THE ROSE-FISH. 



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--A 



THE ROSE-FISH AND ITS ALLIES. 



And there were crystal pools, peopled with fish, 

 Argent and gold ; and some of Tyrian skin, 



Some crimson-barred. And ever at a wish 

 They rose obsequious, till the wave grew thin 



As glass upon their backs, aud then dived in, 

 Quenching their ardent scales in watery gloom, 



Whilst others with fresh hues rowed forth to win 



My changeable regard. 



Thomas Hood. 



A LTHOUGH upon the west coast of North America the fishes of the 

 family Scorpcenzdcs are among the most important, there are only four 

 species on the Atlantic coast of our continent ; of these, two have been 

 discovered within the past decade, and the others, though well known and 

 widely distributed, are not of great importance. The Rose-fish, Sebastes 

 marinas, is conspicuous among cold-water fishes by its brilliant scarlet 

 color; it is known as "Red Perch,"* "Norway Haddock," " Hemdur- 

 gan," and "Snapper," as "Bream" in Gloucester, Mass., and "John 

 Dory" at Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is found also in Northern Europe, 

 where it has been recorded as far south as Newcastle, in Northern England, 

 latitude 55°,f and it has been observed in Aberdeen and Berwick, and in 

 Zetland, where it is called " Bergylt " and " Norway Haddock." 



* In distinction from the " blue perch " or " cunner " (Ctenolabrus adsfersus), which it resembles in form, 

 though not in color. 



f (iINthek ; Cat. Fishes Brit. Mus. 2, p. 26. 



