Some Oddities of Fish-life 



horde of hungry little fishes. In less than a 

 minute nothing of him would remain. 



Off Kurrachee, where the catching of them 

 is systematically carried on, about forty thousand 

 are slain every year. This is for the sake of 

 their fins, from which gelatine is obtained for 

 the Chinese. That so many are killed, as a 

 regular thing, says much with respect to the vast 

 hordes which are not killed. 



Of small shallow-water sharks, the most widely 

 known are varieties of Dog-fishes. Though not 

 large enough to be a terror to man, they are 

 an endless trouble to fishermen, destroying great 

 numbers of captured fish in the nets, and biting 

 off the hooks from fishing-lines. 



Among larger species, one kind found in the 

 North Atlantic is the huge mild - mannered 

 Basking Shark, which at times lies long and 

 lazily close to the surface of the water, in com- 

 pany with a school of comrades. Its teeth are 

 unimportant, and it feeds on smaller creatures, 

 not attempting to include man among its eat- 

 ables. But since it often has a length of thirty 

 feet, and, like most sluggish natures, is capable 

 of being roused, it becomes dangerous when 

 excited. A blow of its tail may easily smash 

 in the side of a whaling boat. 



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