ANARCHICAS. 251 



ter they will snap most spitefully at an anchor, 

 which they are passing, and when enraged, they 

 manifest their ferocious disposition by repeat- 

 ed attacks on a chain cable. We have uni- 

 formly remarked that the fishermen call this the 

 cat-Jlsh, at the north, and even in this section of 

 Massachusetts. 



No use seems to be made of them, notwith- 

 standing that vast numbers are taken. Even in 

 baiting lobsters, which are so voracious that they 

 feed upon almost any animal substance with 

 which the trap may be loaded, this fish does not 

 seem to be used. Yet it is reputed to be very 

 good food. The Greenlanders eat it fresh, and 

 also prepare it by drying ; smoked, they have 

 the flavor of salmon. 



When the population of the country is about 

 ten times its present amount, a vast number of an- 

 imals, now ^discarded from the catalogue of edibles, 

 will necessarily be considered in the light of lux- 

 uries and indispensable necessaries. The skate 

 is rejected here, altogether, on account of its hid- 

 eous form, but in foreign countries it is regarded 

 as a wholesome dish. 



In the Levant, the cuttle fish, (squid,) is an 

 article of extensive trade, variously prepared ; and 

 yet it is a horrible object, when fully grown, ex- 

 tending its flexible, worm-like arms in all direc- 



