SEA-SERPENT— SHARK 385 



Red snake-fish, riband-fish, ribbon-fish ; Scabbard-fish, sea-adder, 

 sea-horse. 



The classical name means a " needle "-like or sharp fish, like a 

 snake in form, with the maternal characteristics of the kangaroo, 

 the young being hatched and preserved in the pouch, and follow 

 the male. A larger size has the above name of " cirein-croin," and 

 is said to be capable of devouring seven ordinary whales at a 

 meal, at least according to the following saying — 



" Seachd sgadain sath bradain, Seven herrings a salmon's meal, 



Seachd bradain sath roin. Seven salmon a seal's meal, 



Seachd roin sath mial-mor-mara. Seven seals a whale's meal (or lit. 



Seachd mial sath Cirein-croin. " a great sea animal). 



Seven whales the meal of a Cirein 

 croin. 



Another version has the first two lines the same, and then 



" Seachd roin sath muice - mara Seachd muice-mara-mhor sath ciona- 



bheag, rain cro, 



Seachd muice -mara bheag sath Seachd cionarain-cro sath mial-mor- 



muice-mara-mhor, a-chuain. " 



The cionarain-cro here is substituted, as will be seen, for the cirein- 

 croin in the former saying, and ranks second to the " great sea 

 animal." (See also " needle-fish," which may have been mistaken 

 for above.) 



SEA-SNAIL. — Turcan or turcar-mara. 



SEA-URCHIN. — Conan-mara, cragan or crogan-feannaig, 

 crogan, crogan-traghad, cuan-mara ; Garbhan (Lochcarron), 

 gibneach. 



Canniber, cauniber ; Echini ; Ivegar, ivigar ; Piper ; Sea- 

 cracken, egg or hog. 



The sea-urchin used to be esteemed by the Romans as a whet 

 or sauce, which they compounded of vinegar, wine, honey, parsley, 

 and mint mixed up with the contents of the urchin. The Epicene 

 Lentullus had this at the supper held when he was made and 

 installed as Priest of Mars. The Celts, so far as we can discover, 

 made and still make no use of it beyond a plaything or house 

 ornament. It derives a Gaelic name from the habit the sagacious 

 crow has of dropping them on a stone or rock, so as to get at 

 the contents. 



SHAD (see Mackerel). — This perhaps should be ranked 

 more correctly under " herring," as the word is said to be derived 

 from " sgadan," the Gaelic for herring. The word " Stanagomar," 

 referred to under article Mackerel, is said by another authority 

 to be more correctly " Strangawr," the stream of the shad, frona 

 stran or sruthan, stream. 



SHARK. — Boc-glas ; Cairbean, cairbein, cairbhean, cearban 

 (basking) j Dallag, dallag-na-h-urlaich (the detested one). 



2 B 



