2G2 SWORD-FISH FISHERIES. 



fin, 1 foot 3 inches ; lobe of tail, 1 foot 5 inches ; sword, 

 2 feet 9 inches, very sharp, pointed, with cutting edges, 

 and not unlike a Scotch claymore. When dry the skin 

 upon it feels like velvet to the touch. The use of this 

 sword is by no means certain. An ancient Latin author 

 tells us this sword is used by the fish to get his dinner, 

 as he feeds on fish which he kills by charging with his 

 beak ; but how does he rid himself of his prey thus 

 transfixed like larks on a skew^er? The sw^ord-fish is 

 not a very uncommon visitor to the British shores in 

 the summer and autumn ; its home proper is in the 

 Mediterranean, and there is a regular fishery off the 



SWOKD-FISH. 



coast of Sicily, lasting from May to August. The flesh 

 is considered a great delicacy by the Sicilians. I am 

 anxious to know more about the fishery for this Pesce 

 UEspada, as they call the sword-fish. 



In 1868 I received from a fi-iend two fine specimens 

 of swords. When at Constantinople he saw^ a large 

 number of sword-fish exposed for sale in the public 

 market ; as many as thirty fish had been caught in one 

 day in the Sea of Marmora. The fish in the market 

 ranged from three to five hundredweight. They are 

 good eating, and realise about Is. 9d. a pound. The 

 swords sent were respectively 22^ inches and 24 



