sailing. The Indians of Cuba and Jamaica formerly used to turn this quality to account by keeping tame Remoras, with which they fished. The Remora was secured by a slender but strong line, to which was attached a buoy, and was thrown into the water, upon which it would immediately pursue and fasten upon any fish that it perceived.

Sucking-fish are often eaten, and much admired: in taste they are said to resemble fried artichokes.

THE head of this fish is compressed, and without scales as far as the eyes: the mouth is large; the jaws are of equal length, having two strong canine teeth in front of each; the back teeth are flat, resembling the grinders of quadrupeds; the palate and tongue are smooth. The nostrils are single, and near the eyes; these last are small, with a black pupil in a blue iris. The aperture of the gills is wide, and the membrane mostly uncovered. The body is of a yellow colour, with six or seven brown transverse stripes. The scales are broad, thin, smooth, and extend over part of the anal, tail, and dorsal fins. The lateral line goes straight along the back to the end of the dorsal fin; it begins again about the middle of the tail, and is lost in the fin. This fish is found on the shores of Japan, and the Red Sea.

THE FOUR-EYED LOACH.

THE head of this species is foreshortened and broader than it is high. The lower jaw is the longest, and it lengthens downwards, and not in front, like other fish. Both jaws, as well as the palate and tongue, are armed with teeth; the barbles arise from the corners or extremities of the upper lip. The nostrils are single, and near the mouth. The eyes are very remarkable: each containing two parts or a double pupil, which has caused it to be called four eyes. The cavity of the eyes differs from other fish: this cavity is not a cylinder, as in other animals, but a part of one only; on each side at the top of the head there is an arched thin bone advancing towards the scull; these bones face each other with their concave surfaces; the eye is cylindrical, and is fixed in this cavity, but rises above it: the pupil is seen above the surface, enclosed in a black iris; as the corner is equally luminous in the internal part, the pupil is seen double. The gill coverts are smooth and slippery; the body upwards is broader than it is thick; but towards the tail it takes a rounded form. The sides are ornamented with five longitudinal dark brown stripes, which run quite to the tail, where the two outermost are connected by a transverse stripe, and the three middlemost by another. The lateral line is scarcely visible; the anus is nearer to the tail than to the head. The dorsal fin is small, and near the tail. All the fins, except the ventrals, are covered mostly

with small scales; but on the body the scales are larger. It produces its young alive.

This singular fish is found in the rivers of Surinam, near the seacoast. It multiplies fast, and is esteemed by the inhabitants as good food; it grows from six to ten inches in length. Linnæus refers it to the loche genus, from which, however, it differs so much that Bloch makes a new genus of it, under the name of Anableps.

THIS fish, which belongs to the genus Centriscus, is also called the Bellows Fish. Its body is short and broad, laterally compressed, and very much resembles a pair of bellows in shape; it is of a pale red colour. The head which is broadish above, ends in a bent cylinder below; and the aperture of the mouth, which is small, is at the end of the long beak; the aperture is closed by the lower jaw, which shuts into the upper like the lid of a snuff-box. The nostrils are double, and lie near the eyes; the eyes are large, with a black pupil and a pale red iris. The gillcovert is single: the aperture is large, and covers the membrane which lies underneath. This fish can hide its small ventral fins in a furrow which lies behind them all the fins are of a gray colour. The body is scaly and rough. This fish haunts the Mediterranean sea; but is often found in the ocean, whither, however, it seems to be driven by tempests, as it is never seen there but in stormy weather. It is tender, well

tasted, and easy of digestion; but, being very thin, it is generally sold with other small fish at a low price. As the fins are very small in proportion to the other parts, so that it cannot swim fast enough to avoid its enemies, Providence has gixen it a moveable serrated spine for its defence, which is the first ray in the dorsal fin; with this it will successfully defend itself against almost any fish, unless taken by surprise. The name of the Trumpet-fish was given to it by mariners, in consequence of its breathing the water out of its snout with a sounding noise.

THE TOBACCO-PIPE-FISH.

THIS species is known in the seas of America and Japan. The head is very long, quadrangular, and adorned with rays. The aperture of the mouth is wide, and in an oblique direction; the lower jaw is somewhat longer than the upper; the teeth are small; the tongue moveable; the nostrils double, and near the eyes, which are large, with a black pupil and silvery iris. The body is devoid of visible scales, flat in the front part, and rounded towards the tail. The lateral line has a straight direction. The anus is much nearer the tail-fin than the head; the belly is long; the fins are short and of a pale red, the rays mostly four-branched. This fish is brown, spotted with blue on the back and sides, and the belly is silvery.

Its usual length appears to be from twelve to eighteen inches, exclusive of the bristle-formed process; which is usually one fourth as long as the body, but it is said to grow sometimes to between three and four feet. In some instances it has been found with two filiform appendages. It lives on small fry and lobsters; it is very plentiful, but lean, and is therefore only eaten by the poor.

THIS fish, which is viviparous, evidently forms a connecting link, in the chain of nature, between the serpents and fish, possessing not only, in a great measure, the serpent form, but also many of their habits. It is frequently known to quit its element, and to wander, in the evening or night, over meadows in search of snails and other prey, or to other ponds for change of habitation. This will account for Eels being found in waters that have not been in the least suspected to contain them. The usual haunts of Eels are in mud, among weeds, under roots or stumps of trees, or in holes in the banks or the bottom of rivers. They are partial to still water, and particularly to such as is muddy at the bottom.

Eels are best in season from May to July, but may be caught with a line till September. When the water is thick with rains, they may be fished for during the whole day; but the largest and best are caught by night lines. The baits generally used are wasp-grubs, dew worms, minnows, and gudgeons.

The Common Eel seldom exceeds a foot in length. The head is compressed, and narrower than the body;