294 Mr. E. W. Q'udger on the 



standstill, a large vessel. And so we find Rochefort (1665) 

 remarking (as noted heretofore) that Remoras " adhere to 

 vessels as if they wished to arrest them in their course." 



Du Tertre, who was a contemporary of Rochefort, and 

 whose book was published but two years later (1667), had 

 seen a number of Remoras attached to ships in the West 

 Indies, but had never known of a vessel which had been 

 brought to a standstill by them. So he preferred to think 

 that such vessels " had been detained by some miracle or 

 charm." 



Third Explanation : Large Numbers of Adhering Remoras. 



Dampier, whose 'Voyages' was published in 1697, tells 

 us that he found great numbers of Remoras in the Caribbean 

 Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and goes on to say with regard 

 to their retarding power : — 



" Any knobs or inequalities at a Ships bottom are a great 

 hindrance to the swiftness of its sailing; and 10 or 12 of 

 these [Remoras] sticking to it, must needs retard it, as much 

 in a manner as if its bottom were foul." And in this con- 

 clusion Catesby (1754) fully agrees. 



Le Maire (1695) remarks that "Le Sucez," if it attaches 

 itself to the rudder, may retard the vessel but cannot stop it, 

 as the old legend falsely had it concerning the Remora. 

 While Leguat (1721) emphatically says that " It is very 

 certain that these fish attach themselves often to vessels in 

 the water, and when the number is sufficiently great, one 

 cannot doubt that they are an obstacle to the course of these 

 floating edifices, since they prevent their easy movement 

 over the waves." 



John Barbot (1732) is also very emphatic on this point. 

 Referring to the common notion that the Remora by sticking 

 to a ship can retard it, he says, ". . . . some part whereof 

 might be possible, if a sloop or small vessel had a thousand 

 or more sticking to its sides and stern, they being commonly, 

 at full length, about 3 foot long or better, for then they 

 might considerably retard the sailing of such a vessel ; but 

 it is ridiculous to say that they can have any power over 

 great ships under full sail, as is pretended." 



In close agreement with Barbot is the great French 

 naturalist Lacepede (1829), who in turn is probably quoting 

 from the naturalist Commerson, from whose manuscripts 

 most of Lacepede's information with regard to foreign fishes 

 seems to have been obtained. After discussing the various 



