way. This species grows to a considerable size; its flesh is eatable, but not much sought after. It is found near the shores of Asia and Surinam.

One of these fish caught at Surinam, on examination, was observed to have its mouth filled with yellow eggs, in none of which, however, could be found a fish completely formed; from which it is concluded, that the Silure, to defend her eggs from the voracious tribes, hatches them instinctively in her mouth. But she is supposed at times to emit them from her mouth, when in search of food to appease her appetite, and when satisfied, to take them into her mouth again.

seas.

Of the Silure tribe, there are nearly thirty different species, most of them natives of the Indian and American One of them, the SILURIS CLARIAS, of Linnæus, is called Scheilan by the Arabians. Hasselquist relates, that he saw the cook of a Swedish merchant ship die of the poison communicated by a prick from the bone of the breast fin of this fish.

THIS fish, which is also called the Bellows Fish, belongs to the genus Centriscus, and has a short broad body, laterally compressed, much resembling a pair of bellows, and of a pale red colour. The head, 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

TRUMPET FISH.... TOBACCO-PIPE FISH.

195

the lid of a snuff-box. The nostrils are double, and near the eyes, which are large, with a black pupil and a pale red iris. This fish can hide its small ventral fins in a furrow which lies behind them: all the fins are gray. The body is scaly and rough. This fish haunts the Mediterranean; 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 given 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 has a very thin body, which is of a silver colour, inclining to red, and without visible scales. The head is large, very much shelving; the mouth large; the jaws are furnished with very small teeth, and the upper lip with two large bones. The nostrils are double, and near the eyes, which are round and large; the pupil is black, the iris brown, inclining to a silver gray. The opening of the gills is large; the covert is long, consisting of one plate, under which the membrane is hid. The lateral line is crooked at its origin; the anus is not far from the ventral fins. All the fins are of a bright green colour; in the dorsal fin, the nine first rays are short and hard, the next four long and soft, and both are single; the pectoral, ventral, and tail fins are branched.

This fish lives in all climates; it being found, according

to different authors, at Brazil, Jamaica, the Antilles, the East Indies, and Malta. It grows from six to nine inches in length, is well tasted, and lives upon worms, insects, and other little marine animals.

Is a small fish of a curious shape. The length seldom reaches twelve inches; the head bears some resemblance to that of a horse, whence originates its name. A long back fin runs from the head to the tail, which is spirally covered. The eggs of this fish are hatched in a pouch, formed by an expansion of the skin, which in some is placed under the belly, and in others at the base of the tail, and which opens to allow the young to get out.

In Europe this fish is often seen in cabinets and museums in a dried state.

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CHAPTER IX.

Of Shell Fish in general...The Crustaceous Kind... The LOBSTER...The Spiny Lobster... The CRAB... The Land Crab... The Violet Crab... The Soldier Crab...The Shrimp... The Prawn... The TORTOISE...The Land Tortoise... The Turtle...Of Testaceous Fishes... Of the TURBINATED, or Snail Kind...The Garden Snail...The Fresh-water Snail...The Sea Snail...The Nautilus... Of BIVALVED Fish... The Oyster...The Cockle...The Scallop... The Razor Fish..Of Pearls, and the Fishery...Of MULTIVALVE Shell Fish... The Sea Urchin...The Pholades.

THERE are two classes of animals, inhabiting the water, which commonly receive the name of fishes, entirely different from those we have been describing, and also very distinct from each other. These are divided by naturalists into Crustaceous and Testaceous animals: both, totally unlike fishes in appearance, seem to invert the order of nature; and as those have their bones on the inside, and their muscles hung upon them for the purposes of life and motion, these, on the contrary, have all their bony parts on the outside, and all their muscles within. Not to talk mysteriously-all who have seen a lobster or an oyster, perceive that the shell in these bears a strong analogy to the bones of other animals; and that, by these shells, the animal is sustained and defended.

Crustaceous fish, such as the crab and the lobster, have a shell not quite of a stony hardness, but rather resembling a firm crust, and in some measure capable of yielding. Testaceous fishes, such as the oyster or cockle, are furnished with a shell of a stony hardness; very brittle, and incapable of yielding. Of the crustaceous kinds are the