624 



SCOMBEROID^E. 



any dimensions, and especially " an enormous whale," 

 is not the most transparent of all media ; and besides 

 there are certain optical reasons why " ordinary " 

 light will not reveal what goes on under water, to say 

 nothing 1 about under a whale, even at a very mode- 

 rate distance. We still do not mean to deny that 

 all which is stated was seen ; because some men see 

 " visions," but they very generally have another gift 

 along with this, they "dream dreams," and it may 

 be that herein lies the whole explication of the 

 matter, and our philosophy may lie on the shelf. 

 The result of the whole is, that the account given by 

 Captain Crow must be true, and yet we cannot 

 believe it, though discounting it ; there is still enough 

 of matter for marvel about the sword-fish. We 

 would even go a little farther than this, and ask cut 

 bono ? in the case of the sword-fish attacking the 

 whale. It is possible that there may be here some 

 reasoning from the analogy of the sword among 

 men. That sword, it must be admitted, conduces to 

 no useful purpose does not go to promote the real 

 advantage of the human race one single iota ; for all 

 the swords that ever were drawn never contributed 

 so much to the well-being of the world as the 

 growth of one single potato. This may be all very 

 well with human beings, and must of course be very 

 well, inasmuch as the most sainted and saintly of ino- 

 narchs have generally been the most ultra patronisers 

 of the sword ; but we are yet to learn that fishes have 

 even the smallest chance of canonization on the 

 game ^grounds, which may be very bad taste on the 

 part of the said fishes, but not the less natural upon 

 that account. 



Whoever chooses to examine the figure of the 

 sword-fish, must at once see that all its powers of 

 motion are concentrated in the caudal fin, and that 

 the chief use of the very high dorsal must be that of 

 keeping the body of the fish steady to the line of its 

 motion. 



The prolonged snout forms an excellent cut-water, 

 and the regular increase of the head gives that part 

 nearly the form of the " solid of least resistance " 

 in passing through water. In the anterior part of 

 the dorsal fin the rays are stout ; and it stands on 

 the thickest part of the fish, while toward the rear 

 the rays are smaller and closer together, so that the 

 fin is much more flexible. The absence of abdominal 

 fins is against the fact of the fish having much motion 

 in ascent or descent, and it seems doubtful whether 

 the fish can use its weapon very vigorously or effec- 

 tively at close quarters; for an instrument of such 

 dimensions would require to get a momentum, the 

 acquiring of which must be had by a considerable 

 " run " on the part of the fish. This also is against 

 the notion of the wanton attacks on the whale, 

 though still we do not mean to deny that these 

 attacks are made. The pectoral fins are long, and 

 placed lower down on the sides than they are in 

 fishes which have abdominal fins. The anal fin is 



continuous in the young fish, but in the old ones the 

 middle part of it, which has the membrane very thin 

 and tender, is worn away, so that the portion near 

 the tail is a mere finler. The edges of the nasal 

 weapon are finely toothed, the upper side marked 

 with numerous striae, the under side smooth but 

 with a groove along the middle. The sides of the 

 head are vertical, the eyes are round, the gill-covers, 

 mouth and all the rest of the body covered with a 

 rough skin, which is tuberculated in the very young 

 specimens, but not in those which have attained any 

 considerable size. The lateral line is hardly visible ;. 

 the upper part of the body is shaded with bluish 

 black, and the lower part is silvery white. The food, 

 or at all events the substances which the sword-fish 

 shows a disposition to seize as food, are very diver- 

 sified, but the substances that have been actually 

 found in the stomach have never been of great size. 

 Small fishes and floating mollusca are what have 

 chiefly been met with ; but Captain Beechey, in his 

 interesting narrative, mentions that " when in the 

 Pacific Ocean, near Easter Island, as the line was 

 hauling in, a large sword-fish bit at the tin case which 

 contained our thermometer, but fortunately failed . 

 in carrying it off." 



It is said that the sword-fish swim in pairs, and 

 this is another ground for doubting whether they 

 assemble in numbers to attack the whales ; and even 

 a pair have rarely, if ever, been seen together in our 

 seas. If we can believe the reports, they sometimes 

 ascend the rivers ; for Daniel, in his " Rural Sports," 

 mentions that a man, when bathing in the Severn, 

 near Shrewsbury, received a mortal wound from a 

 sword-fish. This, if true, is a very curious matter, as 

 the wide sea, and not even the shores, or the shal- 

 lows over the banks, are the natural habitat of these 

 fishes. 



In the Mediterranean, where they are much better 

 known than in any other of the European seas, they 

 approach the shores in May, and continue for about 

 three months ; and the capture of the old ones, which 

 are sometimes at least four hundred pounds in weight, 

 is a matter of some enterprise. The fishermen have 

 their boats provided with harpoon and line ; and the 

 mast of a vessel, or a high cliff overlooking the sea, 

 is taken possession of by the man who is on the look- 

 out. When he makes the signal, the boats run to 

 the spot, and the harpoons are launched, till one 

 takes effect. The fish, when struck, darts off, though 

 not so rapidly as the whale, neither does it plunge 

 like that animal. But the sword-fish is more wary 

 than the whale, and presents a much smaller object 

 to the marksman, so that the hitting of it requires no 

 little skill ; and it often continues to swim and 

 struggle for several hours before they can completely 

 subdue it. The flesh of the large ones, like that of 

 most animals of rapid motion, is hard and dry, though 

 wholesome, and not disagreeable to the taste ; but 

 that of the young, even when of very considerable 

 size and weight, is said to be excellent. 



CENTKONOTUS. This is also a numerous genus, 

 which is subdivided into four subordinate genera, 

 Naucrales, Elacati, Lichia, and Trachinotus. The 

 leading characters of the genus are : the first rays of 

 the dorsal fins free, or without any membrane, and the 

 ventral fins always present. Our limits will admit of 

 a notice of only one species of one of the sub-genera. 



Naucrates 'ductor the Pilot-fish. The generic 

 characters are: the scales small, one long dorsal, with 



