240 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Tormented by an insect Voyages. 



which fastens itself underneath the fins of the 

 belly. When stung by this insect the thunny 

 becomes furious, and, as Oppian asserts, leaps 

 upon vessels and upon the shore. The skin of 

 the thunny under the fins of the belly is ex- 

 tremely soft, which is the reason assigned for 

 the insect fixing upon it in preference to other 

 fish. 



These fish, according to the vulgar notion, go 

 from the North Sea to the Mediterranean, hut 

 Cetti declares that great numbers are found in 

 winter in the sea of Sardinia. They enter the 

 Mediterranean about the vernal equinox, travel- 

 ling in a triangular phalanx, so as to cut the 

 waters with their points, and to present an ex- 

 tensive base for the tides and currents to act 

 against and impel forwards. 



They repair to the warm seas of Greece to 

 spawn, steering their course thither in shoals of 

 several hundreds along the European shores ; and 

 though these fish are so large, their ova do not 

 exceed in size a grain of millet. They spawn in 

 depths of about one hundred feet, avoiding the 

 shores where the sea is not so deep. On their 

 return they approach the African coast: the 

 young fry is placed in the van of the squadron 

 as they travel. They come back from the east 

 in May, and abound about that time on the 

 coasts of Sicily and Calabria. In autumn they 

 steer northward, and frequent the neighbourhood 

 of Amalphi and Naples. During these voyages 



