CLASSIFICATION BY TEETH. 53 



iiig to correct them in their blunders of nomenclature, whereby 

 they confuse all the tribes of the earth, the air, and the water, 

 and all the things that haA^e life, whether animal or vegetable, 

 therein. 



Little are they aware how fantastic are the tricks which 

 they play, " like angry apes before high heaven," in the 

 eyes of all those, whether naturalists or sportsmen, who do 

 not confound conceit with knowledge, or wit with impertinent 

 vulgarity. 



I shall now proceed to a few observations with regard to the 

 figure No. 1, in the last wood-cut, on page 49, which represents 

 the interior of the mouth, opened to the utmost, of the Common 

 Trout of Great Britain and the European continent {Salmo 

 Fario) ; which is selected by Mr. Yarrel as "showing" — to 

 borrow his own words — " the most complete series of teeth 

 among the Salmonida ; and. the value of the arrangement, as 

 instruments for seizure and prehension, arising from the inter- 

 position of the diflerent rows, the four lines of teeth on the 

 lower surface alternating, when the mouth is closed, with the 

 five rows on the upper surface, those on the vomer shutting in 

 between the two rows on the tongue," &c. 



In this cut, letter a represents the situation of the row of 

 teeth that is fixed on the central bone of the roof of the mouth, 

 called the vomer, from some fancied resemblance to the share 

 of a plough, for which the word used is the Latin term ; 

 B B, refer to the teeth on the right and left palatine bones ; 

 c, to the row of hooked teeth on each side of the tongue; 

 D D, to the row of teeth outside the palatine bones, on the 

 upper jaw, which are those of the superior maxillary bones; 



