330 SEASIDE DIVINITY. 



is by no means a handsome fish. Its form is 

 thick and clumsy, its skin rough and covered with 

 tubercles, and although the various tints of blue, 

 purple, and orange are mingled together over its 

 surface, its general aspect is not pleasing. The 

 flesh is rich, but it does not agree with all 

 stomachs, owing to the quantity of oil it contains. 

 Seals devour them with great avidity. This fish 

 is extremely remarkable on account of the ap- 

 paratus by which it can attach itself at will to the 

 surface of other bodies. This apparatus which is 

 popularly termed a sucker, is situated on the 

 lower part of the creature's body between the pec- 

 toral and ventral fins, and consists of an oval- 

 shaped disk or flat surface, furnished with muscles 

 by which a vacuum can be created between the 

 disk and the object to which the fish adheres. 

 Such is the tenacity with which it is able to fix 

 itself by this means that one of these fish having 

 been placed in a bucket of water, it attached 

 itself so firmly to the bottom that the whole 

 vessel, containing several gallons and of consider- 

 able weight, could be lifted from the ground on 

 using the fish's tail as a handle. It is difficult to 

 ascertain all the purposes which are served by 

 this part of the creature's structure, but one 

 purpose appears evident. The lump is not an 

 active or powerful fish, and its shape exposes it in 

 no ordinary degree to the power of the waves. 

 By means of its sucker, however, it can bid 

 defiance to their utmost force, and remain amidst 

 the agitation of the water free from all danger of 



