356 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



off this tantalizing morsel. This lasted for nearly a minute, 

 when at last he got rid of the leech by rubbing his back upon 

 the bottom of the vessel. The leech, perfectly aware of the 

 company he was in, no sooner loosed his hold, than he at- 

 tempted to wriggle away from his devourer ; but before he had 

 reached mid-way up the tumbler, the stickleback had turned 

 and finished the contest by swallowing him up." 



The The mackerel is one of the most useful as well 



Mackerel. as one o f the mO st beautiful of familiar fishes. It 

 measures from twelve to twenty inches and weighs from one 

 and a half to two or three pounds. It is elegant of form and 

 brilliant of colour, as well as agreeable as an article of food. 

 Mackerel visit the coast of England in vast shoals at certain 

 seasons, but retire to deep seas for the winter. They are ex- 

 ceedingly voracious, and prey upon the herrings ; Captain 

 Brown tells a story of a number of mackerel fastening on to a 

 sailor who had plunged into their midst for a bath. The man 

 was rescued by his comrades, but he died soon after from loss 

 of blood. 



The The sword-fish is a formidable member of this 



Sword-fish, order. It is found in the Mediterranean, and the 

 Atlantic, and sometimes visits the English coast. It has been 

 known to measure ten feet or more without the sword, with 

 which it attains even to a length of fifteen feet. It attacks 

 other large fish and is a great enemy to the whale, which it 

 charges with great force and destructive effect. It is said some- 

 times to mistake the hull of a ship for the body of a Whale and 

 to charge it accordingly, with the result that it leaves its sword 

 fixed in the ship's timbers as the bee leaves its sting in human 

 flesh. The sword of this fish is formed by the elongation of 

 its upper jaw and some idea of the force with which it can be 

 used may be gained from the fact that one found in the hull 

 of a ship at Liverpool and described by Scoresby had pene- 

 trated a sheet of copper, an oak plank two and a half inches in 

 thickness, a solid oak timber of seven and a half inches, and 



