FATHER-LASHER. 65 



Most writers on Icthyology, even up to the present time, 

 have stated that fishes with large gill-apertures, like the 

 Herring, die soon when taken out of the water ; and that, 

 on the contrary, those with small gill-openings, like the 

 Eel, have the power of sustaining life for a considerable 

 time under the same circumstances. I will not say that 

 the authors who have taken this view of the subject are 

 in error ; but I will venture to state the facts that appear 

 to justify the belief that the duration of life in fishes is 

 not altogether dependant on the size of the gill-opening. 



That the Herring, the Mackerel, and many other fishes 

 that swim near the surface, have large gill-apertures, and 

 die almost immediately they are taken out of water, is most 

 true ; and that the Eel, with its small gill-aperture, does 

 live for hours after it is taken out of water, is also true : 

 but it will not be difficult to find many examples the very 

 reverse of the instances supporting the rules, and also to 

 show that in those fishes with large gill-apertures that do 

 die quickly, the real cause of death has not been truly 

 assigned. 



The Carp, Tench, Barbel, Perch, and most of the 

 various flat fish, have large gill-apertures, and yet they are 

 all proverbially known to be able to sustain life long after 

 they are removed from water. Cuvier, when writing on the 

 genus Trachinus, says, in the Histoire Naturelle des Pois- 

 sons, tome iii. p. 235, " Le nom Frai^ois de Vive, que ces 

 poissons portent sur nos cotes de Tocean, et celui de Weever, 

 qu^on leur donne en Angleterre, viennent, dit-on, de ce 

 qu'ils out la vie dure et subsistent long-terns hors de reau." 

 Yet, when describing La Vive and its gill-apertures, the 

 words are (at p. 239) : " et Ton voit meme que la fente des 

 branchies est tres-ample et s^ouvre jusque vis-a-vis la com- 

 missure des machoires." The two marine species of the 



VOL. i. 



