FISH AND FISHERIES. 73 



" Mugils are very distinct from the sea or sand mxillet, besides whicli 

 they come down the rivers, and go in shoals or schools in their season, 

 but do not attain more than one-third the size of the sea mullet, and are 

 frequently brought to market with the ordinary net fish, and by which 

 means they are usually caught. They are tolerably good and palatable 

 fishes, but not so estimable as the large kind named, and it is curious 

 and instructive to see practical fishermen following these shoals of fishes 

 for the purpose of capture. Almost instinctively they will tell you 

 whether they are the hard-gut or the flat-tail, or the tallagallan, directly 

 thej^ see any one of tliese leap from the water, a mode of procedure very 

 common to this family of fishes when sporting uninterruptedly. The 

 ^^ hard-gut"*' is the best marketable fish of these three, and may be dis- 

 tinguished by his short thick tail, flat deep sides, and shining scales. 

 The tallagallan is a long-bodied fish, and found chiefly on the flats at 

 flood-tide, or near shoal water with a deep stream or channel in one part. 

 In the young state these fishes are much more delicate and palatable 

 than the adult. When they are dry they form, however, a very good 

 adjunct to the other fishes of the Colony. The flipper or flat-tail is found 

 at the mouths of small fresh-water streams on the clear white sand, and 

 readily take a bait of dough and bread-crumbs kneaded together, and at 

 which times they afford good sport to those who delight in the pleasure 

 of fishing with the rod and line, but they are not more than one-third 

 or half-grown at this time." 



The sea-mullet affords good sport to anglers in the Hunter and other 

 eastern rivers. The bait is a small worm, but a far better kind is the 

 fine silky green conferva which gi'ows on the surface of stones or logs 

 which have been long in the water. Mullet will take this with great 

 avidity. The weed must be cut rather long and wound around the 

 hook. It must not be confounded with the coarse green woolly conferva 

 which covers the bottom like a blanket. Mullet will not touch this. 

 The other they eat so greedily that not a particle can be found on the 

 stones and logs of the rivers where these fish are abundant. 



A good many divisions and families of fishes must be passed over to 

 come to those of most importance to New South Wales. 



Il.-Ord. ACANTHOPTERYGII PHARYNCOGNATHI. 



Parts of the rays of the dorsal, anal, and ventral fins are non- 

 articulated spines. Lower pharyngeals coalesced, air-bladder without 

 pneumatic duct. 



POMACENTRID^, or COEAL FISHES. 

 LABRIDiS, or WRASSES. 



The Wrasses are a large family of littoral fishes, very abundant in 

 the temperate or tropical zones. Many of them are readily recogaiized 

 by their lips, which are sometimes internally folded, a peculiarity which 

 has given the name of Labrida^, from lahrum, lip. They feed chiefly 

 on molluscs and crustaceans, their teeth being admirably adapted for 

 crushing hard substances. Many species have a strong curved tooth at 

 the posterior extremity of the intermaxillary, for the purpose of pressing 



* The " Hard-gut " is merely an early stage of the Sea Mullet. A. Oliver. 

 K 



