////: \\IIITI: .-//.I/;A-. 



gi\.-n if mi :irriiiitit of its riirinii- and U-aiitifully formed teeth. \vliidi resemble in form tin- 

 c\ linder- >f a riu-liiiiLT mill, and an- used for :i similar piirjMi-.-. 



Tti'' jaws. instead of In-ing studded \\iili i, -harp and knif.- Ills-' t.-.-th, are supplied 



\\ith two i.-iind.-d pr.ij.-c!i..ii* on which (In- Hat iopjH-,1 i. ill are set closely tn:etli.-r like ih- 

 gftones ,.:' .: mosaic, and which : n formed thai ihej roD OW Mdl Othci ..- ill.- jaws are 

 dos-d, producim: a crushing effect of enormous power. These curiou- teeth are rendered 

 needful by tin- food on \\lii. -h tin- Smooth Hound li\<->. nameh, the hard shelled crustacean-.. 

 who>.- armor of proof is nevertheless soon comminuted nndt-r tin- \<\\\ rollers. 



A-. may U- inferred from tin- character of it- food, ill.- Smooth Hound is not destructive \ 

 tin- lUheries. and max U- allowed to live in harmless security. Its flesh is said to IM- tolrraNy 

 \\.-ll lla\oi.-.l, and -\'-n mod.-iat.-ly t.-mlcr. It prn.liic.-s iis voting in a living 8tut% but is not 

 \.TY pn>litic. tin* numlx-r at a 1-inh rarvlv exceeding ten or twelve. Almost M soon aa bom 

 they n-tiiv into .l.-.-p \\at.-r. so that, tliouirli a toli-r.ibly plentiful 8|>c<-i.-s, it is not seen sooft.'ii 

 as tho-- uliich li\' in shallow wat<-re. 



'1'hc color <>f the Smooth Hound is i)early-gray, and above the lateral line, which in this 

 -.J....M.-- i- \.-i\ -i',,ii_!\ BMtfked, 'I,, bod] b ! -iM'-d uiili -mall i..und uhil.- -pot-,. \,-ry 

 conspicuous whil.- tin- cn-aiur.- is yoiini;. but U-coniin^ faint-r \vln-n it aiiain- maturity. The 

 undT ]>art are \vhitish-y.-llou . 



BKFORK noticim: om.- of tin- Ian_'.-r and mop' terrible sjiedes, we must not omit the 



P..|:i:i \..i I . - linii- .-.I II--. I tilt- I 1 .! U M \i:i - BEAU /" '- ///'/'"'" ^ . a li-li ..fa u l.-r- 



fnlly mild a-jMM-t for a Shark, and notable for a very jK>rjK>i-.- lik<- as|iert. The name of 



l j rlv-ai:li' i- in fact owini: to this rest'inblanre. This -]>< !.- f U mi tish of various kind-. 



thnf full-grown hakes liaxinir be-n found in the st<niia<-li of one indi\idnal. and derives some 

 of its -iit'-i-i.-nc.- from the larger mollusks. It attains a rather large size, five or six feet being 

 a common length. Its color is uniform grayish-Mark above, and white U-low. 



Tin: dreadful Win n: >n \I:K, the tinny pirate of the ocean, is one of the large speries that 

 range the ocean, and in some seas are so numerous that they are the terror of sailors and 

 natives. One individual, whose jaws are still pn-s.-rv.-d. was said to have measured thirty- 

 seven feet in length ; and when we take into consideration the many instances where the. leg of 

 a man has been bitten off through Hesh and bone as easily as if it had l>een a carrot, and even 

 the i">dy of a boy or woman severed at a single bite, this great length will not seem to be 

 exaggerated. 



Many ]>rtions of this fish are us-d in commerce. The sailors are fond of cleaning and 

 preparing the skull, which, when brought ashore, is sure of a ready sale, either for a public 

 museum, or to private individuals who an- struck with its stranire form and terrible armature. 

 The spine, too. is frequently taken from this tish. and when dried, it jwissi-s into the hands of 

 walking stick makers, who polish it neatly, tit it with a gold handle, and sell it at a very high 

 price. One of these sticks will sometimes fetch thirty or forty dollars. There is also a large 

 amount of oil in the Shark, which is thought rath.-r valuable, so that in Ceylon and other 

 places a regular trade in this commodity is carried on. 



The tins ore very rich in gelatin.-, and in China are, as is said, employed largely in the 

 manufacture of that gelatinous soup in which the soul of a Chinese epicure delights, and of 

 which the turtle soup is thought by Chinese judges to be a faint penumbra or distant 

 imitation. The flesh is eaten by the natives of many Pacific islands : and in some places the 

 liver is looked upon as a royal luxury. lH-ing hung on boards in the -un until all the contained 

 oil h:u* drained away, and then carefully wrapped up in leaves and reserved as a delicacy. 



These islanders have a MTV quaint method of catching the Shark absurdly ini|Ktent in 

 theory, but strangely efficacious in practice. They cut a large log of wood into the rude 

 resemblance of a canoe, tie a rope round the middle, form the end of the rope into a noose, 

 and then set it afloat, leaving the noose to dangle in the water. Whether induced by 

 curiosity, or by what strange impulse urin-d, is not very clear, but the fact is patent that 

 before the noose has been floating v.-ry long, a Shark is sure to push its head through it. and 

 v_ m. . 



