THE SCALES IN SOME TELEOSTEAN FISH. 41 
“The outside of it to the naked eye, exhibited nothing 
more of ornament, save the usual order of ranging the 
Scales into ‘a triagonal form, only the edges seem’d a 
little to shine, the finger being rubb’d from the tail-wards 
towards the head, the Scales seem’d to stay and razeit. But 
through an ordinary magnifying glass, it exhibited a most 
curiously carved and adorned surface, each of those 
(formerly almost imperceptible) scales appearing much of 
the shape [as shown in his figure], that is, they were round 
and protuberant, and somewhat shap’d like a Scolop, the 
whole scale being creas’d with curiously wav’d and indented 
ridges, with proportionable furrow between, each of which 
was terminated with a very sharp transparent bony substance, 
which, like so many small Turnpikes, seem’d to arm the 
edges,” of which he further on says “every other of these 
are much longer than the interjacent ones.” He noticed 
that the scales were but partially imbedded in the skin, 
and remarks that “the texture or form also of the hidden 
part... . seems to consist of a great number of small 
quills or pipes, by which, perhaps the whole may be nour- 
ished; and the side parts consist of a more fibrous texture, 
though, indeed, the whole scale seem’d to be of a very tough 
grisly substance like the larger scales of other Fishes.” 
With reference to “the Scales of the skin of a Dog-fish 
(which is us’d by such as work in Wood, for the smoothing 
of their work, and consists plainly enough to the naked eye, 
of a great number of small horny points) through the micro- 
scope appear’d each of them curiously ridged and very 
neatly carved ; and indeed, you can hardly look on the Scales 
of any Fish, but you may discover abundance of curiosity and 
beautifying ; and not only in these Fishes, but in the Shells 
and crusts or armour of most sorts of marine animals so 
invested.” 
The next writer upon the subject was Leeuwenhoek in 
1685 and again in 1698. He noted the presence of scales 
and fins in the eel and apprehended that this discovery “is 
new, at least to persons of the Jewish nation (for to this day 
