SAi-MOMU.*;. 39 



vt'iitral tins, bb, are situated much farther back than in those of the 

 next division, occupying a position nearly longitudinally posterior to 

 the pectorals, a a ; while in those to which I next proceed, they are 

 nearly vertically below them. 



The second grand division of the flexible-finned fishes consists of 

 the Snh-hrachial Malacoptery gii ; in all of which the ventral fins, be, 

 are placed very near to the pectorals, a a, the bones supporting the 

 former being attached to the bones of the shoulder which support the 

 latter. The term sub-brachial briefly expresses this formation, signi- 

 fying " having lower arms " — to which human limb the reference is 

 pointed by the connexion of the fin, in this division, to the shoulder. 



The thii-d division of the flexible-finned fishes, to which I allude 

 rather to complete the subject, than that they fall regularly into the 

 angler's way, consists of those designated by Baron Cuvier as the 

 Apodal Malacopterygii ; in all of which the ventrals are entirely 

 wanting. To this division belong the families of Mwrcenidce^ and ^1%- 

 guillidce^ Congers, Eels, and their congeners. 



Fii-st then, having noted whether the fish we desire to know more 

 minutely has hard or flexible fin-rays, and then, having ascertained 

 by the position of his ventral fins, if soft-finned, to which division he 

 belongs, by examining the number and position, as well as the texture 

 of the dorsal and anal fins, we shall speedily discover his family ; or if 

 we have no book at hand to which we can refer, we can easily so 

 describe him by letter to some competent person, as will enable him 

 readily to enlighten us on the subject. 



To show the importance of possessing even the small degree of 

 knowledge conveyed in these last few pages, I will merely observe 

 that if the settlers of the shores of the Otsego had been even so far 

 advanced in the science, they had not committed the blunder of mis- 

 naming the excellent fish of their waters, the Otsego Bass ; when 

 it is in truth one of the Salmon family^the former being a spiny, the 

 latter a soft-finned family. 



A few steps more would have prevented our Southern friends from 

 the commission of the absurdity of designating a variety of Weak- 

 Fish as Trout — two fish which have not the most remote connexion ; 

 and so on ad infinitum. 



