206 FISHES I HAVE KNOWN 



variety average only about 2 Ibs. in weight, and 

 are black above and silver below. Both sea and 

 river variety are mottled. The third kind, the 

 lam perns, seldom exceed ten inches in length. 

 The skin of all three kinds is scaleless, and this, 

 together with the total absence of ventral or 

 pectoral fins, gives them a reptilian and repulsive 

 appearance. 



The lamprey has no gills, but behind the eye, 

 on each side of the head, are seven little sacs or 

 holes, 1 through which it draws in and expires 

 water, while with its sucker-like mouth it adheres 

 to rocks and stones. This mouth is peculiar, 

 resembling the broad end of a funnel, and is fur- 

 nished with many small barbed teeth. The 

 lamprey is supposed (for very little is known 

 about its habits) to subsist on water molluscs 

 and larvae. 



In the Wye at Hereford, above bridge, where 

 that picturesque river, after winding through flat 

 but pleasant fields of pasturage, suddenly con- 

 tracts, and presses itself between fantastically 

 rugged and wooded cliffs, there are some clear 

 pools, two to six feet deep, quiet and modestly 

 retired from the bustling current. There I used 

 to catch lampreys, "bobbing" as for eels, i.e., with 

 1 In Germany, lampreys are called "seven eyes." 



