THE BULL-HEAD. 547 



The large and important family of the Triglidse, or Gurnards, is 

 represented by several British fishes. This family contains a great 

 number of species, many of which are most remarkable, not only for 

 their beautiful colors, which alone are sufficient to attract attention, but 

 also for the strange and weird shape and large development of the fins. 

 They are carnivorous fish, mostly inhabiting the seas, a very few spe- 

 cies being able to exist in fresh water. They are not swift or strong 

 swimmers, and therefore remain for the most part in deep water. Some, 

 however, are able by means of their largely-developed pectoral fins to 

 raise themselves into the air, and for a brief space to sustain themselves 

 in the thinner element. The mouth is mostly large, and in some cases 

 the gape is so wide and the head and jaws so Strangely shaped that the 

 general aspect is most repulsive. 



We now come to a very familiar and not very prepossessing fish, the 

 well-known Bull-head or Miller's Thumb, sometimes called by the 

 name of Tommy Logge. 



This large-headed and odd-looking fish is very common in our brooks 

 and streams, where it is generally found under loose stones, and aflTords 

 great sport to the juvenile fisherman. In my younger days the chase 

 of the Bull-head was rather an exciting one, and was^arried out with- 

 out hook or line, or indeed any aid but the hands. Tliis fish has a 

 habit of hiding itself under loose stones, and on account of its flat 

 though wide head is enabled to push itself into crevices which are ap- 

 parently much too small to cont lin it. 



The name of Miller's Thumb is derived from the peculiarly wide 

 and flattened head, which is thought to bear some resemblance to the 

 object whence its name is taken. A miller, judges of the quality of the 

 meal by rubbing it with his thumb over his fingers as it is shot from 

 the spout, and by the continual use of this custom the thumb becomes 

 gradually widened and flattened at its extremity. The name of Bull- 

 head also alludes to the same width and flatness of the skull. 



The Bull-head is a voracious little fish, feeding on various water in- 

 sects, worms, larvse, and the young fry of other fish. It is a represent- 

 ative of a rather large genus, comprising about twenty-six or twenty- 

 seven known species, which are spread over all the northern and tem- 

 perate parts of the world. In Russia the Bull-head is believed by the 

 general public to possess the same quality as is attributed to the king- 

 fisher by our own rustic population, and to indicate the direction of 

 the wind by always keeping its head turned to windward when it is 

 dried and suspended horizontally by a thread. 



The mouth of this little fish is very wide, and contains numerous 

 minute teeth. There is one spine on the prseoperculum, and the oper- 

 culum ends in a flattened point. The general color of the smooth skin 

 is very dark brown on the back, white on the abdomen, and grayish 



