70 Mr. Couch on the Natural History 



dinary kind. I have seen them, at the fall of a river, dive 

 below the moss, that hung from above into the water, and 

 worm themselves upward through the fibres by the side of 

 the stream, resting at intervals as if to recover strength ; 

 and at last, when at the top, exert their utmost activity to 

 stem the rapid current and reach a place of safety. In 

 getting up the little cataract that pours over a sloping rock, 

 they prefer those places which are only moistened by the 

 droppings from above ; but those which quit the moisture 

 altogether, as I have seen some do, are obliged to alter 

 their course, and proceed to places more easy for them to 

 travel in. The motive for this migration, which is general 

 among young Eels, I have not been able to discover. Some 

 among them I have observed to be so diaphanous that the 

 vertebrae may be counted ; and, taking advantage of an 

 opportunity of this kind, I ascertained that when in a state 

 of activity, and not alarmed, the pulsations of the heart were 

 forty in a minute. 

 Conger. M. Conger. — This fish frequents rocky ground, and is 

 frequently found concealed in holes of rocks. When hooked 

 on a long line moored in the sea, it will sometimes escape 

 by twisting its body round until the hook is wrenched from 

 the jaws or the cord broken. It uses the same expedient 

 when it seizes its enemy, and thus sometimes inflicts a very 

 dangerous wound. It will draw itself overboard by the help 

 of its tail ; but is disabled by a blow on the vent. 



XiPIIIAS. 



Swordfish. X. Gladius. — I have not seen this fish taken, but it 

 is often met with by fishermen. 



Ammodytes. 



