282 SALMONIA. 



turalists, turned out to be a putrid species of 

 shark — the squdlus maximiis. Yet all the 

 newspapers gave accounts of this ns a real 

 animal, and endowed it with feet, which do 

 not belong to serpents. And the sea snakes, 

 seen by American and Norwegian captains, 

 have, I think, generally been a company of 

 porpoises, the rising and sinking of which in 

 lines would give somewhat the appearance of 

 the coils of a snake. The kraken, or island 

 fish, is still more imaginary. I have myself 

 seen immense numbers of enormous urticce 

 marina, or blubbers, in the north seas, and in 

 some of the Norwegian ^or^5, or inland bays, 

 and often these beautiful creatures give colour 

 to the water ; but it is exceedingly improba- 

 ble, that an animal of this genus should ever 

 be of the size, even of the whale; its soft 

 materials are little fitted for locomotion, and 

 would be easily destroyed by every kind of 

 fish. Hands and a finny tail are entirely 

 contrary to the analogy of nature, and I 

 disbelieve the mermaid upon philosophical 

 principles. The dugdng and manatee are the 

 only animals combining the functions of the 



