254 LABROIDES. 



fleshy, and the pharynx, set with either broad or 

 sharp teeth. 



GEN. TAUTOGA. 



TAUTOG, Labrus Tautoga. Within the re- 

 collection of gentlemen now living, the tautog was 

 unknown in the harbor of Boston. A subscrip- 

 tion was successfully undertaken for bringing 

 several of them alive in cars, from Newport, 

 Rhode Island, which were supposed the first of 

 the species which had ever been to the eastward 

 of the Cape. 



It is very certain that the water in Boston har- 

 bor is altogether too salt for a variety of fishes, 

 which are known to be very common on the south 

 side of the Cape, in Long Island sound, and the 

 waters contiguous to New York. The greatest 

 variety is invariably found, where the largest 

 bodies of fresh water are emptied into the sea. 

 The mingling of the river and the ocean modifies 

 the qualities of both, so that it is found, on careful 

 observation, to be particularly favorable to the ex- 

 istence of classes that could not long endure the 

 constitutional effects of either alone. Oysters are 

 to be ranked among the orders that require a mix- 

 ture of these two kinds of water. 



No fact is better established than this, that 

 oysters do not propagate on a major part of the 



