40 FISHES. 



brought from the South Sea Islands, and de- 

 posited in the British Museum. 



The most curious, as well as most serviceable 

 hooks are made of the inner part of the shell of 

 the Pearl-oyster, or rather large bivalves, the in- 

 terior of which is pearly, called mother-of-pearl. 

 These have great care and pains bestowed upon 

 them : the smaller ones are cut almost cir- 

 cular, and made to resemble a worm, thus answer- 

 ing the purpose of bait as well as hook. A much 

 larger kind is that used for the capture of the 

 Albacore, Bonito, and Coryphene. The shank is 

 about six inches in length, and nearly an inch 

 in width, cut out of pearl-shell, in the shape of 

 a small fish, and finely polished. The barb is 

 formed separately ; it is an inch and a half in 

 length, and is firmly bound in its place by a 

 bandage of fine flax. The line is fastened to this, 

 and braided all along the curve of the hook, and 

 again fastened at the head. Sometimes a number 

 of long bristles are attached to the shell to mimic 

 the appearance of the Flying -fish. 



The line is afiixed to the end of a long bamboo 

 rod ; and the anglers sitting in the stern of a 

 light single canoe are rowed briskly over the 

 waves. The rod is held so that the hook shall 

 just skim the tops of the billows ; the Albacore 

 or Bonito, deceived by the resemblance, leaps 

 after the fancied Flying-fish, and finds itself a 

 prey. Twenty or thirty large fishes are occa- 

 sionally taken by two men in this manner, in the 

 course of a morning. 



A still more ingenious mode of deception is 

 practised upon these large Fishes, by employing 

 a swift double canoe, from the bows of" which 



