GREA T BRITAIN. 175 



centre of the base of the caudal fin. Colours. Olive green, 

 divided a little above the middle of the depth of the body, 

 by a broad bright band, from a silvery abdomen. Dorsal 

 and anal fins colourless ; caudal with a dark base, and the 

 central rays nearly white. A black blotch on the side of 

 the upper jaw extending on to the cheek. 



Habits. This form keeps in deeper water than A. tobia- 

 nus, while it is much more voracious ; from the stomach of 

 one, which was 12 inches in length, I took seven sprats 

 from i to 2^ inches long, and a lesser sand-eel 3 inches 

 long. This fish does not object to devour its own kind. It 

 pears to have derived its name, " horn-eel," from the sort 

 horny tip at the end of its lower jaw, which assists it 

 en diving down into the sand, where it conceals itself 

 during the ebb of the tide. Thompson remarks how he 

 observed a number of pigs at Newcastle, county of Down, 

 daily frequenting the sand at the extreme edge of the re- 

 tiring waves, and ascertained that they were in search of 

 these fishes. It has, however, been recorded as captured at 

 the entrance of the British Channel, thirty miles from land 

 and in forty-five fathoms of water. Frequently taken from 

 the stomachs of larger fish, while its young is much relished 

 by mackerel and herring. 



Modes of capture. The fishery at St. Ives, in Cornwall, 

 commences in May and lasts until September. Thompson 

 remarked as follows : At Dundrum, on the coast of Down, 

 from the loose sand covered with water, to about the depth 

 of 9 inches, the persons engaged in this occupation with 

 great dexterity drew these fishes from their hiding-places, 

 using for this purpose old reaping-hooks. These are run 

 through the sand with the right hand drawn towards the 

 , by which the fish is seized and transferred to a basket, 

 strapped round the waist and carried in front. It is in shape 



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