262 THE HARMONIES OF NATURE. 



fins by the elastic spring of the tail, exerted sidewise, proceeds in 

 this manner nearly as fast as a man will leisurely walk. The 

 strong scuta or bands which envelope the body, in the manner 

 of the plates under the belly of serpents, also greatly facilitate 

 its march, as they can be raised or depressed by a voluntary power. 

 When the pools and rivers are everywhere dried up, these 

 migratory fishes bury themselves in the mud as a last resource, 



Frogfish. 



and fall into a kind of asphyxia, or lethargy, till the rainy season 

 recals them again to life. 



In general the manner in which the fishes procure their food 

 is extremely simple, and requires but a very small amount of 

 intelligence or art : they see their prey, rush furiously upon it, 

 and devour it with greedy haste. 



Some species, however, have recourse to stratagem for this 

 purpose. Thus the stargazer ( Uranoscopus scaber), hidden in 

 the mud, exposes only the top of the head, and waving the beards 

 with which his lips are furnished in various directions, decoys 

 the smaller fishes and marine insects that mistake these organs 

 for worms. 



The position of the eye, placed on the upper surface of the 



