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LOWER VER TEBRA TES. 



of only a few short ribs; the soft fins are also i)eciiliar in being so invested in 

 the skin as to leave the rays almost indistinguishable, and to remind one of the fins of 

 sharks rather than those of ordinary fishes. It is the object of extensive fisheries 

 both in the Mediterranean and along the New England coasts, and has been made 

 the subject of an elaborate report by Professor Goode, which furnishes us with some 

 interesting data. From time immemorial it has been known to the dwellers around 

 the Mediterranean, where it is quite common ; and individuals occur in summer, but 

 more and more sparingly as they approach the north, even as high as Norway; 

 and along the American coast it advances northward at least as far as Halifax. It is 

 likewise found in the Pacific, and has been recognized along the coast of California, 



Fig. m .—Histiojjliorus r/ladius, s:iil-lisli, ailult. 



and in the southern hemisphere its presence about New Zealand has been recorded. 

 Its appearance seems to be determined chiefly by temperature, and it is generally first 

 seen on the coast from New Jei'sey to New England about the last of May or early in 

 June, and remains in those waters until Sejitember, or when the first cold winds drive 

 it off. It is said to be seen only on quiet summer days in the morning before ten or 

 eleven o'clock, and in the afternoons about four o'clock, and fishermen say that it rises 

 when the mackerel rise, and when the mackerel go down the sword-fish also goes down. 

 When they first appear, the fishes are very poor and lean, but as the summer advances 

 they grow fat. The first are comparatively of small size, averaging about one hun- 

 dred and fifty pounds gross, and of a length measuring about four feet ; but later and 



