the upper jaw is narrower than the under, and the body is cylindrical, with scales hardly perceptible. The CONGER EEL is one of the largest of the Eel tribe. It has been known to measure more than ten feet in length; and its fierceness is equal to its magnitude, many instances having occurred in which it has fought furiously with the fishermen who have caught it. In April 1808 one was taken at Yarmouth, which knocked down its captor before it could be secured.

THE NETTED EEL.

THE head and mouth of this beautiful species is small, without barbles. The eyes are near the upper lip, of a blue and white colour. The teeth stand apart from each other, and those in front are the longest. The body is variegated with black and white spots like net work, and the dorsal fin extends the whole length of the back.

This species is from two to three feet in length, and was found near the coast of Tranquebar; but little is known of its natural history.

THE CORDATED EEL.

THIS fish is a native of the West Indian seas; its whole length is about thirty-two inches, of which the process at the end of the tail measures twenty-two; the body is of a rich silvery hue, the flexible part belonging to the snout brown, the fins and caudal process a paler brown. The snout is connected to the back part of the head by a flexible leathery duplicature, which permits it to be extended so that the mouth points upwards, or to fall back so as to be received into a sort of case formed by the upper part of the head; ; the eyes are close to each other and elevated from

the head; below the head, on each side, is a considerable compressed semicircular space, the forepart of which is bounded by the gill-cover, which seems to consist of a moderately strong membrane; the body gradually diminishes as it approaches the tail, which terminates in a process or string of enormous length, ending in a very fine point; the pectoral fins are small, situate behind the cavity on each side the thorax, the caudal fin has five spinous rays.

THE SAND-LAUNCE, OR SAND-EEL.

THE head of this fish is oblong, laterally compressed, and thinner than the trunk; the upper lip double; it has no teeth, but in the throat are two rugged bones, of an oblong shape, destined to retain the food. The aperture of the gills is wide, the cheeks, sides, and belly are of a silver colour; the nostrils are double, lying midway between the eyes and mouth. The eyes are small, having a black pupil within a silvery iris. The back is round, and has a furrow destined to receive the long dorsal fin. The anus is nearer the end of the tail than the head; the lateral line goes straight along the middle of the trunk; but there is another nearer the back, and still another nearer the bottom of the belly. The rays of all the fins are soft, and united by a thin membrane; they are simple in the dorsal and anal fins, and divided at the ends in the pectoral and tail, which last is bifurcated.

This fish is found in the North Sea and the Baltic; and is frequently dug out of the sand near the British shores. The sand is its usual dwelling, from whence it derives its name, and it lies sometimes a foot or two from the surface. It lives on water-worms, which it digs up with its sharp snout; it feeds also on the young of its own species, and some of about two inches long have been found in its stomach. It rarely

comes to the surface of the water; but in fine weather it may be seen coiled up like a snake, with its head pressed into the sand. The voracious fish are its destroyers, especially the mackerel and the porpess. They spawn in May, laying their ova on the sands not far from the shore. They are dug out of the sands at the reflux of the tide, with hooks made on purpose; they are mostly used for bait, but are sometimes eaten. Some naturalists say they are thin and dry, and very indifferent food; while others assert that they are delicate eating. The Greenlanders eat them both fresh and dried, but more frequently bait their hooks with them. The scales of these fish are very small and thin.

THE BUTTERFLY-FISH.

THIS fish, which is a species of Blenny, has a long, large head, narrowed at the sides; and prominent eyes of considerable magnitude, with black pupil, and orange-coloured iris; the mouth is large; the jaws are of equal length, with a row of very narrow teeth standing close to each other; the tongue is broad, but short. The gills are wide, the cheeks large, and of a silver colour. The back is round, and of a dark green; the belly is short but broad. The ground colour of the fish is a dirty green, with brown spots; there are some, however, whose principal colour is a clear blue. The dorsal fin is spotted with black. This fish inhabits the Mediterranean sea : and at Marseilles, Sardinia, and Venice, is common in the markets with other small fish. It attains to the length of six or eight inches; lives near the shore, among the rocks and weeds; and feeds on crabs and small shell-fish. Its scales are hardly visible. Some naturalists describe this fish as having two dorsal fins; while others say it has but one. This contradiction must arise from these fins being sometimes united by a membrane, and sometimes not.

VOL. II.

THE three principal species of the Marine Tortoise, or Turtle, are the GREEN, the LOGGERHEAD, and the IMBRICATED. Of these, the last is only useful in as far as it produces that beautiful material called Tortoise shell. The Loggerhead Turtle is a very bold and fierce animal, feeding principally on shell-fish, and which is extremely bad eating, as it is oily, rancid, tough, fibrous, and fishy. The species which is the delight of the epicure is the GREEN TURTLE. It is a native of the West Indies, and is occasionally upwards of six feet in length, and five or six hundred pounds in weight. Dampier mentions one so large that a son of Captain Roch, a boy of ten years of age, went from the shore in the shell of it, as a boat, to his father's ship. This kind of Turtle browses on grass, sea weed, and other plants which grow on the shoals and sand banks. The female breeds about the month of April, and sometimes drops more than a hundred eggs, which she covers with sand. The Turtle is usually caught by turning it on its back, while it is asleep; in the South Seas it is taken by divers, who seize the upper shell near the tail, and hold it down till their companions take it into the boat.

THIS singular creature has eight arms or claws, furnished on the interior side with little round serrated cups, by the contraction of which, the animal lays fast hold of any thing that comes in its way. Besides these eight arms, it has two tentacula, four times longer than the preceding, and also pedunculated. When the suckers adhere to any thing, it is very difficult to loosen their hold. The mouth is situated in the centre, and is horny, and hooked like the bill of a parrot. It is so strong that the animal can break to pieces the shells of limpets and of other marine testaceous creatures on which it feeds. The eyes are below, and surrounded with several silvery rings; they are as large as the eyes of a calf, but are very prominent, and rather resemble the eyes of a crab. The body is of a reddish brown colour, nearly cylindrical. The belly below is equal, soft, smooth, oblong-round, of an ash and faintly yellowish colour: about the middle of the upper part of the body, there