life in its own element it is perpetually harassed by the dorado and other fish of prey; and if it endeavours to avoid them by having recourse to the air, it either meets its fate from the gull and albatross, or is forced down again into the mouth of the inhabitants of the water, which keep pace with its aërial excursion." This however ought to be considered as an exaggerated representation of the creature's state of existence, since, by the admirable balance ordained by nature, the weaker animals have powers of escape in exact proportion to their danger *.

It should be observed, that this power of flight or temporary skimming through the air to a considerable distance, is not entirely confined to this genus, but takes place in some species of the genus scorpæna, as well as in that of trigla, and various others, as the reader may perceive in the prosecution of the present section.

The general length of the Mediterranean flying-fish is from twelve to fifteen or sixteen inches; and its general shape is not unlike that of a herring: the body is subcylindrical, but with a slight approach to square, if a transverse section be supposed: the head is rather large, and sloping pretty suddenly in front: the mouth small, and edged on both jaws with minute, pointed teeth: the eyes large, and of a silver colour, with a cast of gold: the scales are large, thin, and rounded: the whole animal is of a bright silvery cast, with a blue or dusky tinge on the upper part: the fins are also of a dusky colour: of these the pectoral extend as far as the beginning of the tail, and are of a sharply lanceolate form the dorsal and anal fins are shallow, and placed opposite each other near the tail, which is deeply forked with sharp-pointed

* To this purpose I may quote the observation of an ingenious gentleman (Capt. G. Tobin), who had frequent opportunities of observing the habits of the flying-fish, and who thus expresses himself in a note annexed to a drawing of this species observed about the coasts of Otaheite. "The lower half of the tail, in the flying-fish, is full twice the length of the upper: the use of it has always appeared evident to me. I have by the hour watched the dolphins and bonitos in pursuit of them; when, without wholly immersing themselves, which would bave proved fatal to them, they have disposed in their progressive motion the lower part of the tail in such a manner as to supply their wings with moisture, so as to support them above the surface. I never saw one exceed the distance of one hundred yards in its flight, without being obliged to dip for a fresh supply."

lobes, of which the lower is nearly twice the length of the upper : the ventral fins are rather large, of a lengthened and pointed shape, and situated a little beyond the middle of the abdomen towards the anal fin: on each side the lower part of the abdomen runs a kind of carina or lateral line, formed by a series of small, inclining points, or spicules.

This species is frequently observed in the Mediterranean, sometimes singly, and sometimes appearing in small shoals. Instances are not unfrequent of its falling into ships during the decline of its flight. It is considered as an agreeable fish for the table, and by some is even preferred to the herring. The general height at which it is observed to exercise its flight, is about three feet above the surface of the water.

[Shaw.

SECTION XIV.

Herring.

Clupea harengus.-LINN.

THIS fish, so eminently important in a commercial view, and which may justly be said to form one of the wonders of the northern world, is principally distinguished by the brilliant silvery colour of its body, the advancement of the lower jaw beyond the upper, and by the number of rays in the anal fin, which, in by far the greater number of specimens, are found to amount to seventeen*: the back is of a dusky blue or greenish cast, and in the recent or living fish the gill-covers are marked by a reddish, and sometimes by a violet-coloured spot: the eyes are large; the mouth without visible teeth; the openings of the gill-covers very large; the scales rather large, and easily desiduous; the lateral line not very distinctly visible; the abdomen pretty sharply carinated, and in some specimens, slightly serrated: the fins are rather small than large for the size of the fish, and the tail strongly forked. In size the herring is observed to vary greatly, and there are probably some permanent varieties of this species which yet want their exact description. The general size is perhaps from ten to twelve or thirteen inches.

* Mr. Pennant says fourteen: the number indeed is not absolutely constant, but the most general appears to be seventeen.

Important as is this fish to the inhabitants of modern Europe, it is doubted whether it was distinctly known to the ancient Greeks and Romans: at least we find no certain description in their writings either of its forms or uses. The herring fishery however is of very considerable antiquity: the Dutch are said to have engaged in it so long ago as the year 1164, and were in possession of it for several centuries, and Flanders had the honour of discovering the method of preserving this fish by pickling it. One William Buekelin, of Biervelet, near Sluys, is said to have been the inventor of this useful expedient, and from him, according to Mr. Pennant, is derived the word pickle, which we have borrowed from the Dutch and Germans. Buekelin died in the year 1397. The emperor Charles the Fifth is said to have held his memory in such veneration for the service he had done mankind, as to have paid a solemn visit to his tomb, in honour of so distinguished a citizen. "The Dutch (says Mr. Pennant) are most extravagantly fond of fish when pickled; a premium is given to the first vessel that arrives in Holland laden with this their ambrosia: we have been in the country at that happy minute, and have observed as much joy among the inhabitants on its arrival as the Egyptians shew at the first overflowing of the Nile."

Mr. Pennant, in his British Zoology, has so well detailed the general history of the herring, and its supposed migrations, that it is impossible to do better than to repeat his own words.

"The great winter rendezvous of the herring is within the Arctic circle: there they continue many months, in order to recruit themselves after the fatigue of spawning, the seas within that space swarming with insect food in a far greater degree than in our warmer latitudes.

"This mighty army begins to put itself in motion in the spring: we distinguish this vast body by that name, for the word herring is derived from the German, heer, an army, to express their numbers.

"They begin to appear off the Shetland isles in April and May: these are only forerunners of the grand shoal which comes in June, and their appearance is marked by certain signs, by the numbers of birds, such as gannets and others, which follow to prey on them: but when the main body approaches, its breadth and depth is such as to alter the very appearance of the ocean. It is divided into distinct columns of five or six miles in length and three or four in

breadth, and they drive the water before them with a kind of rippling sometimes they sink for the space of ten or fifteen minutes; then rise again to the surface, and in bright weather reflect a variety of splendid colours, like a field of the most precious gems; in which, or rather in a much more valuable light, should this stupendous gift of Providence be considered by the inhabitants of the British isles.

"The first check this army meets in its march southward, is from the Shetland isles, which divide it into two parts; one wing takes to the east, the other to the western shores of Great Britain, and fill every bay and creek with their numbers: others pass on towards Yarmouth, the great and ancient mart of herrings: they then pass through the British channel, and after that in a manner disappear: those which take to the west, after offering themselves to the Hebrides, where the great stationary fishery is, proceed towards the North of Ireland, where they meet with a second interruption, and are obliged to make a second division: the one takes to the western side, and is scarce perceived, being soon lost in the immensity of the Atlantic; but the other which passes into the Irish sea, rejoices and feeds the inhabitants of the coasts that border it.

"These brigades, as we may call them, which are thus separated from the greater columns, are often capricious in their movements, and do not shew an invariable attachment to their haunts."

The reality of the migration of the herring, so well detailed by Mr. Pennant, begins at present to be greatly called in question; and it is rather supposed that this fish, like the mackarel, is in reality at no very great distance during the winter months, from the shores which it most frequents at the commencement of the spawning season; inhabiting in winter the deep recesses of the ocean, or plunging itself beneath the soft mud at the bottom; but at the vernal season it begins to quit the deeper parts, and approach the shallows, in order to deposit its spawn in proper situations; and this is thought a sufficient explanation of the glittering myriads which at particular seasons illumine the surface of the ocean for the length of several miles at once*. As a proof of this

*Herrings spawn at different seasons; some in spring, some in summer, and some in autumn.

Dr. Bloch observes, that herrings are in reality found at almost all seasons of the year about some of the European coasts; and that the northern voyages, supposed by Pennant and others, are impracticable in the short period assigned by naturalists; the fish, in its swiftest progress, being utterly incapable of moving at so rapid a rate as this migration necessarily supposes. For these and other reasons Dr. Bloch is inclined to believe the long voyage of the herring to exist only in the minds of its describers.

Among the principal enemies of this fish may be numbered the various species of whales *, some of which are observed to pursue large shoals, and to swallow them in such quantities, that in the stomach of a single whale no less than six hundred herrings are said to have been found. Besides the whale, various species of marine birds of prey are perpetually assailing them, either on the water or from above. The herring itself is supposed to feed principally on seainsects and the smaller kind of marine worms.

Exclusive of the various methods of preparing this fish for sale in different countries, a great quantity of oil is drawn from it, forming a great and important commercial article among the northern nations, and particularly among the Swedes.

[Pennant. Shaw.

SECTION XV.

Toad-Fish, or Angler.

Lophius piscatorius.-LINN.

THE genus lophius is remarkable for a peculiarly uncouth appearance; the body being thick and shapeless, and the fins short and broad: the largest of the genus is the lophius piscatorius, popularly known by the title of the frog-fish. It is an inhabitant of the European seas, where it sometimes arrives at a great size, having been seen to measure six or seven feet in length: its more general length, however, is from two to three or four feet. The shape bears some resemblance to that of a tadpole, the head being lost as it were in the outline of the sides, and the hind parts tapering pretty suddenly towards the tail: the skin is smooth, but the upper parts of the animal are marked by various inequalities of

* Particularly a whale called the Nord-Caper, a very swift animal of the Orc tribe.