THE YELLOWTAJL FAMILY. 157 



weight, vastly more numerous and all engaged in the same 

 butchery." 



Further these same authors write : "The hluefish is one 

 of the most active and unyielding fishes that swim. 'It can 

 jump higher and come down quicker, dive deeper, and stay 

 under longer than any other salt-water fish of its size,' says 

 Nimrod Wildfire. 'Look at his clean build, and it is 

 accounted for; his narrow waist and depth of hull, falling 

 off sharply as it approaches the keel, enabling him to keep 

 well to windward, as if he had his centreboard always 

 down. See his immense propeller behind! No fish of his 

 size is more wicked or wild when hooked.' ' 



All of the above-quoted remarks are equally applicable 

 to this fine fish as it occurs in Australian waters ; and I 

 trust that these notes will assist in directing more attention 

 to the utilisation of such a valuable food-fish. 



The Pilot-Fish This highly-interesting fish, which 

 has a cosmopolitan distribution, is a frequenter of the open 

 seas rather than the harbours. Though it occurs in some 

 parts of the world in sufficient abundance to be utilised as 

 a food-fish, generally-speaking it is chiefly known through 

 its habit of consorting with the large predaceous Sharks. 

 And true it is that nearly every large Shark has a small 

 company of these Pilot-Fishes in attendance wherever it 

 goes. Many are the marvellous tales of the manner in which 

 the little fish pilots its mighty and fearsome companion into 

 the regions of food and out of the regions of danger ; and 

 most of them should be taken cum grano salis. But what- 

 ever happens to the Shark as a consequence of the "Pilot's" 

 attendance there is no doubt that the latter is there from 

 purely selfish reasons -if I may put it that way subsist- 

 ing upon the morsels which are so small as to be beneath 

 the Shark's notice and also upon excrementitious matter 

 from the Shark itself. In addition to this, the Pilot-Fish 

 must experience a certain amount of immunity from the 

 attack of fishes larger than itself, which are over-awed by 

 the presence of the Shark. Though, personally, I would 

 not trust a hungry Shark, there appears to be no doubt 

 that it does not usually molest its small companions; in 

 fact, if it were otherwise this interesting partnership could 



