faculties of the mind. Such power of self-defence has Providence allowed this lumpish and inactive fish. Whenever an enemy approaches, the Torpedo emits from its body that benumbing shock, which incapacitates the other instantly, and it thereby gets time to escape. Nor is it merely a means of defence, but an advantage in other respects, for the Torpedo thus benumbs its prey, and easily seizes upon it. The animals thus killed also become more easy of digestion.

THE HAG-FISH, (Gastrobanchus glutinosa,) A CARTILAGINOUS fish, which in its general appearance bears a near resemblance to the Lamprey. Its colour is dusky bluish above, and reddish towards the head and tail; its length from four to six inches. The Hag-fish is remarkable for its total want of eyes; its mouth is of an oblong form, with two beards or cirri on each side, and on the upper part four. On the top of the head is a small spout-hole, furnished with a valve, by which it can be closed at pleasure. A double row of pores extends beneath the body, from one extremity to the other, which on pressure exude a quantity of viscid fluid, which, when attacked by large fish, the Hag throws out, so as to cloud the surrounding element in such a manner as to render itself invisible to its assailants. "The habits of this fish are highly singular: it will enter the bodies of such fishes as it happens to find on the fishermen's hooks, and which consequently have lost the power of escaping its attack; and gnawing its way through the skin, will devour all the internal parts, leaving only the bones and the skin.

If put into a large vessel of sea-water, it is said in a very short space to render the whole water so glutinous that it may easily be drawn out in the form of threads."

THE PILOT-FISH. (Naucrates ductor.)

THE body of this fish is long, the head compressed, rounding off in front, without scales as far as the operculum. The mouth is small, the jaws of equal length, and furnished with small teeth; the palate has a curved row of similar teeth in front, and the tongue has teeth all along. The colour varies in several species. The Pilotfish will frequently attend a ship during its course at sea for weeks, or even months together; and there are many curious stories told respecting its habits, in occasionally directing a shark where to find a good meal, and also in warning him how to avoid a dangerous bait. Whether this be true or not will be difficult to determine; but it is certain that this voracious fish is generally found in company with the shark, and picks up the smaller pieces of food which his predatory master drops, either by accident or design.

THE REMORA, OR SUCKING-FISH,
(Echeneis remora,)

RESEMBLES the herring; its head is thick, naked, depressed, and marked on the upper side with transverse rough lines. The fins are seven in number; the under jaw is longer than the upper, and both furnished with teeth. This fish is provided by nature with a strong adhesive power, and, by means of the grooved lines on its head, can attach itself to any animal or body whatever. We might suppose that a small fish with seven acting fins, armed like a galley with oars, would have a great power of motion in the water, but, for some reason unknown to us, Providence has contrived for him an easier way of travelling, by enabling him to fix himself to the hull of a ship, and even to the body of a larger animal than himself, as the whale, the shark, and others. Our forefathers believed that, small as he is, this fish had the power of arresting the progress of a ship in its fastest sailing by adhering to the bottom.

"The Sucking-fish beneath, with secret chains,
Clung to the keel, the swiftest ship detains.
The seamen run confused, no labour spared,
Let fly the sheets, and hoist the topmost yard.
The master bids them give her all the sails,
To court the winds and catch the coming gales.
But, though the canvass bellies with the blast,
And boisterous winds bend down the cracking mast,
The bark stands firmly rooted in the sea,

And will, unmoved, nor winds nor waves obey:
Still, as when calms have flatted all the plain,
And infant waves scarce wrinkle on the main.
No ship in harbour moor'd so careless rides,
When ruffling waters tell the flowing tides;
Appall'd, the sailors stare, through strange surprise,
Believe they dream, and rub their waking eyes."

THE SEA-WOLF, OR SEA-BAT,
(Anarrhichas lupus,)

Is often caught at Heligoland, an island not far from the mouth of the Elbe; and is about three feet in length, and having a larger and flatter head than the shark. The back, sides, and fins are of a bluish colour; the body is nearly white; the whole skin is smooth and slippery, without any appearance of scales. It is of a very voracious nature, and has a double row of sharp and round teeth, both in the upper and lower jaw. Its appetite, however, does not lead it to destroy fishes similar in shape to itself, as it is supposed to feed entirely on crustaceous animals, whose shells it breaks easily with its teeth. It is sometimes found in the northern seas exceeding twelve feet in length, and owes its name to its natural fierceness and voracity. The fishermen dread its bite, and endeavour as speedily as possible to strike out its foreteeth, which are so strong, that they are capable of leaving an impression on an anchor. The fins nearest the head spread themselves, when the animal is swimming, in the shape of two large fans, and their motion contributes considerably to accelerate its natural swiftness. The flesh is good, but not often eaten.

GROWS to a large size, weighing sometimes three hundred pounds, and measuring eight to ten feet in length, and two in breadth. It has a broad, flat, thin head; and the horns, which are on each side of the upper lip, are armed with short crooked spines, like teeth. A remarkable peculiarity in this fish is the dorsal fin, which is close to the head, and is long, stiff, dentated like the horns, and is, no doubt, an instrument of defence. In colour it resembles the eel, and has no scales; only one small fin on the back, and a forked tail; its flesh is esteemed next to that of the eel, and has a similar flavour. This fish is a great depredator, and makes considerable havoc among the smaller inhabitants of the rivers and lakes which it inhabits. The Danube, and several other rivers of Germany, and the lakes of Switzerland and Bavaria, contain numerous species of the genus Silurus.

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

BB