of time. This gave a stimulus to the trade, and up to the period when restrictions were placed upon our commerce, it gradually increased in value and extent. In 1807, 71,000 tons of vessels were employed in the cod fishery alone, and the average value of exports from this country, of the productions of the sea for that and the four preceding years, was estimated at $3,000,000. From that time, until the close of the last war, all our fisheries dimin- ished. With the return of peace, they revived, and the very next year 68,000 tons of vessels, 12 THE IMPORTANCE OF employing 10,000 fishermen, were again upon the ocean, — thus exhibiting the sagacity and prompt- ness with which the sons of New England avail themselves of such circumstances as affect individ- ual or public prosperity. : This branch of the fisheries has been pursued since that period, with a success somewhat change- able, but within the few last years, apparently more sure and increasing. The enterprise with which our fisheries have been prosecuted has attracted the attention and excited the jealousy of our colonial neighbors. A late writer* upon the British dominions of North America, in remarking on their fisheries says, “By encouraging bounties to secure the adven- turer against the serious loss consequent upon an unsuccessful voyage, the number of vessels would. soon be considerably increased, and this important branch of trade so effectually carried on by the hardy inhabitants, as to compete in some degree at least, if not rival, that of our American neigh- bors, who are now almost in the exclusive enjoy- ment of it, and carry on their enterprising fisheries at the very mouths of our bays and harbors.” The inhabitants of the British dominions pos- sess very great facilities for the promotion of this * Bouchette. THE FISHERIES. 13 trade. They have a country filled with a heavy growth of the most valuable timber for the build- ing of vessels, and they derive no inconsiderable advantages from their proximity to the fishing grounds. ‘They can, and frequently do, in some districts, carry on their fisheries in open boats of cheap construction, within a few miles from shore. ‘The bounty allowed by our government to encourage the trade, being, in part, intended as a drawback for duties paid on imported salt, can scarcely be an adequate cause for the supe- rior success of our fisheries over those of the British, even on their own shores. The colonial fishermen derive a similar encouragement from the importation (free of duty) of the salt which they consume. ‘The form in which they receive encouragement is different, but its effect is de- sigoned to be the same. ‘The secret of the suc- cess of our fishermen lies in their greater activity and perseverance. A late English traveller in Nova Scotia, was surprised to find the bays swarm- ing with Marblehead boats, before the Nova Sco- tians had moved in the business. Burke acknow]- edged the superiority of the hardy fishermen of New England, more than half a century since, a superiority which they have ever since maintained, and will continue to maintain unless our govern- ment should withdraw the protection and reward 14 THE IMPORTANCE OF which now in some measure give a stimulus to in- creased exertion to extend this lucrative branch of our commercial pursuits. Another branch of our fisheries which has grown up within a few years is deserving consideration, as an object of great importance to the State and nation, viz :— the Mackerel Fishery. This busi- nes was, as before stated, pursued to some extent in the early settlement of the country, but the whole annual profit of the fishery of Cape Cod, when its proceeds were appropriated for the sup- port of a free grammar school, was but from £30 to £40 annually. This fishery included Macker- el, bass, and herring. It appears from the histor- ical collections, that mackerel were first taken in any considerable quantities in seines by moonlight. This method is supposed to have been first adopt- ed by Mr Isaac Allerton and his associates, at Nantasket, as early as 1626.* Fishing by torch- light is common on the St Lawrence. The scene as witnessed from the banks of that broad and beautiful expanse of water, is described as almost of a fairy nature. ‘The flashing of the lights upon * “ 1671 —John Prince and Nathaniel Bosworth, of Hull, petition the General Court of Plymouth for liberty to fish at Cape Cod for Mackerel, they having discovered a method of fishing with nets by moon-light.”— Thacher’s History of Plymouth.” THE FISHERIES. 15 its glassy surface spread out before the spectator, with its edges fringed by a dark mass of huge forest tress, sweeping to the very brink of the riv- er — with the song of the voyager floating over the smooth and silent waters, may well fill the mind with delightful emotions. To show the superior success of our Mackerel fishery over that of Nova Scotia, it is merely ne- cessary to advert to a few facts in relation to the mode and circumstances under which the colonial fishery is carried on. In Nova Scotia, mackerel are taken by seining with great facility. The Sur- veyor General of Lower Canada states in his late interesting work, that 1000 barrels have been ta- ken in a seine at one draught. At the commence- ment of the season, the fisherman obtains permis- sion of the proprietor of the beach to erect his hut and occupy a certain space for his boats and nets, for which he pays, at the end of the season, a certain part of the fish taken. The fishery is usually held im shares, — the owner of the boat and nets taking one part of the proceeds, and the fishermen the remainder. Some of the proprietors receive each 2000 barrels of mackerel annually for the use of their fishing grounds. Notwithstanding these facilities and advantages on the side of the Nova Scotians, the fishermen of New England have entered into the business with great spirit 16 THE IMPORTANCE OF and zeal; and it bids fair to become one of our _ chief and most permanent sources of prosperity. So rapid has been the increase of the business, that the eagle-eyed friends of retrenchment can scarcely keep pace with its progress, in order to prune offany extravagant allowance which a pros- perous year of fishing might bring to the Inspector General. | In 1803, Massachusetts passed a law providing for an inspection of fish. In the following year, the number of barrels of mackerel packed in Mas- sachusetts, was 8,079. ‘The number gradually increased until 1808, when after a temporary de- clension, the business extended, and in 1811 the number of barrels packed was upwards of 19,000. The war almost entirely destroyed the business. In 1815 it revived, and the returns of the next ~ year show that 16,000 barrels were packed. In 1820, the increase was so rapid that the number of barrels packed amounted to 236,243. This was before the separation of Mame. The number packed in Massachusetts the subsequent year, was 111,009, — but in 1825 it.was again increased to an amount exceeding that of the whole state at the time of the separation, and in 1831 there were packed in this State 348,750 barrels; and the mere increase from the preceding year, amounted to a greater number than were packed in the sey- THE FISHERIES. 17 en years subsequent to the passage of the Inspec- tion law.* ‘The number of vessels employed in 1831 did not fall much short of 400, and the num- ber of men employed probably exceeded 4000. If © we include those who are employed in building the vessels, manufacturing the barrels, making or importing the salt, packing the fish, transporting them to market, and vending them, we can form some opinion of the extent of the advantages of this trade to the community. ‘The probable value of the proceeds of the mackerel fishery for 1831, exceeded one million and a half of dollars. There is no doubt but the fisheries of Massachu- setts have derived great advantage from our In- -spection laws. Whatever plausibility there may be in a specious theory, which is sometimes put forth and urged with much ingenuity and zeal, that these laws are a restriction upon trade, still there is no doubt as to their great practical benefit, both to purchaser and seller. ‘The fishermen of Massachusetts have acquired for their produce a high character, under the operation of these laws, which commands for them regular prices and cer- tain sales. The public are protected, at the same time, from imposition in purchasing an article with * The returns for 1832 were not completed when this sketch was prepared. Owing to temporary causes, the ‘* catch”’ falls much short of that of the preceding year. is THE IMPORTANCE OF which they are not familiarly acquainted, and which they would not purchase at all, were it not for the character stamped upon them by the laws of the State. It is true that the laws have in _ some instances been carelessly enforced, but they give a remedy to the injured —it is true also, that there have been frequent attempts at vexatious and almost farcical legislation on this subject, which have been promptly rejected by the Legislature : yet these attempts to interfere to an unnecessary extent, with the occupation and business of citizens, has sometimes created disgust against the laws, and rendered the whole system odious to many. The Whale fishery, at the present time, attracts unusual attention, both in Europe and America. It is a wild and romantic employment. It requires patience, perseverance, intrepidity —it is full of interest and excitement. We are glad to know that the object of the chase affords a rich reward to those who fear not a perpetual conflict with the elements, and continually grapple with danger in pursuing ther game. ‘The congratulation and enjoyment resulting from victory, are scarcely to be equalled in any other human pursuit.” We have noticed the early history of this fishery i our previous remarks. It is now rapidly increasmg. The number of barrels of sperm oil which have been imported into the Uni- THE FISHERIES. 19 ted States since the late war has not fallen short of 1,000,000 barrels. Nearly one third of the quanti- ty now imported, is consumed in manufacturing es- tablishments. The quantity of whale oil imported has been about the sameas of sperm. The num- ber of ships employed in the whale fishery, the past year, was upwards of 300. ‘The number of persons employed to navigate them exceeded 6000. Itis well known, that these vessels are chief- ly owned, built and manned in Massachusetts. They are supposed to require to equip for sea, 6000 tons of iron hoops for casks, 18,000 bolts of sail cloth, 36,000 barrels of flour, 30,000 barrels of beef and pork, 6,000,000 staves for casks, besides numerous other expensive articles of equipment and provisions. ‘They require annually about 700,000 pounds of sheathing copper.* It is a fact highly honorable to the enterprising ‘men engaged in this hazardous, daring and roman- tic employment, that they can compete so success- fully with those of other nations, while they encour- age their fishery by a protective duty and liberal bounties. The protective duty of Great Britain is nearly double our own. | There is probably no branch of business more _ directly calculated, in all its ramifications, to enrich a state, than this. It gives employment to me- _ * Boston Courier. 20 THE IMPORTANCE OF chanics and artizans of almost every description — wherever it extends itself, it scatters opulence. In peace, it is rearing up a hardy race of navigators, -who with souls steeled by unremitted action — al- most naturalized to the element on which they pursue their gigantic game — accustomed to buffet the tempest and the storm on every ocean, will not hesitate, in war, if it must come, to display the same daring intrepidity, the same recklessness of danger, the same love of country and of home, in defending their dearest rights. It would be _ gratifying to sketch, in detail, the animating scenes which are presented in this employment, — to por- tray the exciting contests by man for the mastery over the monsters of the deep — and to describe the skill and ingenuity by which victory is obtain- ed — but the limits which we have prescribed to ourselves will not permit us to continue the sub- ject further. The remaining fisheries of the Commonwealth, as subjects of general interest, are in a great mea- sure losing, and in some instances have lost their importance. ‘The beautiful salmon, which Isaac Walton accounted the king of fish, is a rare visitor to our waters, although we find them occasionally exhibited by those who cater for the public taste. The statutes in relation to our interior fisheries, including those of the Colonies of Massachusetts THE FISHERIES. Qi and Plymouth, contain many provisions as singular as they are absurd. In the almost endless variety of detail, however, certain general principles have been settled ina manner to prevent angry and unprofitable litigation. In relation to our sea-coast fisheries, the statutes and general principles are highly important, and new acts of legislation should be adopted with great caution. Our citizens would regard with extreme sensitiveness any enactments which might tend to abridge, under the appearance of enlarg- ing their privileges. Whatever may be the right, our hardy and enterprising fishermen, for the sake of an exclusive privilege of fishing on our own shores, would scarcely wish to abstain from carrying their successful industry into the mouths of the bays and harbors of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In relation to the general subject, however, it must be apparent, that the fisheries of this Com- monwealth are of vital importance to its interests. There are many views of it, showing the depend- ance of other branches of manufactures and trade on them, which cannot now be presented. The direct advantages are numerous. ‘Taking imto consideration the amount of capital invested in them, they yield a fair come which is divided among a large number of persons, contributing to 923 THE IMPORTANCE OF the support of no inconsiderable portion of our population, who but for this employment, might be left in destitute circumstances. Perhaps no trade — no pursuit with the same amount of cap- ital, employs so large number of our citizens, and gives more encouraging impulses to enterprise and exertion. ‘The employment is not unfriendly to the morals of those who engage in it. It has been remarked, that every person on board a fish- ing vessel, has an interest in common with his as- sociates. ‘Their reward depends upon their indus- try and enterprise. Much caution is observed in the selection of crews of fishing vessels, and it often happens, that every individual is connected, by blood and the strongest ties of friendship. They are remarkable for their sobriety and good con- _ duct, and they rank with the most. skilful naviga- tors. The celebrated Talleyrand, in speaking of our fishermen, said, ‘‘ Excepting the whalers, fishing is an idle employment, requiring neither courage nor skill; the fishermen do not venture more than two leagues from the coast, — the fisheries do not fur- nish a nursery for seamen, they have no attach- ment to their homes, they are cosmopolites, and a few codfish more or less determine their country.” These remarks only show how ignorant a learned man may be of facts which fall under the observa- THE FISHERIES. 293 tion of all who have any curiosity to examine the subject. Bouchette says, ‘‘ The daring enterprise of the fisherman is known on this side the ocean, as well as the other — it would be idle to dwell upon the boldness, the activity, the extreme collectedness and presence of mind, that characterize that class of navigators, who apparently naturalized to the elements, buffet the heavy swell of the Atlantic, in their frail fishing smacks and vessels, and seem to laugh the ocean storms to scorn.”’ It might be enough to quote one foreign writer against another, to show the absurdity of the-alle- gations of the French diplomatist — but who that has seen upon the shores. of New England, beau- tiful villages springmg up under no operating cause but the “silver drawn from the sea,’’ filled with seminaries for learnig and temples for the worship of God — abounding with all the means for social improvement and intellectual culture — the wharves laden with the rich productions of the ocean — the harbor whitened by the canvas of the enterprising fishermen, and does not know that the declarations of 'T'alleyrand are the very reverse of the truth! Who does not know, that when war swept the barque of the fisherman from the ocean, that he was among the foremost to enrol his name under the flag of his country — and gallant- 24 THE IMPORTANCE OF ly to stake his life upon a contest for what he con- ceived duty to that country required? Who does not know, that the fishermen of New England, under a Tucker, (himself a fisherman), and a Hull, performed for their country the most brilliant achievements, and displayed at the same time, all the noble qualities of the citizen and the patriot ? Massachusetts, with her intelligent population, her advances in manufactures and the arts, — her enterprising commerce and flourishing fisheries, contains within herself, all the elements of strength and power. A minute examination of the mutual bearing of all these interests, will show how im- portant it is, that each should be sustamed by the protection of the others. ‘The imhabitants of the -sea-board will exchange with those of the interior, the products of the ocean and foreign climes, for those of our native soil, with mutual advantage and profit. The interior will naturally seek channels for the conveyance of its surplus productions to the sea-board, for the purposes of exchange, and thus _ private interests, if not public sentiment, will in obedience to the dictates of a wise and prudent policy, open avenues which will at the same time develope the resources cf the State — bind together the various local interests — and quicken the cir- culation of intelligence and good feelings. Small though she is in territory, what State, THE FISHERIES. 25 _more than Massachusetts, possesses within herself all that constitutes the moral and physical strength of a Commonwealth? Where is industry more manfully displayed and better rewarded ? We think no where on the face of the earth. It is for us then to examine all the capacities of our ancient Commonwealth —to study well all her interests, —to procure for them all the protection of good laws, — to overlook none of her important, nor in- considerable branches of imdustry, and above all, to take good precaution to observe the principles and to obey the precepts of that noble generation of men, who appropriated the proceeds of the Cape Cod fishery to found our beautiful system of free schools.* * Some of the uses to which the productions of the sea may be applied, and which are not adverted to in the preceding sketch, appear by the following extract from the Barnstable Journal, of Feb. 7, 1833. ‘“ FEEDING CATTLE on FisH. The cattle at Province- town feed upon fish with apparently as good relish as upon the best kinds of fodder. It is said that some cows, kept there several years, will, when grain and fish are placed before them at the same time, prefer the latter, eating the whole of the fish before they touch the grain. Like one of old, we were rather incredulous on this subject, till we had the evi- dence of ocular demonstration. We have seen the cows at that place boldly enter the surf, in pursuit of the offals thrown from the fish boats on the shore, and when obtained, masticate and swallow every part except the hardest bones. A Pro- 26 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FISHERIES. vincetown cow will dissect the head of a cod with wonderful celerity. She places one foot upon a part of it, and with her teeth tears off the skin and gristly parts, and in a few mo- ments nothing is left but the bones. The inhabitants of Provincetown are not the only people who feed their cattle upon fish. The nations of the Coroman- del coast, as well asin the other parts of the East, practise feeding their flocks and herds with fish. The celebrated tra- veller, Ibn Batuta, who visited Zafar, the most easterly city in Yemen, in the early part of the fourteenth century, says that the inhabitants of that city carried on a great trade in horses in India, and at that period fed their flocks and herds with fish, a practice which he says, he had no where else ob- served. [Notre. The preceding article has been obligingly furnish- ed by Sotomon Lincoun, Esq. of Hingham, whose indus- try and research entitles him to our warmest thanks. ] ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF Bobi Sib aks ies _—_ Tue naturalist, by his observations on the phe- nomena of life, is irresistibly led to the conclusion, that a progressive advancement towards the per- fect organization of man, is discoverable in the whole chain of inferior existences. As it respects the time and order of the crea- tion of animals, we are expressly informed, in the book of Genesis, that on the fifth day after the creation of the world, ‘ God said, ‘let the waters bring forth abundantly, the moving creatures that hath life, &c.’”’? Moreover, the sacred chronicle further says, that “‘ God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the wa- ters brought forth abundantly after their kind.” Man was created on the sixth — and the seventh was the first Sabbath —a day of rest. 88 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY It is therefore implied, that man, being the last in the series of organized beings, surpassed all that had preceded him in the perfection of his organs, —the elements of which were displayed in a graduated scale of animal mechanism. There is a beatiful simplicity discoverable in the structure of purely aquatic beings, that strengthens the declaration of the sacred historian, that they were the first that were endowed with life ; — and the accurate anatomist discovers, that the machinery of organic life, commencing with the single heart of fishes, becomes more and more complex, as species advance towards the animal perfectability of man.* In IcuTHyoLoey, as in all other departments of natural history, it was found necessary to establish an orderly course of examination, in order to as- certain the true characters of the almost endless varieties of animals, which inhabit the ocean and its tributary streams. It was discovered in the earliest ages, in relation to the study of ichthyolo- * A certain literary gentleman, in a romantic work on the Deluge, supposes that in the old world, the atmospheric temperature was much greater, than in this modern affair, in which we live, and consequently terrestrial animals had such an exaltation of the passions, that they were destroyed for their crimes; but fishes, residing in a cooler element, were so much better in their conduct, that they were exempted from the otherwise terrible destruction of the primitive world. ~ OF FISHES. Q29 gy, that nature had pursued an undeviating plan, with regard to the shape of the body and the po- sition of the limbs of all such animals as were designed to exist in water. A further discovery in connexion with this, that there was a peculiari- ty in the structure of the gills of fishes, fitting them for different localities, led the way to- wards a systematic arrangement. ‘To Linneus, Artedi, Shaw, and lastly, the lamented Cuvier, who improved upon their labors, modern science is indebted for our limited knowledge of this inter- esting pursuit. Fishes are naturally divided into two great fam- ilies, viz: the spinous and the cartilaginous. In the first division, are included all that have a skel- eton of bones, resembling, in some measure, the compact frame-work of land animals. ‘They have articulations approaching, in structure, the joints of quadrupeds, — and there is, moreover, a firmness of body, in consequence of the peculiar arrange- — ment of the asseous textures, and the shortness of the muscles, indicating their peaceable disposition ; in fine, the spmous fishes have not that organiza- tion which presupposes extraordinary speed. On the other hand, cartelaginous fishes are so constructed, that they can be distorted with impu- nity. ‘Their bones possess both elasticity and flexibility. Their swallows (esophagus) as well 30 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY as digestive organs, are capable of supporting a surprising distention, without subjecting the indi- vidual to even a temporary inconvenience. Inthe act of gorging their food, the jaws are thrown so far apart, that with the organization of the spinous fishes, the capsular ligaments would be torn from the bones, and the blood-vessels rent from their connexion with the heart. Such, indeed, is the gristly elasticity of the skeleton of this second natural division, that the bones are separated as often as the stomach is called into vigorous action, and resume their places again, without injuring, or in fact, disturbing the functions of the vital or- gans.™ | These grand. divisions are analogous to the two great classes of land animals, the one of which is carnivorous, and the other is sustained by the ve- getable productions of the earth. Spinous fishes may be compared, in general character, to the sraminivorous quadrupeds, being timid, not uni- versally provided with weapons of defence, and possessing, to a certain extent, social habits, and are therefore rarely found alone. But the cartila- ginous, like the carnivorous animals, are exceed- ingly voracious ;— they pursue their living ali- * The jaws of serpents are separated ina similar manner, in swallowing food. The distortion of the Boa Constrictor, in the act of gorging, is truly horrible. OF FISHES. 31 ment with untiring speed, and devour their help- less victims, when practicable, at a single mouth- fa ' It will be perceived, therefore, that this remark- able difference in organization, adapts these two families, to that peculiar condition of things, exist- ing in the element in which they were designed to live. “Eat or be eaten,” is the only law known to the inhabitants of the ocean. Each individual, therefore, under the instinctive influence of that immutable ordinance, feeds luxuriously on its nearest neighbor ; and, at last, from the msecurity of its home, is preyed upon in its turn. Another law, no’less important and interesting in its operation, explains that prolific attribute, which is characteristic of this race of beings. Sus- tained on food already animauized, its rapid assim- ilation soon perfects the growth; and were it not, for incessant slaughter throughout the seas, the ocean could not contain its own. The putrid ex- halations of the floating dead, if this eternal war- fare for food were suspended, would corrupt the atmosphere of the whole globe, and all life would inevitably be sacrificed to the over-peopling of the world of waters.* * Most fishes seem to give a preference to living food: it is only under the influence of extreme hunger, that they are 32 _ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY Before commencing a particular description of the fishes, peculiar to the sea-board and interior of this Commonwealth, which is the ultimate object of this essay, it may, perhaps, contribute towards the advancement of such as are desirous of under- standing some of the first principles of the science of ichthyology, to make the following prelimimary observations on the anatomy of this great and truly diversified tribe of animals. Avoiding all the jargon of technical-language, a plain and con- cise description of the most prominent physical characteristics, is all that is contemplated. willing to feed on putrid aliment. In this respect, they re- semble the frogs, toads, serpents, and indeed, several families of reptiles, that would starve, before they would voluntarily swallow animal matter in a state of decomposition — or, in- deed, deprived of motion. Frogs and serpents, as far as the writer’s observation extends, never dart upon insects or otuer reptiles, unless they first perceive that they possess some power of motion. The toad, whose biography is given in some of the books on natural history, in consequence of the loss of one eye, was not only unable to strike the object regularly, when it darted its tongue, as in former times, but it was also deceived in the character of the object. At any rate, the poor toad became melancholy, took less exercise than formerly —and, if the above account is true, which there is no reason to doubt, — took less food too, — and being sick of the world, finally died of a broken heart! This is a fair specimen of a very clever gentleman’s sympathy for the inferior animals, which was ex- ceedingly excited by his researches in natural history. OF FISHES, 33 BONES AND ARTICULATIONS. The skulls of fishes, more particularly the por- tion including the brain, is the only compact part of the skeleton. Bones without number seem to penetrate the muscles, floating at one extremity like the ribs of an umbrella. Next to the head, the spine presents regularity and comparative so- lidity. Joints, necessarily, are numerous, but dif- fer essentially in structure from land animals. . SKELETON OF AN OSSEUS FISH. = \ wes WN we a yyy My We iA —— Sk SEAS ES —Z Although serpents have spinal articulations, so flexible that they can be tied into knots, without injury to the spinal marrow, they do not possess that freedom of motion which is so peculiar and common to joints in the back-bone of fishes. Each vertebra, entering into the composition of the spine, instead of being locked into the next, by hook-like processes of the bone, is excavated at each end. Thus, when two are brought in > 3 34 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY contact, there will be an oval or spherical space between them, as the case may be, depending on the kind of motion required at any particular place. In this cavity is placed a strong sac, con- taining a gelatinous fluid ; the bones move round it, like a surveyor’s compass with the ball and socket jomt. ‘he sac is more or less convex, according to the necessary mobility of the section where it may be found. Near the tail, the organ of locomotion in propelling the body forward, they are nearly globular. Towards the chest and head, where less motion is requisite, the sacks assume the appearance of slightly convex lenses. Being incompressible, though yielding, and remarkably, withal, confined to their places by strong elastic ligaments, both symmetry and power are beautifully and effectual- ly combined.* : * Between the joints of the spinal column of quadrupeds, as well as man, there are pieces of what the books term zn- tervertebral substance, resembling in shape a common sun- glass, but thicker in the centre. If it were not for the inter- vention of this elastic stuff between every two bones of the spine, which is built up of twenty-four bones, every time we take a step, the meeting of the foot with the ground would produce such a jar in the body, as to destroy the action of many vessels, and perhaps break down the brain. Construet- ed as it is, there is no jerk felt in the system — the weight of the body is transmitted so easily, from bone to bone, through these twenty-four cushions, that no sensation whatever is OF FISHES. 35 MUSCLES. That prodigious mass of flesh enveloping the bones, is regularly destributed in a way that is both conducive to the protection of the vital ap- paratus, and to the best mode of exerting muscu- Jar power. Like the cordage of a ship, every A DISSECTION OF THE MUSCLES OF THE JAWS, AND THE FIRST TISSUE OF MUSCULAR FIBRES, UNDER THE SKIN. % MELLEL LLG ZN ase felt. The fact of this intervertebral substance being elastic, has been taken advantage of by soldiers, who have often en- listed themselves under a recruiting officer at night, when, after being on their feet all day, the weight of the body, by pressing down the intervertebral pieces, had made them shorter. Thus, the next morning, after lying in a recum- bent posture, the pieces recover their former thickness, and the individual is an inch or more taller than the night be- fore, when his height was measured. There is scarcely a person that is not an inch taller in the morning than at night, provided he has been exercising much on his feet, through the day. In old age, this substance looses its elasticity, and hence aged people become crooked and unsteady in walking. In fishes and serpents, no such change is ever effected by age. 36 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY rope has its appropriate place ; but, owing to the little obliquity of their direction, the muscles act to very great disadvantage. If the bones were provided with long projecting processes, as in the bones of land animals, they would have retarded the motion of the fish through the water; it was necessary, therefore, in the economy of their na- tures, to sacrifice the mechanical advantage of nu- merous levers, that facility might be afforded to their easy movement in their destined element. Those muscles which control the fins and jaws, are short, well developed and strong in contraction: those on the sides, take a winding direction, and consequently cannot act in producing short curves. The object to be attained, in this conformation, was ample security of the viscera, with a sub- stance that would give power to exert power. CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD. A single heart, an organ containing only two cavities, instead of four, as in mammalia; circu- lating cold blood, which in terrestrial animals is warm, gives additional interest to the natural his- tory of the beings under consideration; in them, the heart does not propel the vital fluid through the system, — which presents another extraordi- nary circumstance in their organization. The OF FISHES. 37 SCHEME OF THE CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD IN FISHES AA. The gills, ‘the fringes of which are the extreme terminations of arteries. B. The ventricle of the heart, or forcing pump, which drives the blood into a single artery, that soon divides into two principal branches, carrying the blood equally to the gills, on each side of the head. C. The oracle of the heart, or receiving organ, into which the veins empty the blood which has been the round of cir- culation. This contracts, and throws its contents into the ventricle, and that, again, forces it onward into the gills, D. The main artery of the heart, or branchial artery, anal- ogous to the pulmonary artery of breathing animals. £. Refers to the branchial veins, which carry the blood that has been exposed to the action of the water, in the gills, back into the body, and pours it into the great tube lying un- der the back-bone. #, This is the vessel into which all the renewed blood is emptied — which is an artery, acting like the left side of the heart in warm blooded animals ; when it contracts, or pulsates, it throws its contents through all the small vessels that branch from it, into and over every portion of the body. heart exerts its muscular force in throwing gru- mous blood, which has been the round of circula- tion, to the gills, and no further. From these, it | & 38 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY is collected by numerous vessels, which ultimately unite in one single artery, coursing its way down the body, under the protection of the vertebral column. ‘This, unlike the vascular apparatus of any species of warm-blooded creatures, takes up- on itself the action of a heart,— propelling the blood, by successive pulsations, to the remotest parts of the body. It is almost unnecessary to remark, that animals breathing air, have a double heart; indeed man, and not only man, but all animals that breathe at- mospheric air, have two hearts, but for the sake of economising the room — for the purpose of packing the parts to the best advantage, the two are united ;—— hence they occupy less space than would otherwise be the case, were they placed at different partsof the body. One heart throws all the blood, which has once been the round of circula- tion, into the lungs;— here its office ceases. The blood is collected from the lungs, where the ‘first heart left it, and gradually poured into the other, or left heart, which forces the blood through every artery in the body. Both hearts are forcing pumps, and both have valves. The much ad- mired invention of the ship-pump, with three valves, is only an imitation, and a poor one too, of the semilunar valves of the pulmonary artery. Reptiles and fishes, having only one heart, the OF FISHES. 39 heart of the gills, which is equivalent to the heart of the lungs, in mammalia, are cold-blooded ani- mals. On the contrary, those having two hearts, are warm-blooded animals. A whale has no gills, but /ungs, and consequently breathes air, — and therefore, necessarily has a double heart. Since it has lungs, and a double heart, it also necessari- ly, has warm blood; and therefore, a whale, as Dr Mitchell rightly declared, is not a fish. And why? because the fish is without lungs, has but a single heart, and cannot breathe air alone, or wa- ter alone, but a mixture of both. GILLS. In the economy of fishes, the gills fulfill the of- fice of lungs ;— they are so constructed, that there is a free exposure, in their fringes, of the “impure venous blood, to the direct action of the water. Deprive the water of its air, by an air-pump, and it will no longer sustain aquatic life. The simple act of soaking the fimbrie of the gills, in this fluid, is not sufficient ; it is necessary to have the water forcibly driven through them by an ac- tion of the jaws. If the operculum, or gill cover, be confined and closed with a ligature, suffocation takes place im- 40 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY ' mediately. On the other hand, if the gills are forcibly kept open, so that no reaction can be ef fected upon the column of water on which the mouth is exerting a pressure, death will also ensue. . Most of the lizards possess lungs, which are long cylinders, extending through the whole ex- tent of the body, but if their mouths. be propped open, they will assuredly die for want of air, in a little time, as they necessarily breathe through their nostrils. The frog respires precise- ly in the sane way — drawing the mouth full of air, and when the pouch under the lower jaw is thrust out with it, the reptile forces it into its lungs, through a slit at the root of the tongue, which is the glottis. -Thus, the mouth of the frog, toad, and all the lizards, is a bellows, to force the air into the lungs. Breathmg with them, is an act of volition. ‘This explanation will account to the young reader, for the broad, flat heads of this class of reptiles ; — im this respect, there is a curious analogy between them and the action of the jaws of fishes. ‘The one is a forcing pump, as in the fish, for forcing the water suddenly through the fringes of the gills, —and the other, a bellows for driving the atmospheric air into the long slender lungs. ‘The muscular force of the sides and abdomen, soon presses it out again. OF FISHES. Al DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. No contrivance could be more simple, and at the same time more complete, than their digestive apparatus ; the stomach varies in anatomical struc- ture, according to the nature of the substances on which the species are to subsist. Possessing but STOMACH OF THE SALMON. AGE TO WHICH THEY LIVE. Perhaps there is no subject on which the natu- ralist has labored with less success, than in trying to ascertain the age to which fishes attam. Ad- mitting that an individual of any species were un- disturbed by enemies, or unmolested by its own kindred, and quietly enjoying a circumscribed body of water, amply supplied with appropriate food, — there is no reason for doubting that it would live for many centuries. We know of no limits to their longevity, nor can we suppose that the inter- nal machinery would wear itself out, so long as the digestive organs were properly excited. * OF FISHES. 57 But the time must ultimately arrive when death will terminate their existence; though admirably constructed foran uncommonly long life, they are not, nor can they be exempted from the operation of a law, which to intelligent beings, is contempla- ted with the deepest feelings of awe and solem- nity. | Pike and carp, in artificial ponds, have been re- peatedly found, with gold rings in their fins, and other kinds of labels, on which were also found dates, that proved, conclusively, that one hundred years had elapsed since the inscription was made. Gesner speaks of a pike that was known to be 267 years old. It is affirmed by some of the French writers, that several pike are in a pond, which for- merly belonged to the Duke of Orleans, father of the present king, so very aged, that their original complexion is completely lost : they have become of a dingy hue, and actually give the spectator the idea of extreme old age. Cartilaginous fishes have a still greater prospect of living to an advanced period. Instead of bones, as previously remarked, their skeletons are elastic, having but asmall portion of earthy matter in them. As the vessels secrete but little ossific matter, they do not become rigid, as in the land animal : — the heart is in no danger of being converted into bone, —indeed, we do not know why many of them ! 58 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY might not live and continue to grow for a thou- sand years. It was at one time thought that the circles dis- coverable on the ends of the vertebrae of the osse- ous tribes, indicated the age, —as the rings on the extremity of a log, marked the years of the growth of the tree. ‘Those, unfortunately, are no guides, —and we therefore regret that we know of no mode, at the present day, of solvmg a problem of the highest interest to the curious. Of the marie fishes, the sharks unquestionably, reach a truly pa- triarchal age. SLEEP. Exposed as these animals must necessarily be, to the voracious jaws of millions of belligerent, as well as hungry associates, — it would seem hardly pos- sible that they should find a safe opportunity for this kind of rest, however much they might at any period require it. Again, beg without eye-lids, - they would be regarded, at first thought, as organiz- ed to require no suspension of the powers of voli- tion. Impossible as it is to speak with certainty on this point, we are fully persuaded that they not only require sleep, but that they also find safe and convenient times to enjoy that sort of repose. Gold fishes, in vases, repose, regularly through the night, _ OF FISHES. 59 after the lights have been extinguished. This is inferred from their remaining precisely in one posi- tion, six and eight hours at a time. PROCREATION. _ Fishesare astonishingly prolific : — amajority are oviperous, and some of the condropterygii are vi- viperous. This latter class, however, are less nu- merous than the first. It has been often asserted by credible writers, that the cod produces nine mil- lion of eggs in a season ; — the common flounder a million, and the mackerel, above five hundred thousand. On the other hand, the cartilaginous varieties seldom give birth to more than a few hundreds of livmg young ata time. If only one in the three hundred arrives at maturity, its power will ensure the continuance of the race, but with the social and andromous, scarcely ten eggs ina thousand are ever developed, eal being the necessa- ry aliment of others,— but the continuance of the species is thus insured against all probable contin- gencies. , Each egg is filled with a yolk, surrounded by al- bumen, like that of the serpent, the crocodile, and the bird. They are commonly extruded in-shal- low water, out of the reach of eddies, where by the glutinous envelope in which the mass is held to- 60 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY gether, they get fastened to some stick or stone, which retains them in a favorable condition for the influence of solar heat. By what combina- tion of circumstances the male is apprised of the desire which the female has for expelling her bur- den, cannot be explained: but it is nevertheless true, that they commonly accompany her, and no sooner are the ova deposited, than he swims over them tocomplete the process. ‘There is no ac- quaintance between the parents : the male, in com- ing in contact with the spawn, is excited by the presence of the appropriate stimulus of the genital organs, and a fluid is emitted over them, which, though greatly diluted in water into which it is infused, exerts a specific action on the egg, which immediately begins to quicken into life. It may so happen, however, that the male of | another species accidentally in his wanderings, comes in the region of roes— which excite him to expregnate them, just as readily, as the presence and contact of those of the family to which he be- longs. ‘The excitation effected by the eggs, can- not be withstood, — for there are no moral re- straints in the regions below, and physical necessi- ty, absolutely, in this instance, forces into being, a race partaking of the habits and characteristics of the two progenitors. Sir Humphrey Davy says, “it is a fertile and a OF FISHES. 61 very curious subject for new experiments, — that of crossing the breeds of fishes, and offers a very interesting and untouched field of investigation, . which I hope will soon be taken up by some en- lightened country gentleman, who in this way - might make not only curious, but useful discove- mess” We have stated the fact that the ova are im- pregnated out of the body of the mother, and it may appear somewhat surprising that the mere pouring of the seminal fluid from the milt of the dead male, is equally successful. The vitality of fishes is of an order so low, that the temperature of the air or of the water, is generally equal to the heat of their blood, — hence no vital property is lost, even in the dead fish, if the experiment is per- formed before the commencement of putrefaction. Jacobi, a German experimentalist, on the in- crease of trout, and salmon, has satisfactorily set- tled the question, that this operation can be done very readily. ‘That gentleman raised his own trout, from the egg, which he accomplished in the following manner. He had a box, with a wire gra- ting at one end, for admitting the water, freely, from a lively stream — and holes, at the other end ~ for the same water to pass out: thus there was a running course over small pebbles, placed on the bottom. In November and December, when the 62 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY trout were nearly in a condition for spawning, he caught both males and females ina net. By gen- tle pressure of the hands, the ova were received in- to a vessel of water. He then, by similar contri- vance, forced the seminal liquor of the male into the vessel, and after the two had been in this con- dition only a few minutes, he placed the eggs in his hatching box, to wait the result. At the expi- ration of a few weeks, the parchment-like shells burst — and to his unspeakable delight, the box was swarming with an immense school of infant trout. To each individual, was appended a little sac, which contained the yolk. This was their food for a considerable time— being gradually taken into the stomach, by the absorbing function of the naval string. Here is a very striking analogy to the provision, which is made for the young of birds. The yolk does not in any way become organized in the process of incubation: — it was expressly designed for the first food of the newly created an- ual. Surely, this is an illustration of the homely saying, “ that there is never a mouth without some- thing to put into it.” When the chick is hatch- ed, the yolk is still as perfect, as before, but in- stead of being in the old shell, it is now within the body. Enclosed in a slightly elastic capsule, there is a duct leading from it, that terminates in the stomach. ‘Through this, it continues flowing, as OF FISHES. 63 fast as the necessities of the system require it, — till the whole is ultimately exhausted. When this is finished, the pipe becomes a binding ligament of the viscera, and the little tottling biped, is ready to pick up something with its bill. A YOUNG SHARK CARRYING THE YOLK OF THE EGG FROM WHICH IT WAS HATCHED, SUSPENDED BY THE UMBILICAL CORD, IN A SAC, Farmers, from their ignorance of the wonderful provision by Divine Providence, for all oviperous animals, destroy a vast deal of young poultry, in their mistaken humanity in trying to make them feed too soon. Let them alone, and they will give seasonable indications of their simple wants. From the box, Jacobi transported his stock, and founded new colonies wherever he chose. Bloch relates, as the result of an experiment, in speaking of the reproductive power of the carp, that in a pond of seven acres, in which were placed four 64 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY « males and three females, the increase was 110,000 young carp. Interesting as this inquiry must be to the phys- iologist, we regret the necessity for bringing it to a close ; this we are unwilling to do, without express- ing an earnest hope, that these observations will induce others, more competent than ourselves, to pursue an investigation, fraught with such a high degree of interest. GROWTH. Probably the spinous fishes complete their growth much sooner than terrestrial animals which, at an adult age, arrive to about the same weight. On the other hand, the cartilaginous, as well as some varieties of the flat ones, continue to increase. im size, under favorable circumstances, many years. The skate, which in this northern latitude, does not often exceed five feet in breadth, in the West In- dies, has been known to attain the enormous size of twenty-five feet in length, by fourteen in breadth. The rapid growth of some fish is very extraor- dinary. ‘Three pike were taken out of a pond in Straffordshire, belonging to the present Sir Jervoise Clark Jervoise, two of which weighed thirtysix pounds each, and the other thirtyfive pounds. OF FISHES. 65 _ The pond was fished every seven years, and suppos- ing that store pike of six or seven pound weight were left in it, the growth of the pike in question must have beenat the rate ofat least four pounds a year. Sal- mon, however, grow much faster. It is now ascer- tained that grilse, or young salmon, of from two and a half, to three pounds weight, which are sent to London markets in the month of May, come from spawn only deposited in the preceding Octo- ber or November, and the ova takes three months of the time to quicken. It has also been ascer- tained by experiment, that a grilse which weighed six pounds in February, after spawning, has, on its return from the sea in September, weighed thirteen pounds ; and a salmon fry of April, will in June weigh four pounds, and in August, six pounds. BRAIN BONES. Contiguous to the lobes of the brain, natural- ists have discovered two peculiar bones, in com- mon parlance, called brain bones. ‘They are ena- melled, like the. finest tooth; convexed on one side, concave on the other, and serrated at the edges. By cooks, these bones are termed the fish money. By boiling, they are easily detached. In looking into the cavity in which they are lodged, it is evident that the fibres of the acoustic nerve ran 5 66 PHYSIOLOGY OF FISHES. through it: a gelatinous fluid, glairy, of a similar character to the white of an egg, seems both to suspend the bone, and also afford a proper bed for defending thenerves. Though comparative anat- omists are not precisely satisfied as to the office they sustain, it is pretty generally conceded that they are a part of the organ of hearmg. If, how- ever, our readers will examine the diagram we have given of the iabyrinth of the fish’s ear, which corresponds very nearly with the vestibule and se- micircular canals of the human ear, he will per- ceive that the brain bones are entirely unnecessary to the perfection of the organ. Their use is not understood.* * Since the compositor completed the preceding pages, in which it is remarked that fishes are without eye-lids, a speci- | men has come to hand, of a small fish, seven inches.in length, from Africa, the mounting of whose eyes on the top of the head, bears some resemblance to the anableps, covered by a regular pair of eye-lids. This must be regarded as belonging to&an unknown genus. In asmall shark, too, we have detect- ed the nictitating membrane, organized much as it is in the owl, and other night-seeing birds. CLASSIFICATION. ee ARISTOTLE is supposed to have been the first naturalist who regarded fishes as a distinct class of animals, though he seems not to have understood their very peculiar organization. Pliny was the next writer of antiquity who devoted much atten- tion to them, though from the earliest ages of the world, they were an important article of food, as much as at the present day. Without detailing the classifications of a series of distinguished writers, those of Linneus and Cu- vier are now generally adopted. Had that great and good man, Cuvier, been permitted to live a few more years, he would probably have completed that splendid work on fishes, which occupied many years of his industrious life — and which, on a dying bed, he spoke of leaving in an unfinished condition, with the deepest interest and regret. Linneus divided these animals into five orders : 1, ApopAL,— with bony gills, and no ventral fins. 2. JuguLAR, — with bony gills, and ventral fins before the pectoral. 3. THorAcIC, — with bony gills, and ventral fins under the throat. 68 CLASSIFICATION. 4, ABDOMINAL, — with bony gills, and ventral fins behind the thorax. 5. BRANCHIOSTAGOUS, — with gills destitute of bony rays or concealed gills. 6. CHONDROPTERYGIOUS, — with cartilaginous gills, and leathery fins, the common skin being continued over them. Cuvier found there was a great deal of difficul- ty and vexation, when an attempt was made to divide them into orders, ‘“ established on fixed and precise characters; but the two great divisions, founded on the character of their bones, as being cartilaginous or osseous, are natural and well mark- ed. ‘The first series, or chondropterygit, have, as a general character, the palatine bones arranged so as to supply the place of those of the upper jaws.’ He therefore divided them into three or- ders. CHONDROPTERYGII. 1. Cycxiostom1, — The jaws fixedin an immovable ring, but the branchial openings numerous. 2. SELACHTII, — with branchiz as in the preceding, but not their jaws. 3. SrurIoNEsS, —branchiz opening as usual, in a cleft, protected by an operculum, or gill cover. OSSEOUS. 4, PLECTOGNATHI,— maxillary bone, and palatine arch, fix- “ to the cranium. b= . LoPHOBRANCHII,— with complete jaws, but having . branchiz in small tufts. 6. MALACOPFERYGII ABDOMINALES,— ventral fins on the hinder part of the abdomen. CLASSIFICATION. 69 7. MALACOPTERYGII SUBRACHIATI, — ventral fins un- der the pectoral, on the throat. 8. MALACOPTERYGII ApopEs,—destitute entirely of fins. ; 9. ACANTHOPTERYGII, — first dorsal fin, or the first por- tion of both, where there are two, having spinous rays. This last order, AcANTHOPTERYGII, is divided into seven families :— 1. Toenioides, —as Mediterranean Band-fish — having a ' short snout. : 2. Gobioides, — without a swimming bladder, and having slender flexible dorsalspines, as the brenny. 3. Labroides, — a single dorsal fin, as the Wrasse, of Euro- pean seas. f 4, Percoides, — having the dorsal and anal fin supported be- fore, by strong, sharp. spines, as the sculpin and perch. 5. Scomberoides, — having small seales, as the mackerel. 6. Squamipennes ,— scales encrusting the soft partof the dorsal and anal fins, as the Chetodon. 7. Fistularide,—the mouth at the extremity of a long tube, which is a prolongation of thé ethmoid, and other bones of the head, as the pipe fish. i,a 5 PF. CARTILAGINOUS FISHES. as ae ' ORDER IL—CYCLOSTOMI. GEN. PETROMYZON. Sea Lamprey. — Petromyzon Marinus. Like the eel family, in general, the lamprey has a long, ~ flexible, slender body, covered with an oily excre- tion, admirably fittng it to slide into dark, and oftentimes difficult hiding places. It is unsocial in its habits, — timid im the day-time, but voracious, courageous and unyielding in the night, when it ventures from its lurking place, in search of food. ‘The size to which they grow im the arms of the sea, in the limits of Massachusetts, particu- larly, is not great, nor are they commonly more than two feet in length. As the traveller, howev- er, follows the southern shore, he not only finds the sea lamprey much thicker, but also much long- - er. Three feet may be considered an average length in the southern states, but the saltness of the water and its coldness, so far to the north, is unfa- vorable to thew multiplication, as well as magni- PETROMYZON. 71 tude. To the eastward, at the mouths of some of the rivers, in Maine, the marinus, even when fully grown, does not exceed seventeen and twenty inches. This fish may be designated, with certainty, by its marbled, brownish skin, — possessing a silvery shade towards the underside of the abdomen, — and one dorsal fin, distinct from the second. In the top of what authors call the maxillary ring, there are two large teeth. ‘Though there may be variations in color and size, in followmg the coast, it may be distinguished by the other marks which have been detailed. Within the inner side of the jaws, and commencement of the fauces, are twen- ty rows of fine teeth, and.seven breathing holes on the side of the neck. SALT WATER LAMPREY. ok “i |, AW All the lamprey’s movements, strikingly resem- ble those of the serpent, nor does ,their muscular apparatus differ essentially from it. 72 PETROMYZON. The manner in which the gills are arranged, un- der the skin, is a subject of deep interest to the anatomist, imasmuch as he discovers at once, a structure of the utmost consequence to the species, since they were expressly designed by nature to occupy a place where no other bemgs were loca- ted, viz: —the muddy beds of bays, — the ooze which accumulates in estuaries, and in fact, just those places where fishes could not live on account of the foreign matter in the water, which would clog up their gills, and consequently produce death. | ; Between the side of the mouth and the skin, there is a long canal, or pocket, in which the bran- chie, or fringes of the gills are placed in a row. Opposite the space or little apartment, between every two fringes, there is a round hole, tipped with a cartilaginous ring, precisely like a hoop, to keep it always open. When the lamprey is snugly-coil- ed up ina bed of loose, dark mud, where it finds a variety of marine worms, putrid remains of vari- ous animals, &c., forced into such basins by the eddying tides, it strains the water through a very - small aperture, into which it forms its mouth, till the under side, or gular pouch is considerably distend- ed, when by the action of the muscles about the jaws, itis driven through all the fringes, and comes out at the orifices. By this beautiful, yet simple PETROMYZON, 73 contrivance, no mud can get into the fringes, — or if it does into the side holes, the next exertion of the jaws, throws a stream of water to wash it out again. So far asthe gular pouch is concerned, in the respiratory function, the lamprey bears consid- erable analogy to the lizards. Breathmg, with those reptiles, is an entirely voluntary act : — the mouth is drawn full of air, through ‘the nostrils, and then, the under jaw being in action like a bel- lows, forces it into the lungs. As an article of food, they have been much priz- ed, but as we do not see them very frequently in the stalls, it is conjectured they are scarce, or there are not purchasers enough to compensate for the trouble of collecting them. FRESH WATER LAMPREY. Fresuo Warer Lamprey. — Petromyzon Flu- viatilis. ‘There is scarcely a portion of New Eng- land, even in the most elevated regions, m which the river lamprey may not be found. The ety- mology of the name petromyzon, is found in two Greek words, signifying to suck a stone. Usually, its color is a dark olive on the back, 74 PETROMYZON. but with a light yellowish tinge on the abdomen. The first dorsal fin, like that of the sea lamprey, is separated from the second. To all intents and pur- poses, it is the same fish, — having the character- istic two large teeth, only it is found in ponds and streams so remote from the ocean, that it is next to impossible that it should have had, within cen- turies, any intercourse with the sea, though that is the original seat of their ancestry. Birds, in their rapid flights from one section of a country to another, have not only distributed the eggs of fishes and the seeds of plants, but even the living animals themselves. It is in this way, that we are obliged to account, for example, for the ap- pearance of a lamprey in a small pool, hundreds of miles from the ocean, which has no communica- tion, whatever, with running streams. ‘The wad- ing birds, as the heron, might swallow one of these animals, whose vitality is of so low an order, that it is not necessary for them to breathe a mouthful of water, even for many hours, — and convey it in its intestinal tube, three hundred miles, and if it were voided, where such carnivorous birds would be most disposed to rest, the fish would recover any temporary injury by the journey, — and if it were pregnant, the race would be propagated, and thus the waters of the interior of the country, be- come stocked by a new family of aquatic be- ings. PETROMYZON. 75 Such is the power of life, that it completely re- sists, for a long time, the gastric juice of the stom- ach. Repeated observations are on record, by credible eye-witnesses, who have seen birds of prey, swallow an eel, that escaped, unharmed, in a few minutes. Nor is this so very strange, when _it is recollected that the intestine is very short and large, and that the imprisoned fish has prodigious strength, in proportion to its weight, and above all the rest, coated with a mucous, so slippery, that the grip of a strong man’s hand, cannot hold one fast. ~ On some of the highest points of the green moun- tam, between Massachusetts and New York, in those small basins of water which are formed be- tween different eminences, lobsters are not only numerous, but really and truly formed, precise- ly like those of the ocean, yet they rarely exceed two inches in length. The question at once arises, how came these animals in that locality, if the ova of the lobster were not conveyed there by some bird?) The fresh water, together with the climate of those high regions, have prevented the full de- velopment of those miniature lobsters, though in character, habit and anatomical structure, there is the most perfect resemblance :— and were the ova from the family on the mountain, placed under favorable circumstances, in the borders of 76 PETROMYZON. the sea,we have no doubt that the progeny would be as large, in one or two generations, as any spe- cimens which are exhibited from the ocean. Occasionally, this lamprey may be seen in broad day, in a clear spot of still water, in a bend of the river, with its mouth firmly fixed to’ a stone— while its body gently waves in the water. The mouth, indeed, is surrounded by a ring, which they can enlarge or diminish at pleasure. When thus adhering by the lips, by suction, for hours togeth- er, they do not breathe: in order to exercise the gills, they must first let go the hold and close the jaws suddenly, to propel the volume through the lateral apertures. The Montreal Courant says, “On Wednesday last a large sturgeon was observed to leap from the water into a canoe lying at the island in the port, opposite the foot of St. Joseph-street. Im- mediately means were taken to secure the fish, which, when taken, was found to have two lam- preys, about seven inches in length, sticking to its body, one on the top of the head, and the other on the insertion of the large fin next the gills. There cannot be a doubt but the fish, in its ago- nies and efforts to get rid of the lampreys, sprung out of the water with such violence as to precipi- tate it into the canoe in its descent. The pecu- liar construction of the- mouths of lampreys, show PETROMYZON. - 77 how powerfully they can attach themselves to any substance, and seem expressly constructed to give them a powerful suction ; nor is the rapacity of these fishes less than their power of laying hold of their prey ; for when kept some time out of the water, and again placed near the sturgeon, they seized it a second time with much eagerness. The sturgeon measured three feet eight inches; his lit- tle tormenters not a sixth partof his length, nor a sixteenth of his weight.” These are considered excellent eating, in most places, but on what account, we cannot understand, since, if possible, their external appearance is more forbidding than many other chondroptery gious fish- es, which are held in utter abhorrence. Stewed lampreys, in England, was a dish once held in high estimation. King Henry I. died of a surfeit, in consequence of eating too heartily of this favorite dainty. Inthe reign of Henry IV.,says a writer in the Conversations Lexicon, so highly were they esteem- ed, “‘ that protection was granted to such vessels as might bring them in ; and his successor issued a warrant to William of Nantes, for supplying him and his army with this article of food, wherever they might happen to march.” In severe weather, the lamprey endeavors to hide in deep places among the rocks, — but the 78 PETROMYZON. fishermen, by extending pits, communicating with the ocean, into which blood is thrown, entice them into the spots where they stand in readiness to capture them. ) Some suppose the lamprey of Rome was of an- other genus, the murenophis.* Pliny informs us that Lucullus had fish ponds in the vicinity of Na- ples, of such vast extent, that after the death of the owner, the fish in them sold for 4,000,000 ses- terces, — equal the sum of $170,000. One Hir- rius had a pond exclusively for his lampreys, — and so ample was his stock, that on a certain occa- sion, when Cesar made a grand entertamment, he furnished him with six thousand. The celebrated orator, Hortensius, owned one, which seems to have been a particular favorite, for it is said “ that he wept bitterly,’ when it was dead. Antonia, the wife of Drusus, exhibited her affection for one of them, by ornamenting it with jewels, but we are not informed how they were put on. Its bite was, in those days, considered poisonous, but no such opin- ions are entertained in this age; or if they are, they are unfounded. “Annually, the city of Gloucester, we are told, but for what reason, we have not been able to as- * Several writers refer to the Gymnothorax, which was in such estimation with the Romans. History relates the curi- ous circumstance of a Roman lady going into mourning on ac count of the death of a favorite murena. PETROMYZON. 9 _ certain, at Christmas, used to present a lamprey- eel pie to the king. Much is said by the old wri- ters, of the Roman eel, which nearly resembled the species under consideration. Reservoirs were constructed, on a magnificent scale, by the opulent, where the lampreys were made so docile, by reg- ular feeding, as to rise to the surface when called. Pliny relates, as a fact, that one Vedious Pollio, a particular friend of Augustus, took delight in throw- ing his slaves into the eel vats, for the pleasure of seeing them torn to pieces and devoured. On a particular occasion, the emperor honored Pollio with his company, at a brilliant entertainment, at which a slave unfortunately happened to break a costly crystal vase. ‘The unfeeling master, ina - paroxysm of fury, exclaimed to the other attend- ants, — ‘‘ away with him to the murene.” The poor wretch, all but dead with horror, fell at the feet of the emperor, beseeching that he might be permitted to die some death lest terrible! Aston- ished at the sudden and strange circumstance, Au- gustus made speedy inquiry into this extraordinary mode of punishment, and when he fully understood the savage cruelty, disposition and practice, of Pol- lio, ordered, at once, all the remaining vessels bro- ken before his face : —directed the reservoirs to be filled up, — gave, freedom to the pleading slave, and only consented to spare the life of the murder- er, his master, in consideration of his former regard. 4 80 SQUALIDES. ORDER II1.—CELACHII. SQUALIDES. SHarks have no bones like those of the second class of fishes ; they are elastic, cartilaginous por- tions, embraced by numerous muscles. ‘The bran- chie are pectinated, — the openings quite numer- ous, without gill covers, and the palate and post- mandibulary bones are studded with teeth. They have pectoral and ventral fins, — but the last is placed backwards, on the abdomen. While some are viviparous, others are oviparous, — and all the males may be identified by appendages at the in- ternal margin of the ventral fins. ‘Phough these are the indications of the sex, their use is totally unknown. GEN. SCYLLIAM. Sea-Doc, — Scyituium Canicuna, — le chein de mer, of which we have a well preserved specimen, four feet in length. It follows the perch, when they first make their appearance in the spring, in the margin of deep water. It has aremarkable metal- lic color, like crude antimony. ‘The teeth are ve- ry small, giving the sensation to the finger ofa coarse rasp; its body is slender, the head flat, — the nose long and pomted:—the eyes much re- SCYLLIUM. 81 sembling the cats, are placed low, towards the snout. Beside the above marks, it will be recog- nised by an anal fin, exactly opposite the space SEA DOG. which is between the two dorsals. When the dead body is handled, it is as flexible as a whip- lash,— tough and leathery. Though we know nothing with certainty of its habits, it probably possesses all the traits of character, peculiar to the order. Scyitiium Catrutus, — a little shark, very sim- ilar to the preceding, only about eighteen inches long. Its color is that of ashes— having shades ofa red tinge, when first drawn from the water, on the sides, towards the corners of the mouth. ‘The mouth, in this, is small, and shaped much like a horse-shoe,—— but so completely underside the head, further back than the eyes, that it is strange they can apply the jaws at all, to hold their prey. One of these miniature sharks, the past season, was drawn into a pleasure boat, by a gentleman 6 82 SQUALIDES. fishing for cod,that quite frightened his associates by its spiteful snappings. Doe-Fisu, — Squalus Canis. A manifest dif- ference is observable between the sea-dog and the true dog-fish, the first, which has been described, more nearly resembles the blue shark, whereas, the latter, so far as it regards anatomical structure, approximates the sea-wolf,— in having a long, stiff, dorsal fin, hard, conical, irregular teeth, a rough skin, which, when dry, is used by cabmet makers for polishing wood, and by surgical instrument ma- kers, for covering cases. It is a spiteful, voracious, cartilaginous shark, — very muscular, and the eternal enemy of the cod, — getting possession of the feeding ground, some seasons, to the great loss of the fishermen. Yn 1831, they were so uncommonly numerous, that the cod-fishery was attended with immense loss. The dog-fish is so familiarly known along the en- tire coast of the United States, that it is quite un- necessary to be minute in the description. GEN. CARCHARIAS. Waite Suarx,— Carcharias Vulgaris. All sharks are a solitary, rapacious, blood-thirsty spe- cies of animal, carrying slaughter and certain de- struction, wherever they go. They are, as respects their own element, precisely. what the Bengal CARCHARIAS. : a3 tiger is in India,— the most insidious and cruel, of all the inhabitants of the great deep. Of all oth- ers, the white shark is the most terrific, and therefore regarded by mariners with peculiar dread. WHITE SHARK. White sharks cannot be said to be very common on this coast ; vessels, in approaching the land, oc- casionally discover one of these huge devourers, gently gliding through the water, in the wake of - the rudder. Usually the color is a light ash, hence its name, though it is by no means always of that shade. On the back, as with nearly all fishes, the skin is quite dark ; the tail has three lobes; teeth exceedingly numerous,— and the body, when fully grown, from twenty to thirty feetlong. In trop- ical climates, however, it attains its greatest size. Fossil teeth of a shark, to which family the one under consideration belongs, are found at Malta, measuring four and a halfinches from the point tothe base, and 84 SQUALIDES. six inches from the point to the angle. All the fossil bones of the antediluvian races, which have been discovered, show that the primitive animals were of far greater magnitude than those of the present time. Perhaps there is no subject of deep- _ er interest to the naturalist, than this curious fact, sustained by the exhibition of entire skeletons, in the cabinets of this country and Europe. These prove, conclusively, that those which preceded the present occupants of the soil, were truly gigan- tic. The perfect bones of a lizard, sixty feet in length ;—the teeth, skulls, and vertebre of the mastadon, as well as some others, will ever re- main objects of wonder and astonishment. Were those moving mountains of flesh, proportioned to the products of the earth? and if so, and they were permitted to roam over the globe, what physical change in the constitution of the world, rendered it necessary to drive entire species utter- ly from existence, by a sudden and terrible des- olation? After the deluge, the animals which were distributed over the continent of Asia, seem to have been diminished in form, and thouch, in process of time, exceedingly numerous, the ag- gregate, apparently, is better proportioned to the amount of sustenance, yielded by the soil. How these observations will apply to the Water, we are not prepared to say. ‘The whale CARCHARIAS. - 85 is probably as large as the primitive whales, but those animals which were certainly on the dry land once, corresponding in bulk and power to those in the ocean, no longer have a being. - But to return ; — the white shark, in his wide, dilatable jaws, has six rows of sharp, triangular teeth, which can be raised or depressed by appro- priate muscles, at pleasure. Its velocity is such, that nothing seems to be able to escape, and its greediness is never to be satisfied. By one gripe of the jaws, they can cut a man in two. A red hot cannon ball is sometimes lowered over the side to one of these disagreeable followers of a ship, which the seaman has the satisfaction of seeing the shark receive, into his yawning throat.. At the pearl fisheries of South America, where white sharks are numerous, visiting the mighty cav- erns in the rocks, the water being so clear, that a small object may be seen at considerable distance, the divers, familiar with the character of the mon- ster, in their descents for the oyster, are obliged to go armed, in self defence. For this purpose, some carry a long sharp knife. As the shark’s mouth is placed somewhat under the head, he endeavors to get over his intended victim, and if he discovers no disposition in the Indian to move, gently settles down over him with his horrible mouth widely 86 SQUALIDES. extended. With the coolness of a philosopher, the instant he is near enough to be reached, the diver plunges the knife into his vitals. A very mgenious mode, which is practised, says a writer, from whom these observations have been principally extract- ed, is for the diver to carry down with him four or five hard wood sticks, about two feet long, sharpened at both ends. In case he is likely to be disturbed in his search for the oyster, by the visit of this king of sharks, he thrusts one of the sticks between his jaws, as he is in the act of closing them. This props them asunder, and the force with which they are brought to act on the stick, securely pins both ends into the bones, — and away he goes, without the possibility of a remedy. Instances have been known of an Indian, who was so sharply set upon, that he gave away three sticks in succession, before quitting his dangerous post. At the Marquesas Islands, where this shark abounds, the natives swim in the midst of them quite fearlessly ; and the only reason why more of them are not devoured, must be the peculiar ease with which they are supplied with large fish. Whenever, however, a native is so un- happy as to be caught by one of them, his associates never exert themselves in the least, to extricate him, because it is a common matter of belief there, that sharks never seize any CARCHARIAS. 87 but the wicked — or transgressors of law, and therefore the man deserves to die. _. A gentleman of our acquaintance informed us, that he saw a young girl swimming from a Boston © vessel, waiting to receive a cargo of sandal wood, with a heavy bar of iron on her shoulder, which she had contrived to steal from the deck. She swam under water a considerable distance, before coming up for breath, but the moment she was seen, the boats put off, with the expectation of recovering the bar. Just as the boats were so near that she was fear- ful of being struck with an oar, which was raised by a man in the bow, she plunged a second time — _ the boats pursued the track, but as she came up to the surface, still holding the iron, a “‘ mighty white shark swallowed her at one effort ; — the veloci- ty towards his object being so great, that as he rolled upward, the girl was driven down his throat.” He also saw a shark seize a man by the leg, just below the knee, who, at the instant, being just ashore, grasped a projecting stone on the beach. The Shark drew with all ‘its might, but the man held on, screaming most piteously for aid, but, although many of his comrades were near, no one came to his assistance. His leg was dreadfully lacerated, and the bone crushed : ~ in that con- as SQUALIDES. dition he was exhausted by the loss of blood, and the shark gained its object. West India negroes, sometimes show a fearless dexterity in diving in among these sharks, with keen knives, purposely for the pleasure of butch- ering them. On the coast of California, the In- dians, occasionally sustain extraordinary combats with the same species, for the amusement of Eu- ropean spectators. Notwithstanding the ferocity, and apparently in- satiable appetite of the white shark, it is said they will not touch a fowl having the feathers on. In the history of Barbadoes, and in the relations of voyagers to the South Sea Islands, all that 1s shocking in the history of this creature may be found. : . In the records of Aix, a seaport of France, in the Mediterranean Sea, is the account of a shark, taken by the fishermen, twentytwo feet long, in whose stomach, among other undigested remains, was the headless body of a man, encased in com- plete armor. =~ 3 A friend has sent us the following note — for the truth of which he is ready to pledge his repu- tation. «Some years ago, a young gentleman going passenger to the Island of Jamaica, when near the port of destination, was drowned. A short time CARCHARIAS. 89 after, the uncle of the gentleman was on board a vessel in that region, the crew of which caught a large shark. On opening him, a common prac- tice of sailors, in the stomach they found, among other things, a gold watch, chain and _ seals, which being examined, were at once recognised by the uncle as the very same he had given his nephew, at the time of sailing.” The esophagus of this despot of the sea, is so capacious, that a full sized man can readily be ta- ken down whole. We possess, in acollection, the dried jaws, which, opened, like the clasp ofa purse, will admit the shoulders of an adult person. This fact, of the width and extensibility of the throat, has given rise to an opinion that this was the fish that swallowed Jonah. But we neither believe, nor infer from the de- claration in the sacred narrative, any such ridicu- lous supposition. ‘The words are these, viz :— ‘“‘ Now the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah.” Such is the anatomical structure of the teeth, in all the larger varieties of shark, with which naturalists are conversant, that nothing can be very conveniently extracted from the stomach, through the esophagus, which has once been ad- mitted there. Like the entrance of a mouse-trap, there is free admission, but no possible retreat. ‘This mechan- 90 SQUALIDES. ism is particularly necessary in the economy of the | shark, — obliged by the law of its nature to sub- sist on living animals, — which, were it not for the singular provision in pointing all the teeth backward, and the prickly spines in the gullet, di- rected the same way, would escape almost as soon as swallowed. 3 The same mechanical arrangement is noticeable in the throats of all the serpents: the teeth are not for mastication, but solely for holding and pre- venting the escape of the prey. We therefore place implicit confidence in the biblical account, that God created a fish, expressly to accom- plish the miracle of swallowing, and subsequent- ly ejecting the undutiful prophet upon the dry land. : - Pliny’s close observation may be inferred, from a statement he makes, that the shark turns on its back to bite, unless it settles over the ob- ject, — an observation corroborated by succeeding writers. | The tail being a powerful organ of destruction, as soon as the animal is drawn on the deck of a ves- sel, the seamen usually cut it off immediately, with an axe. When the skin is nicely manufactured, a kind of . leather is made, called shagreen, used in covering mathematical and surgical instrument cases. CARCHAREAS. 9] Buve Suarx,— Carcharias Glaucus. Blue sharks seem to be universally distributed over the world: navigators have never penetrated a sea in which they were not seen. ‘They have a some- what slender body, of a deep slate blue, on the back and sides, but the color is considerably light- er under the pectoral fins and abdomen. They have, beside, a long, pointed snout, a bilobed tail, of which the lower one is the longest. Usually, they average from seven to fourteen feet in length. Vessels are followed by this shark, sometimes, hundreds of leagues, without cessation. Seamen af- firm that it is exceedingly greedy of human flesh. This opinion has arisen, probably, from the circum- stance that the species is so widely diffused, that a body is scarcely lowered into the water, in any latitude, before some of these voracious Bedouins of the sea make their appearance. ‘Elian assures us that when their young are in danger, they rush down the throat of the mother for security. ‘The young of this species are hatch- ed from the egg, in the coiled oviducts of the fe- male, and therefore, when expelled, are not only alive, but exhibit, instantly, their natural character, by seizing with their tmy mandibles, anything that comes in their way. To each young one, is suspended, by the um- bilical cord, a sack, in which is enclosed the yolk \ 92 SQUALIDES. of the egg from which they had their being. This highly nutritious substance is slowly absorbed through the duct, into the stomach, and finally, the cord shrinks and drops off. By the time this curious process is completed, adverted to in the physiological proem, the teeth are sufficiently developed to hold the prey they may overcome. ‘To those who often witness this appendage to young sharks, in calms, at sea, this explanation, we trust, will be satisfactory. During the excessive heat of summer, attracted by the odor of the floating offals from a port, it is no uncommon circumstance for them to penetrate into the docks. ‘Their sense of smell is admitted to be exceedingly acute, or they never would pursue vessels for such long periods together, when per- sons on board are laboring under putrid diseases. When they have attained the object of pursuit, by unceasing perseverance, the chase is at once given up. Bathing, therefore, in the warm season at low tide, in the vicinity of wharves, is certainly an ex- posure, though it may so happen that a series of years may elapse without any unpleasant occur- rence from such a source. A year since, while a lad was fishing in a small boat, in the outer harbor of Newport, R. I., his CARCHARIAS. 93 boat was attacked in a most ferocious manner by a shark. ‘After the first attack, the shark leaped from the ocean into the boat, which, from his flouncing he would have sunk, had not another boat, near at hand, come to the relief of the boy. With great difficulty the monster was killed. He measured eight feet in length, was of the most ferocious kind of sharks, called by mariners man- eater. He weighed between three and four hun- dred. : The Newburyport Herald relates an occurrence ~ which happened in Rowley, not long since. Mr. David Pickard, who was on the marshes, by a nar- row creek, near the mouth of Rowley river, saw a large fish —a shark, as he supposed — making up the creek, with his back above water. Being pro- vided with a gun, he discharged it at the creature, when it.made a monstrous leap, and deposited its huge bulk high and dry upon the land. It meas- ured nine feet in length. The following fact, published in 1831, on the au- thority of Captain Clark, of the brig Stranger, from St Bartholomews, will corroborate the testi- mony of naturalists, in relation te what has been said of the mode of bringing forth its young, —so different from most other aquatic tribes. _ “ Having caught a shark, nine feet long, it was opened on deck, and found to contain fiftytwo 94 SQUALIDES. young ones — each of which measured seventeen inches in length, and all were very exactly of the same size.” ) During the year 1831, a man was attacked in his boat by a shark, overcome and devoured ; in the Bay of Boston. In “The Life of a Sailor,” is a narrative of the wreck of a vessel off the Havana. The crew took to the boat, which upset ; they succeeded in right- ing it, and while two men were bailing with their hats, a shark was seen to approach. No lan- guage can convey an idea of the panic which seiz- » ed the struggling seamen. Every man now strove the more to obtain a moment’s safety. Well they knew that one drop of blood would be scented by the everlasting pilot fish, the jackall of the shark ; and that their destruction was inevit- able, if one only of these monsters should discover the rich repast, or be led to its food by the little rapid hunter of its prey. | A few minutes after, about fifteen sharks came right among them. ‘The boat was again upset by the simultaneous endeavor to escape danger, and the twentytwo sailors were again devoted to destruction. At first, the sharks did not seem in- clined to seize their prey, but swam in among the men, playing in the water, sometimes leaping about and rubbing against their victims. This was CARCHARIAS. 95 of short duration. A loud shriek from one of the men announced his sudden pain ; a shark had seiz- ed him by the leg, and severed it entirely from the body. No sooner had the blood been tasted, than the dreaded attack took place: another’ and another shriek proclaimed the loss of limbs. Some were torn from the boat, to which they vainly endeav- ored to cling — some, it was supposed, sunk from fear alone. The sharks had tasted the blood, and were not to be driven from their feast. By great exertion, again the boat was righted, and two men were in her; the rest had all perished. 'The two survivors resolved, with gallant hearts, to redouble their exertions. ‘They lightened the boat sufh- ciently not to be overset. The voracious monsters endeavored to upset the boat; they swam by its side, m seeming anxiety for their prey ; but after waiting some time, they separated. ‘The two rescued seamen, in spite of the horrors they had witnessed, soon fell asleep, - and were the next day fortunately picked up by a vessel. Fox Suark, or THrasHer, — Came Vul- es. Perhaps no class of sea stories are more common than accounts of combats between the thrasher and the whale, — the latter of which, is always said to be beaten most cruelly by the ¢ S6 SQUALIDES. thrasher. We apprehend, however, that there is some mistake in these supposed battles. The thrasher may always be known from all other varieties, by the upper lobe of the tail, which is as long as the entire body. Generally, the thrasher averages from nine to fourteen feet. They are seen on our coast very often, in the summer, running with great swiftness, —the tip of the long tail fin cutting the water. GEN. ZYGANA. Hammer-Heapep Suarx, — Zygena Vulgaris. Shovel-headed shark, is another name, by which this remarkably constructed fish is known to American HAMMER-HEADED SHARK. seamen. But little time since, a sailor offered one, recently caught, for sale, which he wheeled through the streets of Boston, on a barrow, attracting erowds of people, who gazed upon it in perfect wonder. ZYG ANA. OF The head, from which particular part it obtains its vulgar name, is comparatively thin— and re- sembles, in relation to the body, a brick, laid across the head of a fish. Such, indeed, is the structure, that the eyes are ten, twenty, and twentyfive inch- es apart, according to the size of the body, — pre- cisely as it respects each other, as it would be if an eye were placed -in each end of the brick. Without a drawing, however, it is utterly impossi- ble to form a right conception of its curious form. The body is brown on the back, —though gene- rally partaking of the leaden, the prevailing color ofall the sharks. The species under examination, in writing this article, has a falcate first dorsal fin, on the rise of the back, and a second, quite small, near the end of the tail: —the entire length is short of nine feet. Surely, if anything in animal organization, seems like the result of some sport of nature, the hammer-headed shark is an instance of it. If the body of a large flounder, deprived of its head and tail, were laid across the head of a blue shark, it would somewhat resemble the gluing on of the head to the body. ‘The eyes are at such a distance, - that at first view, one is led to suppose it a mon- strous production. It has been conjectured that the eyes, from bemg 7 °98 SQUALIDES. lodged at the extremities of the cartilaginous wings, as it were, of the skull, can be approximated on the under side, so that the fish may look into its own mouth, far back, on the under side, even un- der the thick substance of the neck. Careful ex- amination, however, on a recently caught, flexible shark, convinces us satisfactorily, that no such ef- fect'can be produced. By some authors, it is called the balance-fish ; because it is said to balance in the water, as though the centre of the body were supported on a pivot, while the head and tail, alternately, as- cend and descend. Others give the appellation of sea-mallet, from the resemblance which the body has to the handle ofa mallet, inserted into the trans- versely laid head. This mallet head is gently curved in front, and brought quite to an edge, so that it will cut its way with ease throuch the water. The eye very much resembles that of the horse, being nearly of the same dimensions. Ina dried specimen of a young one, four feet long, the eyes present a hard shell, showing that they were calculated for deep water. In the mouth is found a liberal supply of four rows of teeth, lancet-shap- ed, and serrated on their edges. Scarcely a season passes by, im which fine spe- cimens are not taken in the vicinity of Nahant, about the Cape, &c. ZYG BNA, 99 In 1805, three powerful shovel-nosed sharks, ‘were taken in a net, at Sagharbor. The largest was eleven feet in length. On open- ing him, many detached parts of a man were found in the abdomen, which were collected and buried. A striped shirt, patched, was also taken from the stomach. Very opportunely, while writing, Captain Knott Martin, on a return voyage from Cape Hayti, has presented us with a fine specimen of a young one of this species, only two feet and one inch in length ; one inch and a half in diameter : —the eyes are five inches apart, and in the flexible jaws is a den- tal apparatus, truly frightful. There can be no doubt, from the exhibition of muscular strength, this shark makes prodigious slaughter in appeasing its voracious appetite. » Mr Fitzwilliam, an English gentleman, recent- ly from Malta, has politely forwarded us the fol- lowing note, with other interesting matter on natu- ral history, illustrative of the character and habits of the shovel-nosed shark. ‘¢ While lying at anchor near the Bell Buoy, in the Isle of France, we were surrounded with nu- merous sharks, of the shovel-nosed species, — two of which appeared of so enormous a size, that we ; determined, if possible, to catch them. Our hooks were baited with four-pound pieces of pork, but 100 SQUALIDES. these appeared too small morsels for our voracious customers, — and for two days we were unsuc- cessful. “A young goat happening to die at this time, it was immediately fastened on a hook for a bait; it had not been overboard many seconds, when one of the sharks was seen to approach, smell of it, turn on his back, and in a trice, swallow it. After considerable difficulty, we hoisted this monster on board, in doing which, with a stroke of his tail, he shivered the bulwarks near him, into a thousand splinters ; and it was, indeed, with great difficulty we despatched him, even though the tail was imme- diately chopped off to prevent further damage to the property on deck. He measured eighteen feet in length. “Tt was now suggested, it would be worth while to bait another hook, with the entrails of the first captive. Ina few minutes the hook was in readi- ness, and a second shark was taken, which was longer and larger than the other, to appearance ; but it was so violent in its struggles, that it suc- ceeded in snapping off the chain, attached to the hook, and escaped. | “'The jaws of the one we saved, when cleaned, were so large as to be slipped over the body of a man. From the liver, alone, were procured more than ten gallons of oil.” SELACHE 101 Zygaena Tiburo, belonging to this family, hav- ing warty spots, is also occasionally taken by the fishermen, — dried specimens of which may be found in the museums. The color is much like the one in the preceding article, though, if any- thing, the head is sharper—and the skin, be- tween the pectoral fins, near the region of the branchie, is of a clear white, — shading into a yellowish tinge towards the tail. GEN. SELACHE. Basxine SuHarx,— Selache Maximus. Be- tween the head and body, there is not a good proportion, —the first bemg comparatively small and snake like. When the branchial openings are thrown asunder, from running almost round the neck, they give the animal the appearance of having its throat cut by several deep incisions. The color of the skin is nearly that of sheet lead ; — one large dorsal fin, shaped like a ploughshare, rises on the back ; —the teeth are small and sharp, and in vast numbers. On _ this codst, they have been captured, measuring thirty feet, usually the harpoon is the surest-method of securing them. A few years since, at the time the appearance of the sea-serpent produced so much excitement in the vicinity of Gloucester, a party of gentlemen from Boston, armed for successful combat, with © 102 SQUALIDES. that emperor of serpents, fell in, we have been informed, in the course of their excursion, with one of these harmless, lazy fishes. Its dimensions were so colossal, as to induce some to believe, by the aid of a little imagination, that this was the mighty leviathan, which had been magnified into. a tremendous snake, one hundred feet long. The existence, however, of such a creature as the ser- pent has been described to be, by the most unob- jectionable evidence, is proved as clearly and con- clusively, as human testimony can establish any truth. : From a careful examination of the digestive or- gans, there being an unusually long intestinal tube, it is conceded by naturalists, that the basking shark feeds on vegetable food entirely, and therefore, unless unreasonably excited, is a peaceably dispos- ed, harmless, inoffensive being. Beside the track of intestine, within its calibre, there is curious provision for retammg the con- tents, till all the nutritious matter is completely extracted. ‘This consists of a valve,—or to make it more clearly understood, the inner plate is precisely like a winding stair-case, or the twist of a screw-auger ; thus, instead of passing down freely, and unobstructed ; by this arrangement of the screw, the food is kept rolling over a vast surface of absorbent vessels. SELACHE. 103 Because this shark seems to delight in lying upon the surface, basking in the hot sunshine, the name of basking shark has been given it, by common consent. Though really formidable in appearance, by the concurrent testimony of mari- ners, it is allowed to be a dull, unsuspecting, harm- less creature. INTESTINE OF THE BASKING SHARK.* This disposition must depend, to some extent, on the quality of its aliment, which is altogether marine plants. How far the habits of this animal * Stomach of the basking shark laid open, and the coats of the intestine dissected entirely away, inorder to exhibit the valvular structure within. A. The cardiac orifice of the stomach. BB. The converging muscular fibres about the pylorus, or lower opening of the organ. C. The commencement of the winding valve, as it is term- ed, — which is a continuous shelf, like a flight of winding stairs, jutting from the inner circumference towards the cen- tre. D. refers to the width of the valvule conniventes. 104 SQUALIDES. will warrant a comparison with the description that is given in the book of Job, of the Behe- moth, we leave to others to judge. “ Behold now the Behemoth, which I made with thee ; he eateth grass as an ox.” That the structure within, is upon the simple plan of the digestive organs of herbiverous quad- rupeds, must be admitted by those who study com- parative anatomy. Beza, and others, learned in the history of the sacred writings, contend that the Leviathan, was a crocodile, which was the opinion of Bochart ; but we can discover nothing in the description of that formidable monster, that bears any more re- semblance to it than the basking shark ; which an- swers the precise figure of the Behemoth ; in the whole Bible the word crocodile does not once occur. Pennant informs us that they swim with such rapidity and violence, that there has been an in- stance of a vessel of seventy tons having been towed away by one of them, against the wind, by the irons lodged in its body. It is further said of the Behemoth, ‘“ His bones are as strong pieces of brass ; his bones are like bars of iron.” As far south as New Jersey, they have been taken, of greater dimensions, than at the north. By good authority, we have been told of one or PLATYSOMI. 105 two, that measured not far from forty feet in length. Within the mouth a kind of whalebone is peal- ed out, which has also given it the name. of the whalebone shark. On the best authori- ty, itis said they are viviparous,— the young, a foot long having been taken out of the bodies of the females. Simply the liver, has weighed a thousand pounds, in some of the large ones, caught on the northern coasts of Europe, — yielding a profitable quantity of oil, for which purpose they are sought.. Not appearing to be very timid or susceptible, they will-lie perfectly quiet, till the imtrepid har- pooneer, who has approached him cautiously, drives the instrument of death into the vital regions, before he begins to move with the warp. GEN. TORPEDO. Torpepo —Tue “Numsine Fisu,”— Torpedo Vulgaris. 'That a variety of this remarkable fish has been taken on these northern shores cannot be questioned, though we frankly confess our ina- bility to procure one. Individuals who have ac- companied fishing parties, corroborate the testimo-. ny of those who assert that they have drawn up a strange creature, something like a skate, which they not caring to preserve, or even handle, in at- 4 106 PLATYSOMI. tempting to cut out the hook with a knife, instant- ly felt a strange sensation in the arm, as though a cord had been suddenly drawn round it. As there is a fish known to those who habitu- ally fish, inshore, for a living, the whole year round, as the “‘numbing-fish,” or benum/ing, it is very conclusive that it has been seen : —resembling, somewhat, the skate, it would not be strange if those who accidentally drew them up, should suppose it one of them, particularly if it was jerked from the hook,—acommon mode of disengaging the skate. THE TORPEDO.. ~ The Electric-Ray, or Topedo, is found in most of the European seas, but in Torbay, England, particularly, they are often drawn up in a traul net, with others;—sometimes they catch the hook, and then it is, in handling them, that they exhibit that curious electrical property, which has given them the name of torpedo. Icthyologists describe about twenty species of TORPEDO. 107 the ray, but this, alone, possesses to a consider- able degree, the electrical property. In structure, the torpedo does not seem to differ essentially from the family of rays in general. The electrical or- gans are lodged each side of the gills, — reaching to the cartilages of the great fins. Each lateral battery is about five inches long — being constituted by plates of membrano-cartilaginous’ substance, the interstices of which are filled with a gelatinous fluid. Their color is a dusky brown, — the skin is smooth, the tail short, and the mouth small, with five breathing apertures. The apparatus of the torpedo, is analagous, in character, to that of the gymnotus, or electrical eel of Surmam. In the summer of 1827, Thomas Trask, Esq. American Consul at Surinam, suc- ceeded in bringing a live one to Boston, ina barrel of water. Although we had the best oppor- tunity, two days in succession, for experiment, with extreme regret, we were completely un- successful in getting an electric shock. It was irritated, — roused with iron as well as wood, but there was no exhibition of that power which we hoped to have experienced. Either the new climate, the different kind of water in which it was kept, its being changed daily, or the influence of other causes, deprived it of the faculty of secreting electricity, or its spirit was so subdued, that it was indifferent to stimuli. 108 PLATYSO MI. This eel was a little more than three feet in length, considerably larger than a man’s wrist, and ofa deep slate color. While confined in a vat, on the eve of sailing, Mr Trask ordered four ne- groes to go and put it into the barrel, in which we afterwards saw it, but they were repeatedly pros- trated to the ground in the attempt, declaring that their elbows were broken. General Verveer, a gentleman of great respect- ability, who resided many years in Surinam, as- sured us that he once had an electrical eel, of such extraordinary dimensions, that it was placed in a trough where the cattle were in the habit of go- ing to drink, with reference to sending it abroad ; but some mules being turned loose, went directly to the spot to drmk —and four of them were kill- ed in succession, the moment their noses touched the water. This electricity both in the torpedo and the gymnotus, is entirely under their control,— and was probably bestowed on them for the purpose of overcoming their prey. The eel has no teeth — therefore it has a compensation in the wonderful machine within its own body, by which it can re- peat the benumbing influence till it has gorged the victim on which the power has been exerted. Otherwise, in their habits, they may be considered in the water what the anaconda is on the land. RAIA. 109 GEN. RAIA. Tuornpack,— Raia Clavata. Notwithstand- ing the assertions of some to the contrary, others who have seen the thornback in England, contend that it has been taken on this coast. THE THORNBACK. The body is cineritious, rough, with bony tuber- cles, — each of which is furnished with a hooked spine, —the dorsal row being the longest ; the tail is longer than the body, loaded with three rows of spines. Usually, they are from two to three feet long, when fully grown. We cannot assert positively that we have seen one, yet we have an indistinct recollection of such a circumstance, in the deep- water near Scituate, about eight years ago. SkaTE, — Raia Batis. All the borders of Massachusetts are visited by the skate, some of which are in breadth as much as four or five feet, with a brown body, rough skin, — hay- 110 PLATYSOMI. ing a dirty crust of mucus and mud — anda long tail: it may always be known to those who seek it for cabinets. : THE SKATE. It has five branchial openings on each side, partly concealed by being underneath; two dorsal fins near the root of the tail; small teeth, of a conical form, with broad bases. Males may be known from the females by crooked or hooked spines on the pectoral fins. ‘The ova are brown, cariaceous, and square, having four long arms, giving the egg-shell, which washes upon the beach, the appearance of a hand-barrow. Let it be remembered, that the skate is a broad, thin, flat fish, terrific and disgusting to look upon, — possessing the voracity of the shark, with out its rapidity. Their home is at the bottom, from which, with singularly constructed optics, RAIA. 111 they can look upwards on all that passes over. Cased in a partially bony shell, its edges seem to be eked out by broad gelatinous wings, with which they flap through the water, as a bird uses its wings, in aerial progression. In shoal, calm water, we have often seen them lying at ease on the mud of inlets, varying in size from an inch to five feet. During the months of March and April, the fe males cast their purses, or spawn; from three to five hundred eggs, have been extruded from one of them, at atime. In the Spring, several males may be seen pursuing one female for hours to- gether. Directly before our dwelling, on a warm day in July, as the tide was receding, an unusual splash- ing of water attracted attention, and resulted in the capture of a skate, whose diameter was equal to that of a wagon wheel. When thrown upon a wheel-barrow, a strong man could scarcely push the load before him, to the house. Skates are in less danger of being destroyed, than most other fishes, excepting when young. After having grown to a certain extent, even sharks appear unwilling to attack them ; — hence they are exceedingly numerous. Lobster-men spear the skate, for bait, by boat loads, and in 112 PLATYSOMI. England, the skirts or wing are considered excel- lent eating.* Another reason why sharks do not disturb them, when they become large ; arises, it would seem, from a conscious mability to swallow the morsel. Prowling, says-a writer, at the bottom of the ocean, _ inthe dark caverns beyond the ken of human _ vision, and in cavities, dark and horrible beyond what the imagination has ever conceived, they, perhaps, continue to grow, till they become mon- sters indeed. As we have no exact knowledge of the period to which the lives of fishes are pro- * No city in the world, is better and more plentifully sup- plied with fish, than London. Turbot and brill are carried there from the coast of Holland; Salmon from the rivers in Scotland and Ireland, —a few howeverare caught in the Thames, — at the mouth of which mackerel and cod fish are taken. In 1828,the following calculation was made of the quantity of fish sold at Billingsgate. Plaise and skates - - - 50,754 bushels. Turbot - - - - - 87,958 “< Fresh Cod if + - - 447,130 se Herrings - - ~ - 3,336,407 ce Haddocks : - - . 482,493 = Mackerel’ - . ~ - 3,076,700 a Fresh Salmon - - < - - 45,446 = Lobsters - - - ; 1,954,600 66 To supply the actual demands of the people with this food, it required 3,827 vessels; the number of fishermen, there- fore, exclusively devoted to this particular business, and sub- servient to that metropolis alone, is truly immense. TRYGON. 113 longed, it is fair to conclude, from the vast dimen- sions of some individuals of this species, that they may live from one century to another. A skate was killed in the vicinity of Guada- loupe, measuring nearly twentyfive feet in length by fourteen in breadth. This fact leads to the suppo- sition that others may yet be discovered, by the side of which this would be a mere pigmy. Time, perhaps, may yet reveal the secret, that the kra- ken, now considered an imaginary being, so viv- ‘idly pictured by bishop Pontoppidan, whose back, rising above the surface, resembles an island, is nothing more nor less, than one of these mon- strous productions. TRYGON. Stine Ray,— Trygon Pastinaca. Occasion- ally, but by no means very frequently, the sting- THE STING RAY. ray is taken with a hook, in fishing in about thirty 8 114 STURIONES. 5 fathoms of water. 'The body is of an oval form, of an olive color, and smooth. It has a sharp nose, a small, slender tail, armed with a long ser- rated bone towards its root. Usually, on these shores, it averages from one to two feet in length, and is denominated the saw-tailed skate. ORDER III.—STURIONES. GEN. ACCIPENSER. The fishes of this genus, have the general form of the sharks; but their body, remarks Mr Park, is more or less covered by long prominences, in longitudinal rows. ‘Their eyes and nostrils are on the side of the head, the dorsal fin behind the ventrals, and the anal under it. Sturgeons ascend the rivers from the northern seas, at certain sea- sons, in vast numbers, and their fishery, therefore, becomes an object of peculiar importance. STURGEON, —- Accipenser Sturio, isan anadro- mous, subtle fish, solitary in its habits, voracious, and when fully grown, of prodigious size and pow- er. On this coast, the sturgeon is often seen, leap- ing from the water, but is not often taken. / / ACCIPENSER. 115 It seems to delight, particularly, in lying about the estuaries of rivers, into which it frequently pen- etrates, hundreds of miles, returnmg to the ocean again, as the supply of food fails, or the formation of ice commences, in northern latitudes. Its abid- ing place is not at sea, but always on the border of the ocean, where muddy bottoms predomi- nate. Without teeth, it snaps at its prey most vigor- ously, and rarely fails of overcoming the object of its choice, either by artifice, or dint of extraordi- THE STURGEON. nary strength. Between the end of the snout and mouth are four cirri, resembling the tendrils ofa vine, or earth worms, which the sturgeon exhibits to other fishes, much to its own advantage. Belonging to the cabinet of the Boston Society of Natural History, is the bill or spatula of the spoon-bill sturgeon, of the Ohio River, which is really a curiosity. Being divested of the skin, it presents an osseous blade, three and a half inches wide, at the further extremity, and two feet and one 116 STURIONES. inch long, including some portion of the head, — gently curved at the end, like a spoon handle. It is a complete web of bony fibres, running in every direction, apparently in the wildest confu- sion, yet its strength and elasticity entirely depend on this peculiar structure. Dr Hildreth, of Marietta, says that this is also called the paddle-nosed sturgeon, — the Polyodon Feuillé of Lacipede, and the Spatularia of some other writers. -The sturgeon from which this spatula was taken, was speared at Letart’s Falls, in June, 1830, a few miles above Pomeroy’s coal bank, Meig’s county, 260 miles below Pittsburg, and weighed forty pounds. At the great falls of Lawrenceville, the same fish is called the Ozll-fish. For particulars, see Silliman’s Journal, Vol. xu, No 2. Settling itself into the soft ooze, with its head towards the current,— the sturgeon allows the cirri to float, just above its nose, — and there it patiently waits, till some fish, allured by the sight of the buoyant tendrils, — dives to pick them up, when the crafty deceiver pounces on its unsuspect- ing prey, with unfailing success. In summer only, the sturgeon is seen in Boston harbor, from six to nine feet in length, leaping from the water. The force with which it propels itself towards an object on the surface, carries it ACCIPENSER. 117 completely out. Itis said, but with how much truth, is not easy to determine, that it does not hesitate to leap out in order to fall on other marine _ annals, for the purpose of overcoming them by its weight. In this way we are continually hearing of their falling into boats, when the weather is calm. In the Middletown Conn. Gazette, of July, 1831, is an interesting acccunt of a sturgeon, weighing one hundred and eighty six pounds, which unceremoniously sprang into a small boat, bound from that place to Rocky Hill, and m the fall broke an oar and one of the seats. Says the Hartford Courant, in the summer of 1830,—‘ Last Saturday afternoon, as sundry per- sons were employed in painting the hull of the schooner Exact, now lying at our wharf, they were suddenly interrupted in their labor by an ab- rupt and unceremonious visit from one of the in- habitants of the river. ‘They were standing in a scow which was drawn along side the schooner, surrounded with their paint-pots, and busily plying their brushes, when a sturgeon about seven feet long and three feet in circumference, making his way between the scow and the schooner, where there was just room enough to afford a passage, dashed in among the astonished painters, overturn- ed the pots, mixed their various contents in one mass, and having thus formed a new combination 118 STURIONES of colors, took the busmess into his own hands. Substituting his tail for a brush, he commenced operations on a large scale, and as he flounced about in his new quarters, scattered the paint in every direction, spreading it over the side of the vessel and scow, and not omitting to bestow a lib- eral coat on the painters themselves. He was not long permitted, however, to display his skill in his new line of business, for the painters not relishing this species of monopoly, commenced a united as- sault on their new competitor, and nani him without mercy.” No account is made of them, as food, owing, perhaps, in some measure, to their scarcity, in this vicinity ; but at New York, and particularly at Albany, they were once esteemed. In Europe, the sturgeon is much prized, being variously pre- pared by smoking, pickling and drying. In this country, the sturgeon fishery appears to be wholly neglected, though formerly, vast quan- tities were taken in Virginia. In the cold regions of Russia, the sturgeon is considered delicious; thousands upon thousands of tons are salted in bar- rels for exportation. The Danube, Volga and Don, are among the most famous sturgeon localities in the world. We are assured by a traveller, that a grand dinner can- not be given in Russia, without sterlet, accipenser ACUIPENSER. 119 ruthemus, a small species of sturgeon. ‘‘ When brought alive in summer, from Archangel to Mos- cow and St Petersburg, they have been known to cost frorn five hundred to a thousand roubles each. A soup prepared from the sturgeon, commingled with the most expensive wines, according to the same narrator, has cost three thousand roubles.” In the time of the Emperor Severus, the stur- geon was considered so much of a royal dish, that it was carried to the table by servants adorned with coronets, and escorted by musicians. Thismay have been the origin of a ceremony once practised in Lon- don, on lord-mayor’s day, — the mayor elect be-’ ing obliged to present the king or his proxy with a platter of sturgeon. _ In English Law it is still considered as exclu- sively belonging to the king, — who also is enti- tled by an ancient, grave, parliamentary conces- sion, to all whales which may be cast on the sea- shore of the realm, — to be equally divided be- tween his majesty and his royal spouse ;— the head, as the most noble part, bemg for the king, and the tail for the queen; out of which she was to be supplied with whalebone for making her stays. ‘This was particularly an unfortunate divis- ion for her majesty, as the whole of the article in question is found in the jaws. The Indians of America used their bones, or 120 STURIONES. scales, which are exceedingly hard, for rasps and graters.* Caviare, an excellently flavored, though, perhaps, rather indigestible food, is made of the roes, pressed into hard cakes, about one inch thick, by four square. During the long Lent ofthe Greek church, and the weekly fast days, exceeding in the aggregate, four months, sturgeon is the principal food of all European Russia. It was calculated im 1794, that 1,750,500, yielded 4,366,800 pounds of ca- viare. Its value as a wholesome food may be in- ferred from this statement. The estimated value of the sturgeons caught in Astrakhan and the Cas- pian Sea, alone, is 1,760,405 roubles annually ; which sum is realized from England, by the sale of isinglass and caviare, now getting into common use. The Persians will not eat sturgeon, but rent the grounds of the Sallan to the Russians, who in the spawning time, have taken with a hook and line, fifteen thousand large sturgeons in one day. These facts are mtroduced in this place, with a hope that they may resuscitate the long neglected, but profit- able sturgeon fishery at the south. In our collection, is a small fish, evidently very * The sturgeon is the largest fish in the Lakes. The stur- geon of Lake Erie has no dorsal fin, — otherwise it resembles the sturgeon of the rivers and ocean, and has the same habit of leaping or vaulting out of water. ACCIPENSER. 121 young, that exhibits a relationship to the stur- geon, and yet, is altogether different. From the central part of the plates which characterize the tribe, are strong, short knobs; a large head, similarly armed ; prominent eyes, slender fins, and jaws destitute of teeth. _ What is most interesting, between the pectoral fins is an oval surface, rather prominent, by which it appears that the fish has the power of adhering _ to surfaces, like the remora and lump-fish. This was taken in a lobster-pot, by the keeper of the Boston light-house. At a future period it will be investigated. Coli se, tl. OSSEOUS FISHES. IN THIS DIVISION THE SCULL 1S UNITED BY SUTURES. ORDER IV—PLECTOGNATHI. GEN- ALUTERES. Fite Fisu.— Aluteres Monoceros, the file fish of Linnzus, is scooped up in nets, in calms, about fifty miles at sea, but under circumstances, however, which render it doubtful whether it THE FILE FISH. can safely be denominated a native fish. It may be recognised by a bony spine, as one of the boundaries, anteriorly, of the dorsal fin, and eight teeth in each jaw. OSTRACION. " 123 Our specimens were obligingly forwarded ‘by Captain Couthuoy, of Boston, a gentleman to whom our naturalists are under peculiar obli- gations. GEN. OSTRACION, All the individuals of the genus ostracion, seem to be boxed up in a tri-cornered chest, for their shell is constructed of plates, which unite to form a perfect shield, — in which there are openings to allow the exit of the tail. The tail, fins, mouth, and the branchiz, are the only parts that will ad- mit of motion. Trunx-Fisu. — Ostracion Triqueter, mhabits the vicinity of Long Island, New York, but rarely makes its appearance so far to the north as Mas- sachusetts, unless driven on shore by the violence of storms, — and then it is presented as an empty shell, three sided, about one foot long, with a white dot near the centre of the hexagonal divisions or lines which define the original sutures of the plates. Boys cleanse the inside, and use them for lantherns, which are very comical contriv- ances. — Ostracion Bicaudalis. A beautiful specimen of this fish was thrown on the beach at Holmes’s Hole, within a few months, and forwarded by Dr 124 PLECTOGNATHI. Yates, of that place, to the Boston Society of Natural History, in whose cabinet it has been de- posited. . OSTRACION BICAUDALIS. The body is marbled, and dotted, as it were, with black. Near the vent, two spines, are sent directly backward, on the plane of the abdomen, whose points approximate a very little; these are sharp, stiff, and hooked, much like a canine tooth. Writers place the locality of this ge- nus in the Indian seas; but it is now morally certain that it also exists in this northern latitude, as all the specimens which have been cast on land, could not have been lost by collectors of. curiosi- ties, from homeward-bound vessels. Besides, the cutaneo-elastic substance which unites the fins, tail, lips, &c., to parts within the tri-cornered shell, shows most convincingly that it had not been long dead. We possess various smaller specimens, from Trinidad, but this, compared with them, is vastly more interesting. It measures not far from four- DIODON. 125 teen inches, and from one ridge or angle, to the other, three inches, — giving the highest arch of the back a circumference of nine inches. They are in their own element, what the armadil- ‘lo, of South America, is on land. GEN. DIODON. Sweu-Fisu, Battoon-Fisu, Buower, Purr- ER, — Tetraodon Turgidus. It is not common to meet with the swell-fish at any other season, than the heat of summer. Whenever caught with the hook, it is in fishing for cod and haddock ; hence it is inferred that they feed upon similar food, and swim at about the same depth. The back has a tawny saffron color, the skin rough, —— giving the sensation to the finger of sand paper. ‘The only apology we can make for not having dissected one of them, with reference to explaining their internal organization, is the poor one, that there has not been time since the com- mencement of this essay. Relymg, however, upon the assertions of comparative anatomists, the followimg seems to be the peculiarity of its struc- ture. A valve is so constructed in the fauces, over the orifice of a tube, communicating with an ex- tensive series of air-cells, opening downwards, that by drawing the atmospheric air in at the 126 PLECTOGNATHI mouth, it presses the valve down, and thus distends the cells, but the pressure from behind throws it back, so that none of it can escape through the external orifice. Just as it comes to the surface, it seems to inhale a prodigious volume of air, that at once swells the whole body into the shape of a balloon. Before this, the body is comparatively slender. As the fish may be rolled about like a foot-ball, bounding and rebounding, when thrown, precisely in the same manner; it evidently has not the pow- er of allowing the air to escape. If stamped upon, the bursting causes a loud report. Inthe sun, the swelling increases so rap- idly, by the expansive force of the pent up ai, that the skin gives way with a sudden rent, accom- panied with a loud noise. ‘Thrown upon the wa- ter, it floats away partly on one side, resembling at a distance, (the belly being delicately white,) a white foam. However, after a while the size begins to lessen, till finally the fish succeeds in getting under wa- ter agai, and survives the trial. Probably the temperature of the water has some agency in con- densing the air, till the valve, or epiglottis, by its own elasticity, re-acts, and by the openings, per- mits the confined air to escape. The swell-fish varies from eight inches to one LOPHOBRANCHII. 127 ~ foot in length. It appears, in consequence of a vertical cleft through the middle of the jaws, to have two large upper and lower front teeth. ORDER V,—LOPHOBRANCHII. The branchie of this order are of a peculiar character, and well worth the minute examination of those who desire an accurate knowledge of the anatomy of fishes. Instead of being pectinated, they are disposed in tufted pairs on the margins of the branchial curves. Above these, is the operculum ; covering and attached all round, but having a for- amen for the water to pass out through the tufts, from the mouth. Such as are found in this section of the country, are small, four-sided, and harmless. ‘Their eggs are floated onward through the oviducts, to be lodged in a little sac, constituted of the common skin, put upon the stretch, by their presence, un- der the tail in some, and under the belly in others — out of which the young escape, when they are hatched. GEN. SYNGNATHUS, Lirtie-Pirz Fisu, — Syngnathus Typhle. As we have in no instance seen two of these fishes 128 PLECTOGNATHI. together it is inferred that they are solitary in their habits, somewhat like the sturgeon —being in some respects sturgeons in miniature. THE PIPE FISH. The tube of the mouth is long and slender, at . ‘the extremity of which, is the minute opening of the mouth. Eighteen plates enter into the com- position of a hexagonal body, a little larger than a goose-quill, and thirtysix in the tail, which is square, but quite flexible. Their ordinary length is from six to ten inches. Among the rocks at Nahant, after a storm, at Cohasset, and at Boston light-house, all our specimens have been procured. For preserva- tion, the best mode is to dry them, as they loose nothing by it, if brushed over by a varnish, in which there is a mixture of aloes, to prevent the depredations of insects. MALACOPTERYGII. 129 ORDER VI.—MALACOPTERYGII ; ABDOMINALES, All the fishes of this order possess bony skele- tons ; the jaws are in one piece, and the branchie pectinated. All the rays of the fins are soft, except in some instances, the first of the dorsal or pec- torals, and the ventrals are posterior to the abdo- men. The order includes nearly all the fresh water fishes, as well as those which migrate periodically from the ocean to the rivers. It may be said, with propriety, that most of the edible fishes also belong to this order. It is divided into five natural families. FRESH WATER FISHES. Thus far we have been considering the fishes, which are either entirely confined to the ocean, or are only occasional visitants of the fresh water. But in the river, there is a race which could not subsist in the compound element where the gveat- est proportion of all the varieties of aquatic animals known to naturalists, have their residence. After the most careful examination of the ana- tomical structure of this class, there is noth- 9 130 FRESH WATER FISHES. ing discoverable in their external configuration, nor in the internal organization of the viscera, which can explain why it is necessary to reside in the one place or the other, or what obliges them to alternate from the salt to the fresh water. Physiology, as yet, has thrown no light on this subject, which is only another evidence of the lim- ited knowledge we possess of the wonderful ope- _ ration of the laws that govern animal life. ‘The rationale of the effect of the two kinds of water, must be sought for in the influence exerted by certain salts, in solution, on the atmospheric air with which they are commingled. In the commencement of this essay, the fact has been adverted to, that fishes do not breathe either water or air, exclusively, but a mixture of both. By the examination of a map of the United States, or Massachsuetts in particular, it will be ob- served that the origi of the water-courses in the country, are such, that by passing over different soils, in which various ores and other mineral pro- ductions are directly exposed to the action of the stream, they become impregnated or altered im quality, accordmg to the distance they run to- wards the sea. Particular families are fitted by the All-Wise Creator, to exist in particular regions, and at par- ticular localities ; — and they are endowed with a FRESH WATER FISHES. 131 kind of vitality to resist the noxious qualities of the fluid in which they swim, that would be fatal to others. ‘This curious arrangement in the plan of creation is most admirable, — contributing to the universal diffusion of animals over the whole globe. There is not a spot of land on earth, nor a pool on the face of it, that is not teeming with its count- less millions of organized beings, possessing all the necessary apparatus for supplying their physical wants, and for propagating their species. But the boundaries by which the animal creation is re- strained, are not so arbitrary that. no deviations are allowable: — the fish, or the quadruped, like man, can change its residence, —and by being gradually climated, the function of the vital organs become accommodated to the condition of a mod- ified element. Here then, we can find the origin of the crea- tion of new genera ; — in the meeting of strangers, and in the aerial and aqueous influences effected on the offspring. We have long entertained the opinion, that the sea is the natural habitation of all fishes. By the wandering habits of some, the fleeing of others from their enemies, and the operation of physical causes, they became gradually dis- persed in the tributary waters of the great reser- voir of the world. 132 FRESH WATER FISHES. To the same causes are also to be attributed the annihilation of species, now only found in a fossil state. Even the hardest rocks present the most perfect forms of extinct fishes — under the name of ichthyolites. Nor can it be doubted that chang- es are continually going on in the constitution of inorganic matter, which, while it blots wholly from existence distinct tribes, will also eventuate in the production of entirely new species. To settle down in the iron-bound notion that the laws of nature are thoroughly understood, and that there cannot be anything new presented un- der the sun, is to confess our perfect ignorance of phenomena of the most astonishing character. Like the inexhaustible capacity of the human mind for knowledge, are the resources of nature, yet men too often complain that all the avenues to the study of Natural History have been travelled, all countries surveyed, and all the animal creation minutely pictured and anatomised, and that noth- ing remains to excite them to study, or compen- sate for the labor of investigation. Alas! this is only an excuse for indolence — and thus thousands live, only to occupy space, without interesting others, or being enlightened themselves, and die at last, as they lived, without contributing one valuable idea to the storehouse of useful knowledge. FRESH WATER FISHES. 133 If one new fact can be added to the common stock of truth, it matters not whether it regards the one kind of science or another : — the accumulation, the increase of the capital, is what concerns every indi- vidual in the community. These remarks are made with a view to exciting particular attention to the study ofthe aquatic animals in the northern states. Every man, whose eyes are constructed upon com- mon principles, has discovered something in the habits and character of the class of vertebrated an- imals we are considering, which is of real conse- quence, but unless more disposition is manifested to concentrate observations, it will be a long while before we shall have embodied, any correct views of the reptiles or fishes of the New England States. Strange as it may appear, the first land settled by our European ancestors, as profusely peopled with these tribes as any section of the American Continent, is the least known to men of sci- ence. FAMILY I.— SALMONIDES. In this family, the body has scales ;— there are two dorsal fins, but the second is flexible, in consequence of being destitute of bony spines. 134 SALMONIDES. GEN. SALMO. Satmon, — Salmo Salar. The upper jaw is larger than the lower, and in the males the under jaw is curved upward. ‘The back has a bluish shade, the sides are silvery white below; and above the lateral line, are irregular, dark spots. On the tongue, which is white and cartilaginous, are teeth ; and the scales are striated. So perfectly well known is the salmon, that it is quite weedless to enter into any further details than those which relate to the salmon fishery, or tend to illustrate the character of this highly valua- ble tribe. Probably the Connecticut has been more distin- guished for this fish, than any other river in Mas- sachusetts, but they are becoming more and more scarce, from year to year. Locks, steamboats, the common business of navigation, and above all, increasing settlements, conspire to interrupt the progress of the salmon towards the head waters. a Still, however, they overcome great artificial ob- stacles, such as dams, &c. by their muscular dex- terity, which would almost discourage the perse- vering industry of man. Formerly, in the month of April, they passed up the Connecticut toits highest branches, leap- SALMO 135 ing cataracts, where the weight and velocity of the water was to be overcome by the instantaneous exertions of the muscles of the tail. They have been sometimes seen to make several attempts, before they succeeded in ascending the fall. While running up rivers, they are fat and delicious food, from May till the last of June; af- ter that period, having deposited their spawn, they return to the sea, lean and emaciated.* The St Lawrence has yielded immense supplies, but they are decreasing, gradually, in a ratio cor- responding with the increase of population. In very hot weaiher, they are extremely annoyed, while in salt water, by an insect, burrowing in the skin, called the salmon-louse. On old salmon they have been so numerous as to kill them. The fact is well established, that sol- itary salmon run up rivers, as the seine-men say, * Wm. Ladd, Esq. of Minot, Me. addressed the author the following note. *¢ Some years ago, Governor King, of Maine, showed me a phial containing the roes which had been taken out of a salm- on, caught at sea, late inthe autumn. They were about as large as peas. He informed me that a fisherman had brought him the spawn to convince him that the salmon did not spawn in our fresh water rivers, but followed the fishes that did, for the sake of their spawn. The Governor, and all the rest of the company, appeared to be convinced that the salmon do not spawn until after they leave our rivers.” 136 SALMONIDES. out of season; that is, come back the last of Sep- tember and October, and for the purpose, it is thought, to rid themselves of their troublesome as- sociates, which are known to die as soon as the fish has been a few days in fresh water. In the rivers of Kamschatka, they are numer- ous beyond all example, — even blocking up the small rivulets into which they wedge themselves, in trying to pass by the untold thousands on the route. Such multitudes are ‘thrown upon the banks, by the pressure of the moving armies, and left to die, that were it not for bears and dogs, their bodies would create a pestilence. Such is their antipathy to, or fear of everything red, that before they can be caught successfully, in the rivers of this country, the fishermen are said to di- vest themselves of their red caps and shirts. Captain Charles Kendall, a respectable and in- telligent navigator of Boston, assured us that when on the northwest coast of America, within a few years, he stood in a small stream which came leap- ing down the crags of a mountain, in which these delightful fishes were urging their way in such as- tonishing crowds, with hardly water enough to cover their backs, that he stood with an axe, and killed hundreds of them as they passed between his feet. He saw birds of prey dive down from the long . SALMO. 137 branches of trees that waved over the waterfalls, and pick out the eyes of several at a time, before they flew back to their resting place. Jewett’s travels confirm his statement. To those who are not particularly conversant with the natural history of the northwest coast, as given us by veritable travellers, the foregoing ac- count may appear overcharged, but it is substanti- ated by all the voyagers who have remained there any length of time. The salmon is found on the coasts of Europe, from Spitzbergen, quite to Western France, says a writer in the Conversations Lexicon, but is nev- er seen in the Mediterranean. On the western shores of the Atlantic, it is found from Greenland to the Hudson, but is exceedingly rare in the lat- ter river, and never penetrates farther south. They also abound in Eastern Asia, where, as well as in the United States, they grow to the weight of ten or fifteen pounds, and often four feet in length, in the clear, cold rivers of the north. j As the ice melts away in the spring, they rush «to the rivers, from the ocean, and it is an undenia- ble fact, confirmed by successful experiments, that they visit as far as possible, the very streams in which they were born. Usually, when undisturb- ed, they swim slowly in immense bodies, near the \ 138 SALMONIDES. surface, yet they are so timid, that if suddenly frightened by a great splashing in the water, the whole column will turn directly back towards the sea. It has also been proved, by actual calculation, that a salmon can scud at the surprising velocity of thirty miles an hour. The young are about twelve inches in length, when they visit the sea for the first tme. After the parent fish have passed up the rivers, the spring following, the young ones follow at a respectable distance, hav- ing grown about six inches. At the end of two years, they weigh five, six and seven pounds ; and at the expiration of six years they have attained their ordinary dimen- sions. A few of these fishes are carried to Phila- delphia, but the Boston and New York markets are supplied, principally, by the packet-men from the State of Maine. The Salmon Fishery of Newburgh, on the river Tay, in Scotland, once produced a net rental of seven thousand pounds sterling perannum. Very numerous small fisheries on the same river, belong- ing to small proprietors, pay three hundred pounds annually. On the river Ness, in Scotland, the Salmon Fishery has risen in value, in eleven years, from two hundred to twelve hundred pounds a year. SALMO. 139 Salmon are known to change their haunts; in many rivers in which they were formerly so abun- dant, that “farmer’s servants stipulated to have them only twice a week as food,’ not one is now to be found. - THE SALMON. ey) 7739S Fm. fs Brine + ED} D) = g =a ibe sis pe . They were formerly abundant in the Thames, and caught in great numbers, but since the in- troduction of steam-boats on this river, they are rarely to be found. In some rivers of England and Wales, at the season when the salmon and their fry return to the sea, the quantity taken in one week has ex- ceeded thousands in a day, and in some instances in such quantities that they were given to the swine. At Leixlip, in Ireland,is a very high cataract, called the Salmon-leap, from the number of these fish which are to be seen leaping it, in the season when they return up the river to spawn. In fine weather, says a friend, “ I have 140 SALMONIDES. seen them springing up these falls by scores, and rarely have seen one miss its aim.” The otter is a great destroyer of these fish, and is a perfect epicure, after catching one, — he only bites out a piece between the head and the shoul- ders, and leaves the remainder. ‘I have seen,” “says the same gentleman, “ten or twelve dead salmon floating down tle river Tay, in the highlands of Scotland, in one morning, all of which had been bitten in this way by the otter, and what is very remarkable, these fish are always fat and in prime condition. | “Many of the poor cotters residing near the streams and rivers of the highlands of Scotland and Wales, subsist, in a great measure, in the sea- son, upon these fish, which they pick up early the morning, as they float down the stream from the otters’ haunts.” SaLMon Trout, — Salmo Trutia. As we have particularly devoted a considerable number of pa- ges to the subject of angling, in which a reference is made to all the varieties of the fresh and salt water trout, known to the naturalist or the scien- tific angler, in New England, it is our apology in this place, for not being more minute and elabo- rate in the following description. Nothing, therefore can be more perplexing than attempting a classification: they have one com- SALMO. 141 mon origin,—are all descendants of the same parents, but by living in different places, the one is large, another small,— another spotted, and an- other tinged with gold. This fish has brown spots, some of which, on the upper portions of the body, are surrounded by a beautiful bright halo, of a semi-metallic lustre. On the sides and abdomen, a silvery hue predomi- nates. Even when cooked they may be known from the exclusively ‘fresh water trout, by the red- ness of the flesh. It is caught at the mouths of rivers and small streams communicating with the ocean, but as it cannot endure the extremely salt water, there are few good localities for them on the line of this state. The salmon trout has so much the appear- ance of the salmon, and so much resembles it in character, that the description which has been given of one, very nearly describes the other. Allusion is made to this fish im the Sal- monia, as affording considerable sport, but we do not possess the faculty of interesting the mere sportsman, an attempt at which, after a man so eminently distinguished as the author, would be downright absurdity. Common Trout. — Salmo Fario. 'There is not ariver, nor running stream in the northern 142 SALMONIDES. states, which has not the common trout, as it is called, by every body, and yet, on examination, the external characteristics are as different as pos- sible ; but the difference consists in the arrange- ment of spots and color, rather than in the organ- ization of the branchie or disposition of the fins. If we go to the lakes, still farther to the north, they also have the common trout, which, compared with the river trout, are codfish by the side of minnows. This difference in complexion and size, is brought about in the opinion of the learned author just quo- ted, by the quality and quantity of food, the wa- ter, &c.;— these developments, whatever they may be, “are transmitted to the offspring, and produce varieties which retain their characters as long as they are exposed to the same circumstan- ces, and only slowly lose them.” FRESH WATER TROUT. == WD Dae MeN 244 a - ))) ZZ, < é Plenty of good food gives a silvery color and round form to fish, and the offspring retains these characters. Feeding much on larve, and on shell- fish, thickens the stomach, and gives a brighter SALMO. 143 yellow to the belly and fins, which. become hered- itary characters.” Like the adult children of one family, one is tall, another is a dwarf, a third is fat, a fourth has a dark complexion, a fifth has red hair, a sixth blue eyes, —the seventh excellent front teeth, — the eighth good grinders, but imperfect incissors, the ninth is lean, and the tenth differs from all the rest —and yet they sprang from the same parents, — _ the same blood circulates in their veins, at one ta- ble they subsist on the same food, —and still no two present the same external character, but why they do not, is a mystery wholly beyond elucida- tion; such is precisely the case with the fresh wa- ter or semi-marine trouts. England is famous for its trout, and for the va- riety too, but after all, we have in the United States an equally imposing catalogue, under differ- ent names. But to the pomt ;— the common trout of Mas- sachusetts is from eight to twelve inches long, — dotted on the back, with brownish spots, — shaded by a paler circle. On the gill covers is a broad spot ; the under jaw is the longest ; the soft rayed fins tinged with yellow, and on the sides of the body are red spots. Huncuen Trout, — Salmo Hucho. Resem- 144 SALMONIDES. bling very much the sea-trout, it is found, on care- ful inspection, to be more slender, and to have a greater number of red spots. The back is dusky ; the ventral fin has a yellow tinge; all the others are of a palish purple. The tail is forked, and the fish measures some- times four feet, though, ordinarily, it is only about two, and caught by the hook. This trout certain- ly exists in the large rivers and ponds in the inte- rior, but deteriorated in size. ‘They are brought from New Hampshire, in the winter, frozen for the mar- kets; and fromthe northern parts of Maine, where specimens have been taken, large as any produced in the great rivers of Europe. We subjoin an extract from the Salmonia, _ touching the hunchen or huco trout, with the be- lief that it will lead to further mvestigation. “The hucho is the most predatory fish of the salmo genus, and is made like an ill-made trout, but longer and thicker. He has larger teeth, more spines in the pectoral fins, a thicker skin, a silvery belly, and dark spots only on the back and sides. I have never seen any on the fins. The ratio of his length to his girth, is as 8 to 18, or, in well-fed fish, as 9 to 20; and afish, eighteen inches long, by eight in girth, weighed 16,215 grains. Anoth- er, two feet long, and eleven inches in girth, and three inches thick, weighed four pounds two oun- SALMO. 145 ces and a quarter. Another twenty six inches long, weighed five pounds and five ounces. “‘ Of the spines in the fins, the anal has nine, the caudal twenty, the ventral nine, the dorsal twelve, the pectoral seventeen: having numbered the spies in many, I givethis ascorrect. The fleshy fin belonging to the genus is, I think, larger in this species, than in any I have seen. ‘«¢ Block, in his work on fishes, states that there are black spots on-all the fins, with the exception of the anal, as acharacter of this fish: and Profes- sor Wagener informs me he has seen huchos with this peculiarity ; but, as I said before, I never saw any fish with spotted fins, yet | have examined those of the Danube, Save, Drave, Mur and Izar ; perhaps this is peculiar to some stream in Bava- ria, yet the huchos in the collection at Munich have it not. The hucho is found in most rivers, tributary to the Danube, — in the Save and Lay- bach rivers, always; yet the general opinion is that they run from the Danube, twice a year, in spring and autumn. “T can answer for their migration in spring, hav- ing caught several in April, in streams connected with the Save and Laybach rivers, which had ev- idently come from still, dead water, into the clear running streams, for they had the winter leech, or louse of the trout upon them; and I have seen 10 146 SALMONIDES. them of all sizes, in April, in the market, at Lay- bach, from six inches, to two feet long ; but they are much larger, and reach. thirty or forty pounds. ‘Tt is the opinion of some naturalists, that it is only a fresh water fish, yet this I doubt, because it is never found beyond certain falls —as in the Traun, the Drave and the Save ; and there can be no doubt it comes into these rivers from the Dan- ube; and probably, in its largest state, is a fish of the Black Sea. “Vet, it can winter in fresh water, and does not seem, like the salmon, obliged to haunt the sea, but falls back into the warmer waters of the great rivers, from which it migrates in spring, to seek a cooler temperature and to breed. ‘The fishermen at Gratz, say they spawn in the Mur, between . March and May. In those | have caught at Lay- bach, which, however, were small ones, the ova were not sufficiently developed to admit of their spawning in spring.” We think there cannot remain a shadow of doubt, after comparing these notes, with the great trout of the cold ponds in Maine and New Hamp- shire, as well as with the degenerated representa- tive ofthe family in the rivers and ponds of Mas- sachusetts, that they approximate the true hucho of the Danube. It is very certain, too, that by be- OSMERUS. 147 ing kept entirely from the ocean, it improves both - in flavor and magnitude ; this, however, seconda- rily, depends on the extent of the ponds. We cannot but express our astonishment that gentlemen owning estates on which there are fine basins of water, do not stock them with trout, which can be as easily done, as they can stock their lands with cattle and horses, and they can be as choice, too, in the quality; Surely, in this country, itis yet an untried source of domestic economy. GEN. OSMERUS. SMELT, — Osmerus Eperlanus, called also Spar- ling. Were not every body familiar with this beautiful little fish, it would be worth while to dwell on its character and biography, more particu- larly than will be attempted. Under the microscope, the skin is so exceedingly delicate, that the circu- lation of the blood may be seen, coursing its way through the cutaneous vessels. There have been writers who consider the smelt as the fry of the sea-trout, and others, the young of some other fish of greater size ; but after all, the smelt very certainly remains the same from year to year. The smelt of Massachusetts resem- bles that of Europe, but still, there is a variation ‘in the number of rays in the fins. a 148 SALMONIDES. At the south, there is a variety, called menidea, which has twentyfour rays in the anal fin. In the month of Marchand April they cast their spawn, after which they seem to stretch out into the ocean, till the approach of autumn, when the har- bors swarm with them. They pass into rivers and creeks, but the borders of the salt water is their peculiar residence, and where they are caught through the winter, or indeed, in all inlets, where the sea-water sets at high tide, in immense quanti- ties.* An attempt has been made to climate the smelts in a fresh water pond, but they have soon degene- rated, becoming at first emaciated, and disappear- ed, by degrees, till they probably all died. FAMILY II. CLUPEA. One of the distinguishing characters of this fam- ily is, that they are destitute of an adipose fin; the upper jaw is formed in the middle by intermaxilla- ries, without pedicles. ‘The body is scaly — and they have besides, the air-bladder and cecums ; the branchial arteries are furnished on the side next to * Weare inclined to the opinion that smelts shed their scales annually, in the month of March. CLUPEA. 149 the mouth, with comb-like teeth ; on the under edge of the body the scales form a serrated ridge. : Common Herrine, —Clupea Harengus. Head and mouth compressed, — the latter, rough, with- in; jaws short and unequal ;— the upper one having serrated mystaces, short tongue, quite rough: —§inverted teeth, eyes round, gills setaceous; gill covers sometimes of three, and sometimes four plates ; gillmembrane eight rays ;— body some- what compressed, and covered with small sized scales ; ventral fins commonly with nine rays ; the tail forked. ' The name herring, is derived from the Ger- man word heer and army, in reference to the mi- gration of herring, in such astonishing numbers, as to excite the wonder of both ancient and mod- ern naturalists. In the United States, herrmg are taken in large quantities, but the kind peculiar to Massachusetts particularly, seems to be the clupea harengus, (pseudo), — though most of the varieties found in Europe, are also recognised on the atlantic shore of North America. The common edible herring of this state, haren gus, is of an ash color, — approximating a green- ish blue: the belly and sides have a silvery hue ; 150 SALMONIDES. under jaw a trifle the longest ; — head quite small. When cured, they are unfortunately considered inferior to the European. © But this is a ‘mistake, founded on prejudice. The herring of this country, carefully preserv- ed, is no wise inferior to those of other countries. They are caught in variously constructed nets, in most of the rivers and fresh water streams, which are so connected with the sea that the tide wa- ter sets several miles up their channels. This tribe of fishes, so far as regards number, if we credit the assertions of writers, very much exceeds all others put together. In the northern seas, inaccessible to many other beings, they have an oceanic metropolis of their own, where they multiply beyond all human computation.* Nature seers to have created them expressly to become the food of the many monsters of the deep ; as bread is the staff of life for man, so are _ herring the food on which the unnumbered crea- tures of the sea mainly depend. It has been com- puted, that ifa smgle herring were permitted to * Pennant’s idea of the migration of herring, to the Polar Sea, is generally questioned by writers since his day; but circumstances to which it is unnecessary to allude here, in conjunction with the testimony of navigators, in our humble opinion, amply sustain his assertions. CLUPEA. 151 ~ multiply in its characteristic manner, together with its offspring, for twenty years, their united bodies would ten times exceed the bulk of our globe ! Although this may be considered a wild calcu- lation, resting, however, on the authority of a for- eign calculator, there is probably a nearer approx- imation to truth, than we are ready, at first view, to admit. Herring are certainly anadromous, though their migrations may have been over-rated. Their taking, it is said, the regular circuit of the sea, gives additional interest to their history. One immense army leaves the polar regions, in the spring, equal- ling in extent the whole surface of Great Britain. As they advance, squadrons begin to separate from the main body ; these average from four to six miles in breadth,—and in length, cannot be measured bythe eye. An astonishing representa- tion arrives at the Shetland Islands, in June. By September, England, Ireland and Scotland, are surrounded by them. From these parts, the forces move southwest, — cross the atlantic, and make their appearance on the coast of Georgia, about the last of January ; detachments then begin to move eastward, till, ultimately, the whole North _ American seaboard:is lined with them. When the length ofsea-coast bordering the Unit- ed States is recollected,— about three thousand 152 SALMONIDES. - miles ;——and it is also considered that millions and millions are annually taken by the fishermen; — and in connexion with these facts, it is admit- ted that thousands are swallowed at a mouthful by whales, — several species of which follow the herring in all its migrations, to destroy it;— the havoc made on their phalanxes by other fishes and marine monsters, —and yet their numbers appearing undiminished ;— with all these facts, can any man in his. senses, doubt for a moment, the relations of naturalists. Tn direct opposition to the foregomg remarks, the migratory character of the herring is ques- tioned by some very late writers, who suppose it remains through the winter at no great distance from the shore, or plunges into the deepest parts of the ocean, or burrows in the mud, to rise at the spawning season. All this appears both unphilo- sophic and irrational. In the first place, herring are rarely caught at sea, unless a shoal, pursued by a whale, drives them out of their course. Moreover, it has been asserted, that wherever found, they invariably keep at a certain distance from the sun. Secondly, they have not the organization for living in mudor filth of any kind. Thirdly, they are physically prevented from sinking into very deep water, by the structure and development of CLUPEA. 153 the air-bladder. Their very form, viz.—sharp body, flat head, broad fins, and large air-sack, shows most clearly that they were designed to run near the surface, and to be always in mo- tion. | | We have therefore, much more confidence in the relations of the old writers, on this subject, than in modern upstart theorists. Herring are supposed to feed on sea-worms, and the young fry of such fishes as come in their way. When taken from the water, they die in- stantly, hence the vulgar proverb —‘‘ dead as a herring.” The herring fishery, as a source of industry and wealth, has long since, in various kingdoms of Ku- rope, been considered of national importance. From the last of June till late in November, they contain roe ; but after that period, begin to deposit their spawn, and are then considered less whole- some, and less valuable. This fish, variously prepared, has been esteem- ed, as an article of food, from the remotest anti- quity. Holland, particularly, was the country in which they most excelled in this fishery. Many years since, it was supposed that rising of 150,000 persons, were devoted solely to the trade of tak- ing and curing of herring. One Guillaume Beuchel, a native of Brabant, in 154 SALMONIDES. the fourteenth century, discovered a mode of pick- ling them, which was considered so remarkable, and of so much importance, that the Emperor Charles V., one hundred and fifty years after- wards, honored his grave with his royal person, and ate pickled herring on the green grass that waved above his bones ! Some idea may be formed of this branch of in- dustry, abroad, by the following relations, viz.— Yarmouth, in England, is the herring mart of - Great Britain, at which place, upwards of sixty thousand barrels are annually caught and cured.* Weare credibly informed, that eighty years ago, four hundred thousand barrels were annually ex- ported from different parts of Norway. Sweden exports the oi of herring, to the quantity of sixty or seventy thousand barrels yearly. ‘This fishery has been often called the Dutch Gold * By the corporation charter of the city of Norwich, Eng- land, the Mayor has to present to the King annually a herring pie. This custom is necessarily practised up to the present day. The pie has a standing crust, modeled in exact repre- sentation of Norwich Castle, and filled with herring. The origin of this clause in the charter, arose from the fact, that the city, many centuries ago, now many miles inland, was the port to which the fishermen bronght their her- ring, caught on the coast, but in consequence of the sea reced- ing and new land forming, Yarmouth has grown into existence, and now become the port to which the fish are brought and cured, and Norwich has become an inland city. CLUPEA. ~ 155. Mine, in allusion to the riches that nation has drawn from it. | The law has been so well observed, as it re- spects the curing and packing, in that country, that their reputation has given them almost the complete control of foreign markets. The late Dr Mease, of Philadelphia, consider- ed the subject of the herring fishery of such na- _ tional interest, many years since, that he abridged a pamphlet written by the Earl of Dundonald on _ the subject, with a hope of awakening the people of the United States to a realizing sense of the in- exhaustible source of wealth the ocean presented in the herring fishery. The Dutch law obliges the fishermen to sepa- rate the herring caught in one night, from those taken in another. None are allowed to be ship- ped after the 15th of July. No herring are to - be sold on any consideration, till they have re- _ mained ten days in pickle: — and the law also compels the fishermen to complete the curing pro- cess within three weeks after they arrive in port, and lastly, to repack them. Salted in barrels — four barrels of salt are to be put-to every twelve of fish. The law even says they shall be packed alter- nately, lengthwise and crosswise; and lastly, no salt but such as actually comes from St Ubes, shall be used. 156 SALMONIDES. The laws both in England and Scotland, as they regard the packmg and sale, are exceedingly strict, and even vexatious.* Massachusetts has enacted many laws, from time to time, on the same account; but the Legislature has been par- ticularly distinguished, in imitation of the moth- er country, for enactments for the preservation of species, as though the race were in danger of being exterminated, unless immediately pro- tected by the conservatory powers of the General Court. In Portugal, in order to encourage the rearing of cattle, the law forbids the killing of calves — or the sale of veal; and further declares that eating eggs, is really detrimental to the raising of poultry! With a degree of wisdom, worthy of Portugal, the English Parliament ordains that a ship of war shall cruise among the fishermen on the coast of Scotland, to preserve the breed of herring! The duty of the officers is specially to inspect the nets, and to seize such as have meshes less than one inch square, — the object of the law being intended to allow the little young ones to make their escape! In the “ Philosophical 'Trans- actions” for 1767, it is clearly stated, that the average number of eggs ina herring, is 86,969. * Appetits are half-cured herrings, prepared in France. They are alsocalled bouffees, or swelled herrings. CLUPEA. 157 _ It is needless to advert to the many laws enact- ed by the Legislature of this Commonwealth, for the protection of the alewives in ‘Taunton Great River ; as well as other species of edible fish, pecu- liar to the rivers directly communicating with the sea-board. ~ Such laws have never been, nor can they be, of the least possible advantage ; the combined forces of the United States, in battle array, could not les- sen their apparent numbers, — and it would be ut- terly impossible to exterminate the species. Therefore, all such protecting laws are perfect- ly useless, unphilosophical, and at variance with that grand scheme of nature which provides for the necessities of all organized beings, and sustains the existence of their species, under all changes, incidents and circumstances.* Such portions of the fishery laws as immediately affect the process of curing, and punishes frauds in the weight and sale, are both reasonable and righteous. Dams, break-waters, &c. across rivers, are the results of civilization, and fishes may forsake the streams where they once instinctively deposited their roes : —but their loss is trifling, at any par- ticular locality, when compared with the advanta- * Du Cange mentions aquatia, the right of fishing three days in the year, in the middle ages, 158 SALMONIDES. ges arising from the improvenients of their solita ry haunts. As animals recede before the inroads of civil life, so do the fishes, and no human laws can restrain them. Menuaven, Bony-Fisu, Harp-Hrap, Mars- BANKER, or Paunacen,— Clupea Menhaden. All these mean the same fish. Perhaps the best history of the menhaden, is that by Latrobe, in the fifth volume of the Philadelphia Transactions. The great whale, Balena Mysticetus make them a favorite food. THE MENHADEN. Dr Mitchell was informed by whalemen, that when this monster gets into a shoal of menhaden, his under jaw being spread, he gathers in several hogsheads at a mouthful, which can only enter the small swallow of the whale, one by one. In the various bays and inlets of Massachusetts, such vast shoals of the menhaden are taken, that besides be- ing smoked for food, far greater numbers are dis- tributed over the fields for manure. CLUPEA. 159 From July to the last of August, the borders of the sea swarm with them. Lynn Bay, partic- ularly, is said to bea favorite place of their resort. The usual length of the menhaden, is from ten to fourteen inches; gill cover large ; one black- ish spot on the neck, quite near the operculum ; tail forked ; belly serrated ; back arched ; mouth and tongue destitute of teeth ; color dusky, hav- Ing a slight shade of green; gill membrane eight rayed.* As before remarked, the menhaden, amongst the older class of fishermen, towards New Hamp- * Ona fine sunny sabbath, in 1831, a servant picked up a very large pauhagan, in a gravel walk, at the top ofa hill, near the author’s house, which was actively thrashing about the small stones with its tail, He brought it into the kitchen — but in the course of his own examination, however, before he arrived, it appeared to be dead. It was severely wounded in the side, as though it had been stabbed through and through with a bodkin. Being putin a pan of water, to be washed, it so happened that our attention was called another way, for an hour or two, but to the great surprise ofthe house, the fish was swimming about as well as the dimensions of the ves- sel would allow. The same fish is now in our collection. In the course of an hour, the servant discovered that a fish-hawk was perched on a signal staff over the very spot where he picked it up, with another inits talons. This explained the mystery of its visit on dry land. Probably the hawk inadver- tently dropped it, only a few moments after it was caught. They are commonly used for bait in the inshore cod-fishery and not for food, when fresh. i 160 SALMONIDES. shire and Maine, bears the Indian name of Pauha- gen, which it has been suggested in the notes upon “‘gadus tom-codus,’ is the aboriginal appellation. Yet the New York icthyologist expressly says that menhaden is the name by which the aborigines called “him.” Notwithstanding this declaration, we have good reasons for supposing that menhaden is a corruption of pauhagen. However, the ori- gin of the name is of little consequence, and there- fore, we resign the field to those who may have more leisure for the investigation. Suap, — Clupea Alosa. This has a slopmg head ; body tapering towards the tail; under jaw longer than its fellow ; teeth small and sharp ; dor- sal fin nearly in the centre, — the middle rays the longest ; pectoral and ventral fins quite small ; ab- domen sharp and serrated; tail forked; back a dusky blue ; — has a line of dark spots on each side ; varying from four to ten. Another, called the American shad, clupea capadissima, is without spots ;— has large scales ; snout not cloven. The shad is a valuable fish, always commanding a ready market in New England. It bears so much resemblance, in general conformation, to the her- ring, as to be called by the fishermen the mother of herring. They are taken in surprising quanti- ties, in most of the rivers visited by the herring. CLUPBA. 161 Thouch strongly resembling that fish in outward appearance, it grows very much larger, — being generally more than a foot in length, but flat and broad. On the northwest coast of America they are inconceivably numerous. The average weight is from five to eight pounds, in the true fishing season. From the last of April to the early part of July, they are ascending the rivers for the purpose of depositing their spawn. Among epicures the roes are considered a deli- cacy, far superior to the fish itself. The price they sometimes bear in the market, before they begin to run, is truly enormous. This fish, as well as many others of the family to which it belongs, is organized for breathing either fresh or salt water, though it seems it cannot propagate if confined exclusively to either. In most of the rivers visited by the herring, the - shad is successfully taken, in large nets, supported on the surface by a series of buoys. The shad fishery of the Connecticut river, has been a source of great wealth and prosperity to the proprietors on its banks, from Saybrook far into the interior of Massachusetts. Many years -smce two hundred and nimetysix seines were - counted, between Saybrook and Hartford ;— it is probable there were a number farther up. One man remarked that he once caught thir- 11 162 SALMONIDES. : tysix barrels of shad, at his locality, at one haul. Some idea may be formed, from these statements, of the incredible number which were annually ta- ken in the Connecticut in former times. All the smaller rivers have their ‘quota, in the fishing sea- son. The Merrimac, Medford, Connecticut, Nepon- set, &c., are amongst the principal rivers in Mas- sachusetts, in which this fish was taken im such quantities as to make the fishery a decidedly pecu- niary object. Auewire, — Clupea Vernalis. ‘This fish seems to hold a place between the shad and herring, having the general characteristics of both.. Its habits bear a ‘striking similarity to those two fish- es, Inasmuch as it ascends rivers to deposit its spawn, and retires again to the ocean. Although caught in vast abundance at many places in the Commonwealth, Taunton river has been the most distinguished for the alewife fishery. Judge Davis informs us, in an obliging note, that the “alewife,” or, as our laws very carefully ex- press it—“‘ fish called the alewife,” is doubtless of the genus clupea. In the list of New England fishes, in the third volume of Dr Belknap’s History of New Hamp- shire, it is denominated clupea serrata. In the CLUPEA. 163 ‘ | "preparation of that list, the late Rev. Dr Cutler was consulted, and we believe Professor Peck, al- so. The specific names of three of the genus THE ALEWIFE. clupea, are inserted in a different character from those, whose specific names had been previously established: Serrata is one of the new names. The common name is so universal, and of such long standing, that the usual adjunct, “‘so called,” may well be omitted. ‘“ It is derived, probably, from Alosa, the specific name of its congener, the shad.” “JT have been led to think that the term ale- wife, applied to this fish, was framed by our an- cestors, — having reference to the shad; espe- cially as the Plymouth Pilgrims had heard of it in Holland, and by the old English term, oldwife. It is, 1 believe, a fish peculiar to our country : the streams in and about Plymouth, are full of them, in their season.” There is no inlet of fresh water, to the sea, vis- 164 SALMONIDES. ited by the shad and herring, that is not also the re- sort of the alewife. Vast quantities are pickled, smoked, &c.both for home and foreign consump- tion. . | ‘It has been suggested, that alewzfe is derived from the ‘“ Indian word aloof — signifying a bony fish. Bret, or Brit, — Clupea Minima. Probably this js the fish mentioned by Dr Belknap. It is very small and delicate, seldom exceeding more than one inch anda half, having a black back, and silvery scales on the sides. ‘The median line is straight, and near the spine. ‘The pectoral fins are large, made up of ten rays, — flexible, like a brush, and near the gills. Ventral fins three — two posterior to the vent, anda single one near the tail. There is but one dorsal fin, directly opposite the posterior ventral: the caudal contains from fourteen to eighteen soft rays; gill cover in one broad plate, having a line that, at first sight, ap- pears to divide it into two pieces. The eye is full, and the under jaw a little the longest. Although this appears like a fish in min- jature, it is very beautiful. Prepared as the an- chovies are, there is every reason to suppose they would be equally prized for the table. Shoals ESOX. 165 of them are driven about by the mackerel in July and August. ® FAMILY III. — ESOCES. GEN. ESOX. Common Prxe, — Pickerel, Esox Lucius.* With a few exceptions the body has an olive shade, considerably dark on the back; but the sides, in particular positions, show waving lines, delicately mottled with dark spots. The under jaw is a trifle the longest. All the intermaxillary | bones, palate and tongue, are studded with minute teeth; some of them, however, bordering the edges, are considerably developed. THE PIKE. It has but one dorsal fin, directly opposite the anal, and both have thirteen rays. In this country, as in Europe, it varies from six inches *¥n England young pike are called Pickers, when half grown Jack, and at full growth, Prke. 166 ESOCES. to several feet in length, and is taken in the rivers, lakes, &c, throughout the United States. In Mas- sachusetts it rarely exceeds two feet. Their digestive machinery is quite curious- ly constructed. When young, in England, meas- uring about.one foot, they are called Jacks. When of this size they are splendidly shaded with green and yellow spots; as they grow older, how- ever, the brilliancy of the coloring is lost, and they even have a dingy hue—and in extreme age, become of a metallic complexion. Young water-fowls, frogs, and indeed every living creature which they can master, they never hesitate to seize upon. They are usually caught with a bait made of a small fish. The flesh is white and nutritious, and on the whole, it is one of the best table fishes in New-England, but only a comparatively small number find their way to the Boston market. In the western part of the state they occasionally at- tain the length of two feet and a half. Dr Williams, author of the History of Vermont, informs us that the pike in that state bears the name of muschilonge. Lake Champlain abounds with them, of immense size and length. The Doctor says they are easily speared, a common mode of taking them all over New England. ESOX. 167 From the lakes, specimens are produced, weigh- ing forty pounds — and six feet long. The pike of this country does not differ, essen- tially, from the pike of Europe. If there is any difference, it is solely referable to the color, which we have remarked, varies with the age, and probably too, with the quality of the water in which they reside. This fish, when well grown, seems to delight in clear water, near some stone or root, where it will remain hours together, if not frightened; in this situation, it is a common sport to shoot them with a rifle. In illustration of their voracious character, we have selected the following facts from different authors. ? In Germany, a mule, in the act of drinking, at a river, was seized by a huge pike, which fastened on its nose, and nearly succeeded in drowning the poor beast. ‘Though the mule, by struggling, aid- ed by the driver, got its nose out of the water, the pike kept its hold and was drawn on shore and killed. A little girl, not many years since, in dip- ping water froma pond, was attacked by one of these violent creatures, which dreadfully lacera- ted her arm. They not only become extremely despotic in 168 ESOCES. ponds, destroying all other fishes, frogs, &c. — but under circumstances of hunger, swallow each oth- er. Pennant mentions an instance of one that was actually choked to death, in trying to swallow one of its own species. This is an unnatural trait of character, it being an exceedingly rare occurrence that any family of animals feed upon its kindred. Male crocodiles destroy the young ones when they are first hatch- ed, and so do sharks and. swine, but such an act seems to depend upon constitutional cir- cumstances which we are unable to explam. Even water rats, are driven away from the pike waters. ; According to Block, it increases more rapidly than any other fish with which we are acquaint- ed. In the first year, it graws, in Europe, from eight to ten inches; in the seeond, from twelve to fourteen; and the third year, to eighteen or twenty. It is inferred that they are very aged, when they arrive at the amazing length of six feet, a circumstance by no means uncommon, in the northern lakes, in England, Germany and Po- land. Rzaczynshi mentions a pike that was ninety years of age; and Gesner relates, that one was taken near Hailbrun, in Suabia, in 1479, with a ESOX. 169 broken ring attached to it, importing that it was placed in the lake in 1230 — giving it the wonder- ful longevity of two hundred and fortynine years. The very ring is still kept at Manheim. Many years since an old pike siezed the head of a swan, in Lord Gower’s canal, and gorged so much of it, that both the fish and the majestic bird were killed. Combats have been witnessed be- tween two of them. In a well stocked pond on a gentleman’s estate, in England, one single pike, in about one year, became sole lord of the water, having completely devoured every fish. ! The pike-ponds of Poland have been sources of immense profit, in former times, to the proprie- tors, and might be so in the vicinity of any of our large towns. One acre of poor land, turned into a pond, and stocked with pickerel, would yield more income to the owner, than the produce of six acres of cultivated land. We entertain the hope that some attention will be paid to this sure source of domestic economy, by the Horticultural Society of Boston, — who by offering premiums, might bring this delightful fish in considerable plenty, into our markets. There have been several laws enacted, from time to time, by the Legislature of Massachusetts, for protecting pickerel, and specifying the time , 170 ESOCES. when it may legally be fished for. Nothing can be more absurd than the whole course of legisla- tion on this subject. Look at the statute book, and the reader will find as many unphilosophical and absurd restrictions, on man’s natural propen- sity for angling, as ever were printed; and man- ifestly at variance with the design of our Creator. No other confirmation of this remark is necessary, beside the total disregard in which the edicts are held by all classes of citizens. The money which has been actually expended in legislating on the “ Alewivesin Taunton Great River,” would have constructed a monument of their bones, as high as the incipient granite me- mento on Bunker Hill, which would have been more marvellous, and decidedly of as much utility as anything the operation of the laws have effect- -ed for the Taunton Great River alewwes. The fisheries in China are free to all; there are no restrictions on any of the great rivers, lakes or canals. ‘The subject of the protection of the fish- erles is not once. mentioned in the Leu-lee, but the heavy duties on salt, renders the use of salt fish, in China, an article of food almost unknown: beside nets, the line, and spear, the ingenious peo- ple of that country have a peculiar method of fish- ing with the Cormorant, pelicanus piscator, which extends all over the empire. ‘The bird 1s taught ESOX - 171 while young, to dive for the fish, which it would greedily swallow, were it not for a metallic ring slipped over the neck, which holds the fish in the throat, so that the man in the boat, pulls it out and suffers the bird to dive again.* The cormorant will catch bushels a day, in this manner, being taught to swim towards its master, to deliver the burden. Jn other parts, it is a very common practice, to take fish by torch light, as is practised in spearing eels, suckers, &c. in the in- terior of New England. But they have one more curious and successful mode, which does not seem to have been copied anywhere, which is this: —a white painted board, highly varnished, is fixed along the outside edge of the boat, with another inside, so that both are like the roof of a house. In moon-light, the board reflects the rays into the water, m such a manner, as to induce the fish to spring toward it, supposing it a sheet of moving water, and thus they fairly leap over the ridgepole ‘into the boat. The boldness and voracity of the pike are so extraordmary, that it may with propriety be term- * Oviedo Gomaro, as well as other writers, have testified to the fact, that the Indians of the Antilles, had the art of taming a species of sea-fish, and employed them in pursuing others. ‘Its size was small, and in their dialect, called guaican, and by the Spaniards, reverso. Mr Clinton says Oviedo explains the manner in which they conducted the process. 172 ESOCES. ed the river shark. Instances have been known of its seizing the hands of people who attempted to grasp them while in the water ; — of their devour- ing fish whose size was nearly equal to their own ; — and shortly after yielding to the temptation of the angler; and that, even while their intestines were lacerated and corroded by hooks and wires, which they had previously broken and swal- lowed. A single large pike has sometimes depopulated, in a very brief space, a well stocked pond, where it Was permitted to commit its ravages with im- punity ; — and not confining its attacks to the in- habitants of its native element, has drawn ducks, ‘and other water-fowls under, which had incautious- ly ventured within reach. | This fish is no less remarkable for its tenacity of life, after beg removed from the water, than its vigor while in it —snapping at objects presented to it fora long time after it is caught, with as much eagerness as if it were still at liberty. A gentleman was once angling for pike, and succeeded in taking a very large one, at which time he was encountered by a shepherd and his dog; he made the man a present of the fish, and while engaged in clearing his tackle, he saw the dog, who had for some time been expressing his satisfaction by the most unequivocal signs, seat ESOX. 173 himself unsuspectingly with his tail at a tempting proximity to the jaws of the pike, which suddenly - caught at it. It would be impossible to express the terror of the dog, on’ finding such an appendage thus en-tailed upon him — he. ran in every direction to free himself, but in vain, and at last plunged into the stream as a last resource,— but this was equal- ly fruitless. The hair had become so entangled in the fish’s teeth, that it could not release its hold; accordingly, he struggled over to the opposite side, now above, and now below the surface. Having landed, the dog made for his master’s cottage with all haste, where he was at length freed from his unwilling persecutor; yet, notwith- standing the fatigue the latter had endured, he ac- tually seized and sunk its teeth into a stick which was used to force open its jaws. The pike lives to a great age, and attains an uncommon size, if unmolested. One ofthe largest probably ever taken, was found on drawing a pool near Newport, England, that had not been fished in for many years; its weight was over one hun- dred and seventy pounds. Another was taken in _ Lough-Carrib, Ireland, weighmg over seventy pounds. In Persia, they attain a greater size than in any other country. ? 174 ESOCES. Pike spawn in March or April. During the height of the season their colors are extremely brilliant, being green diversified with bright yellow spots ; at the close of the season the green fades to a greyish hue; and the yellow spots become faint and indistinct. In the sultry hours of sum- mer they are frequently to be seen dormant near the surface ; in which situation they are some- times taken by means of a noose of wire fastened toa pole, ten or twelve feet long; the wire is slowly passed over the head and branchial fins, when the fish is landed by a sudden, strong jerk. The pike is partial to still, shaded water, where it is not liable to be disturbed, and thrives better in still water than running. streams. ‘Towards winter it retires under banks which are over- shadowed by bushes, stumps of trees, old roots, and other objects which afford shelter and a bask- ing place. ) Its appearance in ponds where none were ever placed, has been thought by some extraordi- nary ; but we may easily account for this, by well known data respecting the generation of fishes. In these cases it is probable the ova ‘were swal- lowed by some aquatic fowl, and subsequently ejected into those ponds, as plants are known to have been produced, from a similar dissemina- tion. ESOX. 175 A gentleman in the north of England, who was as enthusiastic in regard to the “ gentle craft,” as old Izaak Walton himself; on reading an account of some species of sea-birds being trained to bring home to their masters the fish caught during the day, was struck with the idea of trying a similar plan with the domestic water-fowl. Having a considerable sheet of water near his residence, he procured a large goose, and having attached a line about three fathoms in length, with a hook suitably baited, to one of its legs; he placed it in the water, to swim round at its pleasure, while he remained on the bank anxiously watch- ing the success of his experiment. After half an hour or more of expectation, he was gratified by hearing a loud cry from his feath- ered assistant, which in great alarm at the part it was so suddenly made to perform, was wheeling, diving, and screaming at a ludicrous rate ; now making an involuntary sub-marine excursion, and anon striving in vain to abandon the regions of wa- ter for those of air. The contest between the fish and its captor, lasted a considerable time, the latter using every exertion to gain the shore, and the former mani- festing an invincible repugnance to accompany him. The issue seemed long doubtful, but finally, after a severe struggle, during which every inch of 176 ESOCES. ground, (or rather water,) was bravely lost and won, victory declared in favor of the goose, who triumphantly landed with an uncommon large pike in his train. After this, the gentleman was in the habit of taking his basket and book, and reclining on the bank, amused himself with reading, while he sent his novel purveyor upon the lake to catch, or be caught, as might happen. The goose, after a capture, apprised him by its cries, and made straight for the bank, where he stood ready to assist in securing it. In this curious manner, he seldom failed of replenishing his bas- ket and enjoying additional sport, with far less trouble than required by the usual method. GEN. BELONE. Sea-Pixe, — Esox Belone. This is known by the name of spit-fish, and gar-fish, but in New England, particularly, as the bill-fish, in allusion to its long snout. Occasionally, sea-pike have been found on the beaches two feet and a halfin length. The un- der jaw is the longest by about half an inch, and both are bordered by a single row of sharp, nee- dle-like teeth. On the back are two dorsal fins, with a furcated tail ; the genera color is a bright green, except the fins, which are tinged witha faint BELONE. 177 red. Specimens are frequently brought from the West Indies, called the Barracauda pike, having all the external appearances of the one living on this coast, with this difference, —that it varies THE SEA PIKE. a —<—=o from five to eight feet in length —and the bones, in preparing it for a natural skeleton, be- come green. ‘There is another, spoken of by Basc, esox viridis, but it is not the Barracauda, nor the bill-fish of Massachusetts, — though the bones of the latter become greenish on exposure to the sun. The head of a young sea-pike from Trinidad, presented the writer by a seaman, the jaws of which are seven inches from the tip to the articu- lation, had a body six feet long. Though vora- cious and active, itis much esteemed by some for food. ‘The sea-pike, however, may be consider- ed scarce in these waters. We are assured by foreign writers, many of 12 | 178 ESOCES. whom have figured them, that the becuna, and aureo-viridis, are natives of this country. GEN. MESOGASTER. Fryine-Fisn, — Exocetus Mesogaster. ‘The body has a bright, silvery, metallic lustre ; the pec- toral fins, or wings, are narrower and larger than those of the Mediterranean. In the middle ofthe abdomen are the ventral fins. In length, they vary from three to eight inches, but are rarely seen, except in the heat of sum- mer. We have various specimens, which flew on board a vessel about six hours sail from land, on the coast of Massachusetts. THE FLYING FISH. Such is the length and fan-like breadth of the pectoral fins, that the fishes of this genus have the power of rising out of the water, and flymg seve- ral hundred feet in aright line. This, however, itis supposed, they seldom attempt, unless to es- CYPRINIDA. 179 cape from a pursuing enemy. Within the tropics they are numerous ; on this coast inward-bound vessels frequently find them on deck in the night. Sea-birds prey upon the flying fish, and the dolphin, it is reported, when it rises from its natural element, to escape the jaws of the pursuing adver- sary, keeps onward, well knowing that it will soon strike the water again. ‘This is the Azrando of the ancients. FAMILY IV.— CYPRINIDE. The family of carps, is distinguished by not pos- sessing an adipose fin; by a small mouth and weak jaws, — destitute of teeth. The pharyngeal bones perform the office of teeth. The branchial rays are few; the body scaly ; the intestines short, and without cecums. ‘They have a swim- ming bladder divided mto two sacks, somewhat like an hour-glass, and live in fresh water, being harmless, inoffensive, and quiet mhabitants. In the United States we have not yet discover- ed the true carp of Europe, which is so extensive- ly bred in pleasure grounds. Usually it grows to twelve and eighteen mches, but in the stagnant waters of Persia still larger. It is generally sup- posed to have been carried to England about 1514. The quantity of roes extruded by the fe- 180 CYPRINIDA. male, far exceeds the weight of her body. It is also believed that they may live to more than two hundred years. Though denominated the wise, on account of its sagacity, yet in the spawning season it will allow the angler to tickle its sides, and is thus easily captured by hand. ‘The sale of carp has constituted a part of the revenues of the nobility and gentry in Prussia, Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony, Bohemia, Mechlenburg and Holstein, — in all of which places, the rearing of this fish is re- garded with peculiar interest. Wedo not know why carp nay not be introduced and naturalized here, and become as great a source of profit. There are basins of water in every direction, in the immediate vicinity of Boston, of no kind of use whatever, at present, that might become most valuable appendages to an estate, by stock- ing them with pickerel or carp. GEN. CYPRINUS. GoLpEen Carp,— Cyprinus -Auratus. 'The gold fish was introduced into this country, many years since, from England, especially for orna- ment. Itis a native of China, in the province of Chekyang; and persons of distinction, all over the Celestial Empire, rear them in vases, some of which are very costly. CYPRINUS. 18] The gold-fish has become climated in the north em states, and may be found in various places in Massachusetts.* There is a pond in Brookline, in which beautiful specimens may be seen, cours- ing along the margin. As it is customary in towns to keep gold-fish in glass vessels, as parlor ornaments, it may be use- ful to remark, that the water should be changed daily, without failure. Iftar, or the staves of tar- barrels are burned in the room, it is very danger- ous to the fish ; the lighting of a brimstone match is also very liable to kill them. The best kind of food, extensively prepared in Canton, and sold in the shops, is a mixture of flour paste, mixed with the yolks of hard boiled eggs. “In Venezuela, there is a curiously formed little fish, call- ed carribi, extremely annoying to bathers. These are never more than three or four inches in length, and are shaped like a gold-fish, which they also resemble in the brilliant orange hue of their scales. Although they are so small, their ex- ceeding voracity, and the incalculable numbers in which they swarm, render them very dangerous. They are, indeed, to the full as much dreaded, if not more so, by a Banero, than the cayman. Their mouth is very large in proportion to their size, and opens much in the same manner as a bullet- mould. It is furnished with broad sharp teeth, like those of a shark in miniature ; so that wherever they bite, they take away apiece of flesh. When once either man or beast is at- tacked by them, they will strip the limb of flesh in a surpris- ingly short time; for the taste of the blood spreading in the water collects them in myriads.— Campaigns and Cruises in Venezuela. 182 CYPRINIDZ. The Chinese Jugglers teach them to rise and fall in the water, at their bidding. The silver-fish, or stlver-carp, is found in the same waters with the red; indeed, in stocking the pond with the true gold-fish, in the course of a few generations silver-colored individuals make their appearance. ‘To what circumstance this is owing we are not able to explain. SHINER, — Cyprinus Crysolencas. Among the fresh water fishes, this is one of the smallest. Though we have seen individuals two inches in length, they are oftener less than one. ‘They are a beautifully proportioned, shining little fish — the prey of their larger neighbors, and the sport of school-boys, who angle for them with a crooked pin. Minow, — Cyprinus Atronasus. This is an- other of the Jilliputian fishes, scarcely exceeding an inch in length. It may be seen in shoals in all the little brooks over New England. Cuvus, — Cyprinus Ohiongus— [Philadelphica, of Belknap.] In the clear rivers and rivulets in the western sections of Massachusetts, this beauti- ful fish is quite common. It is taken with a hook baited with the angle-worm. In winter, it may be COBITIS. 183 caught through the ice, by baiting with cheese and . Venice turpentine. The head is large, the back of a dusky green, the sides silvery, the abdomen white, the pectoral fins yellowish, and the ventrals and anals tinged with red. This fish seems to be very timid, and the angler therefore, in fixing himself in a good po- _ sition, over some deep hole, where the chub con- ceals itself under the projecting long roots of trees, is obliged to move very cautiously, or he will fright- en it away. For the table, the chub would be considered very excellent, were it not for the mil- lions of little bones. They are frequently eight and ten inches long. GEN. COBITIS. Sucker,— Cyprinus Teres. [ Catastomus]. From the earliest period of boyhood, we have been fa- miliar with the fresh water sucker, a lazy, still fish of a dingy color, with mouth very like that of the lamprey eel, being constituted of a semi-cartilagi- nous ring, at the extremity of a short elastic sack, as it were, under the jaws; it appears, on close examination, as though the skin from the tip of the snout, was drawn down under the tip of the under jaw, and a hoop set in the thus elongated tube. It basks in the hot sun, fastened by the mouth 184 CYPRINIDE. to a stone or root, along amuddy bottom, heading towards the stream. Is this not similar to the loche of Europe? Where it is not often disturb- ed it attains the length of a foot and a half, weighing one or two pounds. It is a favorite sport of country lads to follow a rivulet and spear them by torch-light. As food, they are not very much prized. | Mr Bruce, the keeper ofthe Boston light-house, has politely forwarded a strange fish which he found in a lobster pot, that was unknown to him or any of the fishermen in his service, which has a mouth precisely like the fish above described ; but the body, instead of being round, is quite thin and wide, back of the gills. The color is silvery, mottled with dark waving lines. It is in length about ten inches, and appropriately denomina- ted the sea-sucker. GEN. ABRAMIS. Bream, — Abramis Chrysoptera. Commonly the bream in this part of the country is small, not exceeding seven or eight inches. The body is slender, sides silvery, the abdomen tinged with red; and the anal fin has fortyone rays. LEUCISCUS. 185 GEN. LEUCISCUS. Roacu, — Leuciscus Rutilus. This fish inhab- its the larger class of rivers, and is very excellent for the table. The body seems to be compressed ; —the scales are of considerable size, — the fins tinged with red; the dorsal opposite the ventrals, and the tail slightly forked. Occasionally they weigh a pound. Dace, or Darr, — Leuciscus Vulgaris. This little fish is known wherever the others are. Elev- en rays are found in the anal fin, and ten in the dorsal ; — the length is from six to eight inches. These are the usual kinds of fish taken in the rivers in the interior of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, this side of Connecticut river. _ Prof. Hitchcock, of Amherst College, has polite- ly forwarded to us, specimens of the white and red dace, which appear to be very common in that vicinity. We have not been able to procure any that ex- ceed eight imches. Small as they are, they are exceedingly delicate and well tasted. We enter- tain the hope of having an opportunity of mvesti- gating the fresh water fishes of the interior, in a more particular essay, hereafter. ’ Burak, — Leuciscus Alburnus. This, too, is 186 SILURIDA. a small fish, rarely exceeding six inches. The eyes are large with a blood-red spot on the lower side ; the body is broad and flat; the color of the back is an olive green ; fins pale ; the lower Jawa little longer than the upper. In the anal fin are twentyone rays. SHort-Cuvus, — Leuciscus Cephalus. In the western and northwestern part of the state the chub is quitecommon. The body is plump and silvery with a tinge of blue; the head is chubby, and the snout rounded ; the scales pretty large and angular ; fins a kind of iron rust color, the tail slightly blue ; the anal fin has fourteen rays. FAMILY V.— SILURIDE. In this family there is a want of scales, the body being covered with a leathery skin which se- cretes an unctuous slime. ‘The swimming bladder is attached to a particular bony contrivance, quite curious in its functions. There are cirri, or long feelers as they are termed by anglers, on the margin of the lips ;— and there is one ray like a thorn on the anterior edge of the pectoral fins. This family is widely spread in the rivers of America. Pout, horn-pout, 6ull-head, si- lurus felio, &c., are the vulgar names by whic SILURUS. 187 the individuals of the genus silurus are known in New England. In the great western rivers the cat-fish, often eight feet in length, is nothing more nor less than a mammoth horn-pout. Writers speak of them as the largest fresh water fishes of Europe. They are slow, sluggish, and seem to have a predilection for dark, muddy waters, in which vermin abound. Few exceed a foot in length, in the northern . states; oftener they are much short of that. In bays where, by the rise of rivers, they get intro- duced, they breed very fast, and bushels of them are sometimes raked out of very small pools. They are exceedingly tenacious of life ; — their vitality is so low, and their constitution so pecu- liar, that they may be partially frozen without de- struction. ‘The past winter the writer, by acci- dent, left two pouts in a small tin pail, in an upper apartment of the City Hall, in the month of De- cember, during a severely cold night; and in the morning they were found frozen closely in the ice. After being exposed to the warmth of a stove with reference to emptying the vessel, to our utter amazement the fishes revived, and are now the tenants of a cistern in Battery March Street. we It was suggested by Bloch that the loche, placed in a vessel of water, would be a very good 188 SILURIDE. barometer, as it becomes uneasy when stormy weather approaches, —putting its lips above the surface, as though gasping for air. We are in doubt, whether the pout should be placed in the genus cobitis, or in the place now assigned. At all events, the same uneasiness may be observed in the pout, on the approach of a change of weather. GEN. SILURUS. At the moment of writing this article, Saturday evening, February 22d, we have before us, in a tumbler of water, a little fish of the genus szlurus, only an inch and a half in length, taken this morn- ing from the nose of an aqueduct pump, in Blos- som Street ; it must, therefore, have come from Jamaica Pond, in Roxbury, about six miles through the logs. The mouth is somewhat like the broad jaws of the frog ; the eye is large and bright, the body thick, through the pectoral fins; the abdomen whitish ; the back and sides a dark olive, and from the lips eight cirri, or feelers shoot out; four un- der the mouth, two over the rim of the upper lip, and one at each angle of the mouth, larger and longer than the others. With these it is enabled to catch small fishes that dart towards them, mis- taking them for worms, as the pout lies quietly eyeing its game. SLLURUS. 189 In this respect its habits bear a striking resem- blance to the sturgeon. ‘There are two species in this vicinity ; the one having but one dorsal fin and the other an adipose, or second high feathery dor- sal, quite near the tail. The one before us has this second soft fin and two more cirri; the other has but six of those appendages. THE HORN POUT. These fishes are not much admired for the ta- ble; still they are very tolerable food. Some- times they are sought particularly for the sick, it being supposed the flesh is remarkably easy of di- gestion. In taking them from the hook, which they very readily seize with almost any kind of bait, there is danger of being wounded by the pectoral thorn, which is kept at a right angle with the bo- dy, as a weapon of defence. The truly enormous size to which they attain in the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, may well excite the astonishment of travellers. Dr Joshua B. Flint, of Boston, an accurate naturalist, remarked 199 GADITES. to us, that during his passage up the Mississippi he had seen them six, seven and eight feet in length. The farther south we examine the rivers, the larger they appear to grow. ORDER VII.—MALACOPTERYGII SUBR ACG HILA Li. FAMILY I.— GADITES. In this family, the ventral fins are fixed under the throat, and considerably pointed ; the body is coy- ered with soft scales, the head, however, being without them ; all the fins are soft ; teethin many unequal rows, like a rasp,—and the branchial openings have seven rays. Usually, all the fam- ily have two, and sometimes three dorsal fins, and a distinct caudal. The air-bladder is large. GEN. MORRHUA. Common Cop, — Gadus Morrhua. In the gill membrane are seven flexible rays; the head tol- erably smooth ; body covered with loose scales ; generally, in all the species found at the north;- ventral fins very soft and slender. We consider it unnecessary to enter into a mi- MORRHUA. 19] nute description of a fish so universally known as the most valuable production of the sea to man. The cod abounds on the whole coast of Massachu- setts, but flourishes in the greatest vigor and abun- dance still further north. Indeed, the cod-fishery, as adverted to in the preliminary essay on the importance of the fishe- ries, in the commencement of this volume, has be- come a business of national importance not only to this, but in fact to many other countries, contrib- uting alike to the support and prosperity of mil- lions of people. Several towns in Massachusetts are wholly indebted to this interesting branch of industry for their wealth and increasing commer- cial importance. The cod is gregarious, gomg in immense armies from place to place, but remaining certain parts of the season at particular localities, which afford its appropriate food in greatest abundance; sea worms, small muscles and marine plants, are com- mon on clear, sandy or rocky bottoms, and there the cod is caucht. It is wonderfully prolific ; Leuwenhoek announ- ced the discovery of nine millions of eggs in a sin- gle cod! thirtysix thousand have been counted in modern times. A French writer, in commenting on this curious provision for maintaining the exist- ence of the species, says that we have the assur- 192 GADITES. ance of an inexhaustible supply of wholesome food, secured to all succeeding generations. The inshore cod, as on the great banks, are caught with a line, in two, six and eight fathoms of water, where the tide ebbs and flows with con- siderable force, over rocky soundings. Pleasure boats are often successful in hauling one or two hundred ina day, weighing from one te fifteen pounds. ‘Those huge specimens seen occasionally in the stalls, are procured farther out at sea. Those boats which supply the market, summer and winter,go about six miles, where, after hav- ing procured a quantity, they run up in the night to deliver them fresh the next morning to their regular customers. Many have their smacks so constructed that the fish are kept alive in the hold till the hour of sale. This is certainly much bet- ter than the old mode of keepimg them till the next day, as they have a tendency to become putrid much sooner than the flesh of land animals. The New York market is decidedly superior to Boston in this respect, viz : — the fish are actual- ly swimming in the car when sold. In the spring the cod seems uncommonly vora- cious ; for however unsuccessful it may have been in snatching the bait from the hook, and notwith- standing the mouth may have been severely lace- rated, it seizes with avidity the very next it dis- MORRHUA. 193 covers. Wounds heal in a few days, so that however badly the skin is torn, the gelatine of the blood is poured in so copiously as to close the breach much sooner than the healing process is completed in warm-blooded animals. Two or three years since the keeper of Rains- ford island caught a cod which had suspended to about a yard of line, a lead weight of several pounds, the other end being secured to a hook which was deeply imbedded in the bones and in- teguments of the upper jaw. How long the poor fish had been dragging about the inconvenient bur- den, it was difficult to decide. The best bait for pleasure-party cod-fishing, is the common mud clam; by some, however, the menhaden is thought preferable. Many kinds of fish may be successfully caught by the flesh of their own species, but this is not the case with the cod. That the odor of some kinds of bait is particularly agreeable is well established, but the smell of pu- trid matter, to this fish is so offensive, that stead of playing about the hook they generally at once go beyond its influence. We extract the follow- ing remarks upon this species of fish from the Con- versations Lexicon. “ Cod (gadus, L., Bloch.); a genus of fishes be- longing to the order jugulares (soft-finned, sub- brachial, of Cuvier), distinguished by the following | 13 194 GADITES. characters : —a smooth, oblong or fusiform body, covered with small, soft, duciduous scales; ven- trals attached beneath the throat, covered by thick skin, and drawn out to a point; head scaleless ; eyes lateral; opercle not dentated ; jaws and an- terior part of the vomer furnished with several ranges of moderate-sized, unequal, pointed teeth, forming a card or rasp-like surface; the gills are large, seven-rayed, and opening laterally ; a small beard at the tip of the lower jaw ; almost all the species have two or three dorsal fins, one or two anal, and one distinct caudal fin; the stomach is sacciform and powerful, the coeca very numerous, and the intestines of considerable length ; they have a large, strong swimming-bladder, frequently dentated or lobed at its borders. ‘“‘'The most interesting of all the species is the common or bank cod (G. morrhua, L.). Regard- ed as a supply of food, a source of- national indus- try and commercial wealth, or as a wonder of na- ture im its continuance and multiplication, this fish may justly challenge the admiration of every intel- ligent observer. ‘Though found in considerable numbers on the coasts of other northern regions, an extent of about four hundred and fifty miles of ocean, laving the chill and rugged shores of New- foundland, is the favorite annual resort of count- less multitudes of cod, which visit the submarine MORRHUA. 195 mountain known as the Grand Banks, to feed upon the crustaceous and molluscous animals abun- dant in such situations. Hither, also, fleets of fish- ermen regularly adventure, sure of winning a rich freight in return for their toils and exposure, and of conveying plenty and profit to their homes and employers. ‘‘ Myriads of cod are thus yearly destroyed by human diligence; myriads of millions, in the egg state, are prevented from coming into existence, not only by the fishermen, who take the parents before they have spawned, but by hosts of raven- ous fishes, and an immense concourse of other ani- mals, which attend upon their migrations to feed upon their spawn: yet, in despite of the unceasing activity of all these destructive causes, year after year finds the abundance still undiminished, inex- haustible by human skill and avidity, irrepressible by the combined voracity of all the tribes of ocean. This, however, is by no means the sum of destruc- tion to which the species is liable. After the spawn is hatched, while the fry are too young and feeble to save themselves by flight or resistance, they are pursued and devoured in shoals by numer- ous greedy tyrants of the deep, and, still worse, by their own gluttonous progenitors, clearly showing that without some extraordinary exertion of crea- tive energy, the existence of the species could not have been protracted beyond a few years. 196 GADITES. “Such, however, is the fecundity with which the All-wise has endowed this race, that ifbut one female annually escaped, and her eggs were safely hatched, the species would be effectually preserv- ed. This is not so surprising when we recollect that the ovaries of each female contain not fewer than 9,344,000 eggs, as has been ascertained by careful and repeated observation. Few members of the animal creation contribute a greater mass of subsistence to the human race; still fewer are more universally serviceable than the cod-fish, of which every part is applied to some useful pur- pose. ) “When fresh, its beautifully white, firm and flaky muscles furnish our tables with one of the most delicious dainties ; salted, dried, or otherwise conserved for future use, it affords a substantial and wholesome article of diet, for which a substi- tute could not readily be found. The tongue, which is always separated from the head when the fish is first caught, even epicures consider a delicacy ; and tongues, salted or pickled along with the swimming-bladders, which are highly nu- tritious, being almost entirely pure gelatine, are held in much estimation by house-keepers, under the title of tongues and sounds. ‘“‘'The sound or swimming bladder of codfish, if rightly prepared, supplies an isinglass equal to the MORRHUA. 197 best Russian, and applicable to all the uses for which the imported is employed. The liver of the cod, when fresh, is eaten by many with satis- faction, but it is more generally reserved by fish- ermen, for the sake of the large quantity of fine limpid oil which it contains. This is extracted by heat and pressure, and forms the well known cod- liver oil of commerce, which, in many respects, and for most uses, is superior to the commonly- used fish-oil. ‘The heads of cod-fish, after the tongues are cut out, and the gills are saved for bait, are thrown overboard, on account of want of room, and because salting would not preserve them to any advantage. Yet the head, being almost en- tirely composed of gelatine, is, when fresh, the richest, and perhaps the most nutritive part of the fish. ‘The fishermen, it is true, make use of it for their own nourishment, but the great mass is thrown into the sea—a circumstance we can scarce reflect upon without regret, when we re- member how many poor, in various charitable in- stitutions, and through the country generally, might be luxuriously fed with this waste. If vessels were provided with the requisite implements and fuel, these heads would furnish a large amount of strong and valuable fish-glue or isinglass, that would well repay the trouble and expense of its preparation. 198 GADITES. “ <4" WG for he, read it. 176, two Soc) wee ss for genera, read general. 179, eighth ‘ & ¢t for hirando, read hirundo. 184, three lines from top, for loche, read loach. Meloy oetwa. She nee ee do. do.. 207, five lines from bottom, for pluinosus, read pruinosus. A 208, sixth line from top, do. do. 226, twelfth -s for auguilliform, read anguilliform. Owing to a mistake of the compositor, in the whole article on An- guilla, the word is mis-spelt Auguilla- 236, last line before note, for Jdua, read Idria. 237, first line from top, do. do. 264, eleven lines from top, for cecums, read ceca. Q71, three sf for littoral, read litteral. 304, last line from bottom, for States, read State. 306, head of page, for Comberoides, read Scomberoides. 307, sixth line from bottom, for nest, read net.