29-2 



M U G W O RT MULLUS. 



The length of the specimen was ten inches ; the head 

 wide, depressed ; the eyes one inch apart, and three- 

 eighths of an inch from the angle of the mouth, not 

 connected with any membrane ; nostrils close toge- 

 ther, and, while the fish is alive, moveable on each 

 contraction of the mouth ; a prominent superior 

 maxillary bone, minutely notched at its lower poste- 

 rior edge ; upper lip protuberant and fleshy, with a 

 thin margin minutely notched or ciliated ; the lip 

 appears behind as projecting under the maxillary ; 

 carina of the under jaw prominent and square ; edge 

 of the lower lip fine and simple ; body solid, round 

 over the back ; pectoral fins high on the side, pointed, 

 round below, the first rays short ; the first dorsal fin 

 rive inches and three-eighths from the snout ; the 

 organ of the first three rays approximate, the first 

 ray the longest ; the first two rays of the anal fin 

 short ; tail broad, concave ; scales large ; colour of 

 the head and back greenish ; all besides silvery, with 

 six or seven parallel Hues along the sides of the same 

 colour as the back." 



There are two or three other species of mullet in 

 the Mediterranean, of which the golden mullet and 

 the jumping mullet are mentioned by Risso. The 

 first of these partakes of the characters both of Capita 

 and Cepkalus, and the second more resembles the 

 former of these. There is still another small species 

 in the Mediterranean (M. labeo), with the lips very 

 thick in proportion, and crenulated at their margins. 

 The Indian seas, and the seas of some parts of 

 America and of New Holland, also have their 

 mullets, but it does not appear that any of them are 

 of very predominating importance. Of the seas of 

 Europe, the Mediterranean is by far the most abun- 

 dant in this genus of fishes, and vast numbers of them 

 are taken about the Balearic Islands and on the east 

 coast of Spain. As is the case with most fishes that 

 throng toward the shores at particular seasons of the 

 year, those mullets are taken in much greater abun- 

 dance than can be used in a recent state at the 

 time, and therefore they are stored up, after being 

 salted thus affording a seasonable supply to people 

 whose religion enjoins them to feed on fish very 

 frequently. 



MUG WORT is the Artemisia vulgaris of Linnaeus, 

 a common British weed found everywhere. 

 MULBERRY. See MORCS. 

 MULLEIN is the Verbascum thapsus of Linnaeus, 

 a well-known British plant, usually called " shepherd's 

 club." 



MULLUS RED MULLET, or, in some of the 

 species, SURMULLET. A very celebrated genus of 

 spinous-finned fishes, belonging to the perch family. 

 Two species have been well known as inhabiting the 

 Mediterranean ever since the time when the Romans 

 began to carry their luxury in the eating of fish to 

 that remarkabie pitch to which it was brought among 

 them. The characters of the genus may be briefly 

 stated as follow : the body thick and oblong ; the 

 profile of the forehead from the eyes sloping so 

 rapidly as to be nearly perpendicular. The body 

 covered with large scales, which very readily come 

 off, and are understood to be shed annually. Two 

 distinct dorsal fins on the back ; the first with spinous 

 rays, about seven in number, and with a short free 

 spine immediately in advance, and the second with 

 flexible rays. There are teeth in the lower jaw and 

 the palate only; two well-produced cirri or beards at 

 the symphysis of the lower jaw, and the gill-flap with 



four rays. All the mullets are remarkable for the 

 beauty of their colours, which are red and yellow of 

 greater brilliancy than are to be found in most fishes. 

 It is probable that the striped red mullet was the 

 most celebrated one in the time of the Romans ; 

 though perhaps in those days the distinction between 

 it and the plain one was not attended to. The grand 

 object of the Roman epicure was to get a red mullet, 

 and the larger the better, which shows that the eye 

 was more attended to than the palate in the matter 

 of those very costly fishes. This held true also in 

 those cases of the Coryphene (we believe), which, 

 passing through the prismatic colours in the agonies 

 of death, was first displayed to the guests expiring, 

 and then cooked in their presence, in order that they 

 might make sure that the fish seen and the fish tasted 

 were one and the same. The mullet also passes 

 through various colours in dying ; and it is a very 

 beautifully coloured fish, whether dead or alive. The 

 common account is, that the name mullus is derived 

 from the red slippers or sandals worn by the Roman 

 consuls during the republic, and continued by the 

 emperors afterwards. Those sandals were marks of 

 distinction, not worn by any but those dignitaries ; 

 and thus the name of these fishes after them shows 

 that mullets were not fare for every man, or indeed 

 any man's every-day fare. The striped red mullet, 

 or surmullet, is by much the more plentiful of the two 

 which are found in the Mediterranean ; it also grows 

 to a much larger size than any of the others, which 

 indeed is rarely, if ever, found so heavy as the most 

 esteemed weights mentioned by the Romans. When 

 luxury was at its height, a mullet of three pounds' 

 weight brought an ample reward to the fisherman who 

 caught it; and if it reached four pounds and a half, it was 

 quite a fortune fifty, sixty, and even eighty pounds 

 a piece were given for mullets to set out a Roman 

 feast ; but it may be possible that those costly ones 

 may have been the plain red mullet, which, though a 

 smaller fish than the other, is 'more richly coloured ; 

 lor there is so much confounding of one species with 

 another in the Roman accounts that one can come to 

 no absolute decision. We believe the fact to be that 

 the surmullet, or striped red mullet, is a very palatable 

 fish when in proper condition, and that the plain red 

 mullet is still better. 



On the southern shores of Britain, where the striped 

 mullet, though not one of the most abundant of fish, 

 certainly is not rare, the size is seldom more than 

 a foot long, and in no instance above fourteen inches. 

 Three pounds and a half is about the weight of one 

 of the largest in the best condition, which falls far 

 short of the Roman fish. This mullet is found in the 

 London market, at almost all seasons of the year ; 

 and therefore it cannot b'e looked upon as a migratory 

 fish. The following passage from Mr. Yarrell throws 

 so much light upon the management of this fish, as a 

 market commodity, that we shall quote it at length : 

 " The striped red mullet has been considered migra- 

 tory, but it appears in the shops of the London fish- 

 mongers throughout the year, though in much greater 

 plenty during May and June, at which time their 

 colours are more vivid, and the fish, as food, in the 

 best condition. If closely examined, it will be ob- 

 served that, where the scales happen not to have been 

 removed, the natural colour is little more than a pale 

 pink, passing into white on the belly, the lower part 

 of the sides having two or three longitudinal stripes ; 

 but that the mixture of purple and bright red, which 



