in somewhat the same manner as birds use their wings to rise in the air; and this is not done without considerable exertion. Here, therefore, they generally swim, with their bodies in an oblique position, and feed on such sea animals as come in their way.

The Turbot, and Holibut grow to a large size. The former has been known to weigh from twenty five to thirty pounds, the latter, sometimes attains the weight of between two and three hundred pounds. The eyes of the whole tribe are situated on one side of the head. It is a curious circumstance, that, while the un der parts of their body are of a brilliant white, the upper parts are so coloured and speckled, as, when they are half immersed in the sand or mud, to render them almost imperceptible. Of this resemblance they are so conscious, that whenever they find themselves in danger, they sink into the mud, and there continue perfectly motionless. This is a circumstance so well known to fishermen, that within their palings on the strand, they are often under the necessity of tracing furrows with a kind of iron sickle, in order to detect by the touch, what they are not otherwise able to distinguish. Not being furnished with any weapons of defence, these fishes owe their security to this stratagem; while the thornback and ray which are carnivorous, and armed with strong spines, although flat-fish of a diffe

rent class, are marbled with lighter colours, that they may be perceived and avoided by less powerful fish.

The general form of the Turbot is somewhat square. The upper parts of the body and fins are ash coloured with dark spots; and the under parts white. On the upper parts there are numerous short and blunt spines. The eyes are on the left side of the head.

The northern parts of the English coast and some places off the coast of Holland, as well as the northern parts of Ireland, afford Turbots in greater abundance, and in greater excellence, than any other parts of the world. Lying here, however, in deep waters, they are seldom to be caught but by lines.

In fishing for Turbot off the Yorkshire coast, three men go out in each of the boats, each man provided with three lines, every one of which is furnished with two hundred and eighty hooks, placed exactly six feet two inches asunder. These are coiled on an oblong piece of wickerwork, with the hooks baited and placed very regularly in the centre of the coil. When they are used, the nine are generally fastened together so as to form one line with above two thousand hooks, and extending nearly three miles in length, This is always laid across the current. An anchor and buoy are fixed at the end of each man's line. The tides run here so rapidly, that the fishermen can only shoot and haul their lines in

the still water at the turn of the tide; and therefore, as it is flood and ebb about every alternate six hours, this is the longest time the lines can remain on the ground. When the lines are laid, two of the men usually wrap themselves in the sail and sleep, whilst the third is on watch to prevent their being run down by ships, and to observe the weather.

'The boats used in this work are each about a ton burthen; somewhat more than twenty feet in length, and about five in width. They are well constructed for encountering a boisterous sea, and have three pairs of oars, and a sail, to be used as occasion requires. Sometimes larger boats than these are used, which carry six men and a boy. When the latter come to the fishing-ground, they put out two of the smaller boats that they have on board, which fish in the same manner as the three-manned boats do, save that each man is provided with a double quantity of lines; and, instead of waiting in these the return of the tide, they return to the large boat and bait their other lines thus hauling one set and shooting another, at every turn of the tide. The fishermen commonly run into harbour twice a week, to deliver their fish.

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The bait that the Turbots take most readily is fresh herring, cut into proper-sized pieces; they are also partial to the smaller lampreys, pieces of haddock, sand-worms, muscles, and limpets;

and when none of these are to be had, the fishFermen use bullock's liver. The hooks are two inches and a half long in the shank, and nearly an inch wide betwixt the shank and the point. They are fastened to the lines upon sneads of twisted horse-hair, twenty-seven inches in length. The line is made of small cording, and is always tanned before it is used.

The voracity of these fish in pursuit of prey, is oftentimes such, that it carries them into the mouths of rivers, or the entrance of ponds in salt-marshes, which communicate with the sea. But they are not contented with merely employing agility and strength in the procuring of their food, they likewise have recourse to stratagem. They plunge themselves into the mud or sand at the bottom of the sea, and cover their whole body, except their eyes and mouth. Thus concealed, they seize upon, and devour all the smaller kinds of fish which incautiously approach them. It is said that they are very particular in the choice of their food, refusing, invariably, all except living animals, or such as are not in the least And the fishermen. they are never to be caught with baits which have been bitten by other fish.

assert, three putrid.

In many places, Turbot and Holibut are sold indiscriminately for each other. They are, however, perfectly distinct, the upper parts of the former being marked with large, unequal, and obtuse tubercles; while those of the other

are quit smooth, and covered with oblong soft scales that adhere firmly to the body. The eyes of the Turbot also are on the left, whilst those of the Holibut are on the right of the head.

'They are generally taken with hooks, and lines. The Greenlanders employ the membrane of the stomach of the Holibut, in place of glass for their windows. The Swedes and Icelanders make of these fish what they call raff and rachel: the first consists of the fins, to which they are much attached, and the latter of pieces of the flesh cut into stripes. Holibuts, also, are salt ed in the manner of herrings, which is said to be the best mode of curing them.

These fish spawn in the spring of the year, depositing their eggs, which are of a pale red colour, on the shore, amongst the rocks and stones.

THE Beaked Chaetodon or Shooting Fish is of a whitish or very pale brown colour, with commonly four or five blackish bands running across the body, which is ovate and compressed. The snout is lengthened and cylindrical. The dorsal and lower fins are very large, and on the former there is a large eye-like spot. It frequents the shores and mouths of rivers in India, and about the Indian islands. It is somewhat more than six inches in length.

This fish feeds principally on flies and other