r.l'MP SUCKKH. 



L>99 



to fertilize and w.iteli llieiii. I'.vcii Faukkii s describes 

 tlic vi^rilaiice and courauc displayed hv the male in the 

 perforinauee of this diit\. Joiian I'kusson, a Hshenn.ni 

 of Sydkoster in Unhnsliin, as .Mai,m relates, observed 

 tlie spaA\'niiit;' of the Lnnip Sncker foi- three years run- 

 ning' in the same elel't in tlie rocks, at a. depth of 3 or 

 4 fathoms. y\fter the I'oe had lieeii deposited, the male 

 |)OSted its(df' "a couph' of I'eet away and blew on the 

 roe. whieli it defends from all enemies, det'eatin,^' the 

 attacks e\en of the crab.' It is probalih', howexcr, 

 that the female also shares this (bit\. I'l'oni (ianirie, 

 ill Banflfshire, IIahkis" states: '"rpon this coast tlieir 

 }U'sf>: are almost invariably to be met with in rocky 

 places, a little bcvoiid low-water mark. There is also this 

 peculiaritv, that the sites of tiiese are usnalh' cavities 

 from ei,uht to ten inches in diameter, openin.U' horizont- 

 ally into the water. Mr. West, of Pennan (Zo(j1. 2'1'JS), 

 int<irms me, that in one case he came upon a l/cii seated 

 on her nest, just, he supposed, as she had completed 

 the jn'ocess of s]>awnin,u'. She adhered very tenaciously, 

 manifesting at tlie same time considerable intrepidity, 

 ■which seemed to be shared bv her companion, the rock, 

 who, during the struggle, kept close Ijy, flitting through 

 and throuuli the water in a state of violent a£jitation." 

 The fry grow slowh', ])ut vary in this respect. During 

 the lirst year, in the majoritv of cases, they jji-obably 

 do not exceed u length of 20 mm. (_)n the vovage of 

 the gunboat (iinihUiJ, in 1S7N, A'oung specimens from 

 10 to li' mm. long were taken on Lilla Middelgrund, 

 at a depth of between 10 and 12 fathoms, on a stony 

 and sandv bottom, on the 12th of July, and on the 

 Itith of the same month another specimen IG mm. long 

 Avas caught S.W. of Kullen, at a depth of 13 fathoms, 

 on a bottom composed of blended sand and clav. On 

 tiie 4th of August. 1865, Dr. A. V. LjixciMAN took 

 young specimens from 12 to 18' ^, niin. long, at the 

 surface of the open sea, west of Koster, and on the 

 21st of the .same month a voung specimen Ki' .. mm. 

 long, at a depth of lietween 3 and 8 fathoms, on a 

 clayev bottom. In ^hirch, 1882, Mr. C. A. HanssoN 

 caught a Lump Sucker 28 mm. long in Koster Fjord. 



This specimen, when c(jmpared ^vith tint <jthers men- 

 tioned above, must naturally be assumed to have be- 

 longed to the previous year, as well as the fry between 

 19 and .'>! mm. long which Fhies (1. e.) took in such 

 large numbers in a bottf)m-iiet. in <iullmar Fjord, in 

 the month of April. According to this assumption too, 

 the small, light .sea-green specimens, strewn with black 

 dots and about 75 to 100 mm. long, which are stated 

 by FlUKs to be taken in small inimbers in autumn, in 

 the seines, on tlie coast of llohnsliin, must also date 

 from the spawning-season of the preceding \ear. 



The Lump Sucker feeds, according to Ek.strom, on 

 crustaceans, worms and Moduaft;, the latter entering into 

 its diet, as Lii.UEBOitG has remarked, chiefly for the 

 sake of the crustaceaiLs (Hifperidce) which live in their 

 body. Its own most formidalde enemv is said to be 

 the seal, which skilfully skins it from head to tail, 

 leaving both these parts fast to the skin''. As human 

 iood the reputation of the Lump Sucker varies. "The 

 flesh, when boiled, is flabby," .says Ek.stkom, "is al- 

 ways rather tough, and in iny opinion is far from 

 appetising." In France it is not eaten: "the He.sh,'' says 

 MoHKAU, "diffuses an odour which is by no means pleas- 

 ant." In Scotland, however, many per.sons thoroughlv 

 appreciate it, at least before the spawning-.season, though 

 the female is less liked than the male. "Here," writes 

 Malm of Bohuslan, "no method of ])reparing this fish 

 for food is generalh" kiiovvn, or of removing the skin, 

 which is much thicker than in the majoritv of fishes, 

 and almost cartilaginous. The Lump Sucker is, there- 

 fore, not much in demand, and is usually sold at a 

 price which seems trifling when we consider its value 

 as a wholesome and agreeable article of food." 



In the ])harmacopoeia of foi'mer times the Lump 

 Sucker held a high idace*". "The few specimens that 

 are caught here," writes Ekstrom in the Fauna of 

 Moiko, "are never used as food. They are employed 

 onh- as a remedy for ague. For this i)urpose the fish 

 is thoroughlv dried in an oven, and pounded to a 

 powder. The ])owder is taken in corn-brandy, in doses 

 of a teaspoonful." 



" Zoologist, 1S.51 (IX). p. :H.JT. 



' H.\RltlS. 1. c. 



*■ "'Piilvis contra Tfrtiaiiniu viilgn mlliibetiir": Lisn/EL'S, Fii. Suec. 



