Remarks on the Natural History of Fishes. 341 
able to learn any thing respecting, after two years’ labor, the 
“fontinalis,” is omitted altogether. 
ine pages are devoted to the “ Clipea harengus’—Euro- 
pean herring ; our species is the “ elongata,’ described by Le 
Sueur in the first volume of the “Journal of the Academy of 
Natural Sciences.” 
Upon page 165, we have a figure of the “ Esox lucius’”— 
pickerel—whose history is spread over nearly twelve pages. Our 
fish, is the “ reticulatus,” which cannot for a moment be mista- 
ken for the European species, by any person of common obser- 
vation : we are here told that Dr. Williams, author of the history 
of Vermont, states that the pike bears in that state the name of 
muschilongae :—the maskinongé, is the “ esox estor.” 
Ihave thought that little if any change was produced in the 
color of our species by age; the largest I have ever seen was as 
brilliant as smaller specimens. I suspect the brightness of their 
coloring depends principally upon the locality ; thus, those brought 
fom a pond in Brewster upon the Cape, which has a sandy bot- 
tom, are perfectly beautiful; while those caught at West Cam- 
bridge Pond, and others in this neighborhood, are far less attrac- 
tive in their colors. 
But one species of the genus “ Belone,” the “ truncata,” (Le 
Sueur,) is found on our coast ; this however is here omitted, and 
a foreign species is introduced, with a figure as usual from Strack. 
hat one or more species of “ Hxocetus”—flying fish, are oc- 
casionally taken on board vessels in our waters is undoubted ; but 
that the « mesogaster” is one of these species, is far from being 
proved, 
The Cyprinus crysoleucas’”’ could not have been known to 
the writer of the volume before us: he says “‘ Though we have 
Seen individuals two inches in length, they are oftener less than 
one.” Of great numbers which have fallen under my notice, the 
average is from four to six inches. Ess. 
he “ Cyprinus oblongus” and “teres,” I have not seen: the 
Writer seems not to have known that there existed more than one 
Species of sucker ; for he says, “from the earliest period of our 
yhood, we have been familiar with the fresh water sucker, a 
lazy, still fish, of a dingy color,” &c. &c. 
nder the head of “ O'yprinus teres,” the writer speaks of a 
fish which was taken by the keeper of the Boston light house in 
