268 SALT-WATER FISHES 



the green species above referred to, grows to a length of 

 over I 5 in. The lower jaw is conspicuously the longer, being 

 utilised by the fish in its rapid burrowing in the wet sand. In 

 the roof of the mouth there are two horn-like teeth, which 

 further distinguish it from the sand-eel, which has no teeth of 

 any kind. The horny processes referred to can hardly be 

 regarded as teeth in the ordinary sense, for their structure is 

 different, but they may, perhaps, do the work of teeth. The 

 lower jaw, besides protruding, is grooved like a trowel. The 

 tail fin is deeply forked and has some dark colouring, and 

 the belly of the fish is silvery white. The scales are so minute 

 that these little fishes are, when handled, almost as slippery as 

 true eels. 



The launce, when about to burrow, goes head first into the 

 wet sand with incredible rapidity. It is a voracious fish, and 

 the writer has often watched large examples dashing among the 

 smaller, and seizing them crosswise, under Bournemouth and 

 Teignmouth Piers. Its inferiority as bait has already been men- 

 tioned. Not only do the bass appreciate it less than the sand-eel, 

 but it has not half the vitality of that. species, dying on the hook 

 in less than ten minutes, whereas the sand-eel, properly hooked, 

 will last twenty. As food for man it is also less favoured 

 than the brown species, being too fat and rich. Nor does 

 it retain its activity so well when kept overnight in the 

 " courge," a wooden or wicker contrivance used in the West 

 Country (and originally introduced from the Channel Islands) 

 for the proper storage of these live baits. 



The spawning of the launce appears to take place in May, 

 June, and July. The eggs, which have not been very 

 accurately studied, are thought to be demersal, which would 

 correspond with the general habits of the fish. They measure 

 rather more than y^jy in., and have a green oil-globule and 

 a thick capsule. 



The Sand-eel {^A. tobianus), or Lesser Sand-eel, has already 

 been incidentally distinguished from the larger species. It 



