THE MACKEREL. 299 



lines from the jibboom-end and spritsail-yard-arms, with 

 hooks baited merely with bits of tin, the glitter of which 

 resembles so much that of the body and wings of the flying- 

 fish that many a proud dolphin, making sure of a delicious 

 morsel, leaped in rapture at the glittering prize." 



The dolphin, however, in turn becomes the prey of other 

 fishes, and especially of the Fox-Shark, or Sea-Fox as it is 

 sometimes called, a genus of sharks containing only one 

 known species, belonging to the Mediterranean Sea, and the 

 Atlantic, and occasionally seen on English coasts. This 

 powerful fish attains a length of thirteen feet, including the 

 tail-fin, which is remarkably long, nearly half the dimensions 

 of the animal, and which, as a weapon of offence, is very for- 

 midable. The furious lashing of this appendage has obtained 

 for this fish the popular name of " thresher." A whole herd 

 of dolphins will take flight at the first splash of this tail, 

 and even the grampus, the largest of the dolphin family, 

 and, it is said, a formidable adversary of the whale, comes 

 off badly in an encounter with the fox-shark. 



The numerous and interesting Mackerel family include 

 many species remarkable for rich coloring. The common 

 Mackerel itself, which is described in the chapter on "Meth- 

 ods of Fishing," is a very beautiful fish, with its brilliant 

 blue and green tints, besides its elegant form. The Dory, 

 or John Dory as it is popularly called, is said to derive its 

 name from the golden tint that prevails over it when taken 

 from the water; Jaune in French being ''yellow," and c?ore', 

 "golden." Along the shores of the Mediterranean, where 

 this fish abounds, it is called among other names "St. Peter's 

 Fish," from a legend that the apostle obtained from it the 

 coin to pay the tribute mone}^, and that the impression of 

 his two fingers marks the species to the present day; a dis- 

 tinction, however, which is claimed also for the haddock. 

 The dory is very common on some parts of the Atlantic 

 coasts. The prevailing color of the body (which is oval) is 



