& papular Jitcttonarj) of gfotmatctt jtature. 299 ' 



! coasts at stated seasons. Nor is it by any 

 means scarce on the shores of Britain or 



I Ireland ; immense quantities, indeed, are 

 taken at different localities, particularly 



I along our eastern coast ; and as its flesh 

 is sweet and wholesome, and can be pre- 

 served with facility, it is a fish of consi- 

 derable value. The Haddock is generally 

 about twelve or fourteen inches in length, 

 arid weighs from two to three pounds ; 

 though, occasionally, they are met with 



HADDOCK. (OADD9 -ECJLEFTNtJS.) 



nearly three feet long, and weighing ten or 



twelve pounds : the smaller or moderate 



sized ones, however, are most esteemed for 



the table. The body is long and slender ; 



: the head slopes suddenly down from the 



! crown to the point of the nose ; the lower 



! jaw is longer than the tipper, and furnished 



I with a narrow band of teeth : the barbule at 



: the chin is small ; the eye is large, and the 



irides silvery ; the head, cheeks, back, and 



upper part of the sides, are of a dull grayish 



hue ; lower part of the sides and belly, sil- 



very. On each side, is a large black spot, 



(of which we shall again have to speak.) 



The lateral line is black : the dorsal fins 



and tail dusky bluish gray ; pectoral, ven- 



tral, and anal fins lighter : the tail bifid. 



Their food is small fish, Crustacea, and 



marine insects : they spawn in February 



and March ; and they are in the best con- 



1 dition for the table from October to January. 



1 In stormv weather this fish is said to imbed 



itself in the ooze at the bottom of the sea ; 



and those which are taken shortly after are 



observed to have mud on their backs. 



We are always loth to make allusion to 

 ignorant superstitions, however popular 

 they may be, unless we can furnish some 

 rational solution for their existence ; but 

 they have sometimes taken such deep root, 

 that not to mention, might almost seem to 

 sanction them. We of course allude to the 

 " thumb and finger marks of St. Peter ; " 

 and shall therefore extract from Mr. Yar- 

 rell's excellent work the following remarks, 

 as supplying additional information of a ger- 

 mane character ; " Pennant says, ' Our 'coun- 

 tryman Turner suggested that the Haddock 

 was the Opos or Asinus of the ancients. 

 Different reasons have been assigned for 

 giving this name to the species, some imagin- 

 ing it to be from the colour of the fish, others 

 because it used to be carried on the backs of 

 asses to market.' A different reason appears 

 to me more likely to have suggested the 

 name : the dark mark on the shoulder of 

 the Haddock very frequently extends over 



shoulder on the other side, 



te patc 

 , forcibly 



remind- 



ing the observer of the dark stripe over the 

 withers of the ass ; and the superstition that 

 assigns the mark in the Haddock to the 



impression St. Peter left with his finger and 

 thumb when he took the tribute-money out 

 of a fish of this species, which has been con- ; 

 tinued to the whole race of Haddocks ever ! 

 since the miracle, may possibly have had 

 reference, or even its origin, in the obvious 

 similarity of this mark on the same part of 

 the body of the Haddock and of the humble 

 animal which had borne the Christian Sa- 

 viour. That the reference to St. Peter is 

 gratuitous, is shown by the fact that the 

 Haddock does not exist in the sea of the 

 country where the miracle was performed." j 

 Independently of which, the Sea of Galilee 

 is a large fresh water lake. 



H^EMATOPUS, or OYSTER- 

 CATCHEB. A genus of wading birds, the 

 best known species of which is the Common 

 Oyster-Catcher, H.ostralegus. [SeeOYSTEU- 

 CATCHER.] 



HAG. [See GASTROBRANCHUS.] 



HAIR-STREAK [BUTTERFLY]. A 



name given to various species of Butterflies, 

 of the genus Thecla. 



HAKE. (Gadus merlucius of Linnaeus.) 

 This Malacopterygious fish inhabits the 

 seas of the north of Europe and the Medi- 

 terranean ; it is also found on the western 

 and southern coasts of England, as well 

 as on various parts of the coast of Ire- 

 laud. It is of a lengthened form, generally 

 from one to two feet, but sometimes more : 

 the head is rather large, broad and flat at 

 the top, but compressed on the sides ; wide 

 mouth; lower jaw the longest ; teeth slender 

 and sharp, with a single row in each jaw : 

 the colour of the body is a dusky brown 

 above, and lighter beneath ; dorsal and cau- 

 dal fins dark ; ventral and anal fins light 

 brown ; the pectoral and ventral fins are of 

 moderate size, and of a sharpened shape ; 

 and the tail is nearly even at the end. It 

 is salted and dried in the manner of cod, 

 haddock, &c., but is not considered as a 

 delicate fish either in its fresh or salted state, 

 and is rarely admitted to the tables of the 

 affluent : it forms, however, a very useful 

 article of food for the lower orders in many 

 parts both of our own and other countries. 

 It is a very voracious fish ; and when pil- 

 chards approach the shores, it follows them, 

 continuing in great numbers through the 

 winter ; so that when pilchards are taken 

 in a sean, on the Cornish coast, many Hakes 

 are generally found inclosed with them. By 

 Dr. Fleming and other naturalists, this fish 

 is regarded as belonging to a distinct genus, 

 characterized by haying one anal and two 

 dorsal fins. (Merlucius. ) 



HALCYON. A genus of the Kingfisher 

 family, of which there are many species : 

 of these we may specify the SACKED KING- 

 FISHER (Halcyon scmctus), which is generally 

 distributed over the Australian continent, 

 and feeds on various insects and reptiles ; as 

 Mantidae, grasshoppers, caterpillars, lizards, 

 and small snakes ; and Mr. Gould found 

 that specimens killed in the vicinity of salt 

 marshes had their stomachs literally 

 crammed with crabs and other crustaceous 



