342 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 
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that they were long considered separate species. The bold dorsal 
standing aloft, and the general rakish-looking style of the male, 
seem to assure him a certain security, as he is seldom found, where 
the female frequently is, in the stomach of the cod! He is, there- 
fore apparently permitted to roam the seas—the outer seas too— 
in a burst of opalescent splendour, in comparative safety, to the 
admiration of the quiet lady, who is, no doubt, supremely proud 
of his attention. His protection is in form, his colouring is meant 
for his lady love! He is the one brilliant exception amongst the 
pelagic fishes, at least of the temperate waters, to the rule I have 
sought to explain as to the greater beauty, because of the greater 
domesticity, of the shore-fishes. 
Returning to the shore, the common “Shoemaker” (Cottus 
scorpvus, Linn.), especially that variety termed Grenlandicus, is also 
a brightly coloured and knowing fellow; and the Wrasses and 
Sea-perches generally are finely coloured and varied, although 
with somewhat uncultivated tastes and tropical aspirations. 
Their habits, as a rule, enable them to indulge in the luxury of 
display, and the smaller domestic virtues and vices ! 
I am disposed to believe that the beautiful Herring has 
degenerated through over-population, and that its glory may have 
originally developed under quite different conditions. Its ova is 
deposited like that of an inshore fish ; it is mainly through human 
persecution when over-abundant that it has been driven steadily 
seaward to spawn in deeper water, and it may once have charmed 
its mate by its glowing sea tints, as the flashing Skulpin or the 
dainty Sucker-fishes do to-day. It may even have been a fresh- 
water fish until stress of numbers drove it into a wider area, 
better supplied with provender. For over-population does not 
improve the domestic virtues, or stimulate monogamy. And 
there is a superficial resemblance, too, between the Herring and 
the Salmon (Salmo salar, Linn.). The silver sheen of both is 
readily removable and stimulated by feeding! The grey of 
the scales thus thrown out may be largely protective, as I find 
that the common Burn Trout covers its gay livery with silver 
when it has been but a short time in the sea. The Powan 
(Coregonus clupeoides, Lacépéde), could it be gradually brought to 
exist there, would doubtless do the same. It has probably been 
found to be a protection, as well as esteemed a beauty. The 
