272 PERCOIDES. 



they slowly expired, when the water was drawn 

 off. 



A gentleman of our acquaintance, who ventur- 

 ed to put the prejudices against the red devil at 

 defiance, and have it dressed for his tables, made 

 a bad report of its edible qualities. He says it was 

 both dry and tasteless, but there must have been 

 some failure, first in the culinary operation, and 

 secondly in the dressing. The exorbitant price 

 the surmullet once bore, and the value still 

 placed upon it by modern transatlantic gourmands, 

 induce us to believe that its qualities in this coun- 

 try are poorly understood. At Savannah, New 

 Orleans, and the Floridas, we are informed, it 

 is very common, but know nothing of the estima- 

 tion in which it is held. 



GEN. PERCA. 



The snout is destitute of scales ; the two dorsal 

 fins very nearly of equal length ; the gill-cov- 

 er spinous ; pre-opercula dentated, and ventral fins 

 on the thorax. 



Perhaps there is not another fish, with the ex- 

 ception of the eel, so universally spread over the 

 globe, as the fresh water perch. It is delicate 

 food, and therefore exceedingly valued. From the 

 largest rivers, above the influence of tides, to the 

 smallest rills, which trickle down the sides of the 



