1902 Six Uncommon British Sea-Fish 13 



ness is on some parts of the coast by no means so marked as 

 could be wished, for this Httle scourge lurks, particularly 

 after a spell of rough weather from the eastward, in every 

 patch of sand within the "sphere of influence" of the 

 shrimper's bare feet. Why the natives of the Hebrides 

 should regard the lesser weever as the male of the sand-eel 

 beats the understanding, yet such, though the writer cannot 

 claim personal knowledge of that outlying archipelago, is 

 said to be the current belief. The danger of this little fish 

 lies in the sharp dorsal fin and opercular spines, which are 

 capable of inflicting very severe and envenomed wounds, 

 and the little pests lie in the sand, their eyes gazing upwards 

 on the look out for something to hurt. They are much 

 eaten abroad, the spines being removed before exposure 

 for sale. 



The Short Sunfish (Orthagoriscus mola) is comparatively 

 common in summer weather in the extreme south-west of 

 this island, and the writer has often seen its sail-like dorsal 

 fin cleaving the still water just east of the Lizard. On one 

 occasion, desiring if possible to secure a specimen for closer 

 inspection, he inserted, with the aid of a Winchester rifle, a 

 soft-nosed .303 bullet in the back of one that lay basking 

 near his boat. To his intense surprise and to that of his 

 boatman, who had cruised in those waters all his life, this 

 immense living sphere leapt completely out of water, then, 

 barely touching the surface, again, and yet a third time, 

 recoiling on each occasion like a round stone thrown in the 

 old water-side game of " ducks-and-drakes." Unfortunately 

 the fish then sank out of sight, and, after sailing around the 

 spot where we had last seen it for some minutes, we had 

 to give up all hope of its recovery. Occasionally the sun- 

 fish takes a bait in those waters, and very large specimens, 

 weighing 400 lb. or 500 lb., are from time to time entangled 

 in the mackerel-nets. The French call it "moon-fish," and 

 indeed it resembles the one heavenly body as much or as 

 little as the other. 



Such, then, are a few facts in connection with the organ- 

 isation and daily life of these six fishes, and the reader who 

 prefers a greater measure of romance must seek it from 

 those pens that, in more commendable desire to please, are 

 bound by no slavish regard for the facts as they are. 



