INTRODUCTION. 55 



sable for its progress, and eagerly called for by 

 every naturalist in Europe. The long experi- 

 ence of the Baron Cuvier was destined to com- 

 mence the filling up of this gap ; and the 

 foundation of the structure has been laid, and so 

 ft\r raised, in a manner worthy of its builder, in 

 the work we have selected as our " Text Book" 

 for the present volumes. In 1828, Cuvier com- 

 menced the arrangement of the materials which 

 he had been collecting during his whole life, 

 for a " Histoire Naturelle des Poissons,'* and 

 with the assistance of a younger, but able na- 

 turalist, has published nine volumes, illustrating 

 the greater part of the first section of the 

 divisions into which these creatures have been 

 separated by him. We now propose, after 

 giving a short sketch of the nature and uses 

 of Fishes, to proceed to the detail of those 

 contained in the first section of Cuvier 's arrange- 

 ment [See Table of Cuvier's arrangement, p. 86], 

 so far as the limits of this volume will allow, 

 and at the same time making use of the infor- 

 mation which several interesting voyages have 

 given, since the publication of the first parts of 

 the Baron's work. 



But before proceeding with this part of the 

 subject, we must very shortly notice another 

 branch, which, till lately, has been comparatively 



