63 



animal can erect and depress at pleasure : by 

 this manoeuvre he defends or secures himself 

 against the attacks of his enemies, and might 

 have been named the hedgehog of the sea, if 

 other fishes had not already obtained the name 

 of Echini. The back of this curious marine 

 animal is of a rich blue colour. He frequents 

 the coasts of both the ancient and new conti- 

 nents, and has been found on the shores of 

 England. 



THE TENCH. 



This fish is of a short thick body, and seldom 

 exceeds ten or eleven inches in length. The 

 irides are red, the back, dorsal and ventral fins, 

 dusky; the head, sides, and belly, of a greenish 

 hue, mixed with gold, and the tail very 

 broad. They delight in still water, in the 

 muddy parts of ponds, where, secure, as they 

 suppose, from the voracious ramblings and 

 dreadful proscriptions of the tyrant pike, and 

 from the hook of the angler, they live nearly 

 motionless covered by the flags, reeds, and weeds 

 that shade their place of retirement : this inac- 

 tive life has enabled some individuals of this 



