FISHES. 37 



or sea devil ; its skin is slimy, of a gray color, spotted 

 with black, and has on its lip six cirri, or filamentous 

 beards. It is found in Egypt and Senegambia, and has 

 the power of giving strong electric shocks. Its flesh is 

 palatable. The Arabs call it raasch, thunder. 



The Salmon (salmo salar) is recognized by a very wide 

 mouth, completely armed with strong teeth. The upper 

 jaw in the male is hooked, the lower curved ; blue-gray 

 is the color of the back and sides, mostly spotted with 

 black ; the under surface is silvery. These fishes are 

 found in all the Arctic seas, whence they ascend the 

 large rivers in great shoals every spring, where they 

 remain during the summer to deposit their spawn, and, 

 like the birds of passage, always return to the same 

 place, which their instinct teaches them how to find ; in 

 winter they return to the sea. The salmon delights in 

 rapid streams with gravelly bottoms, swimming in the 

 same order observed by wild geese as they fly, namely, 

 in a triangle, the females in front, the males in the rear, 

 they hold their course directly in the middle of the 

 stream, and, as they swim very rapidly, make consid- 

 erable noise. The noise of a steamboat or sawmill, the 

 presence of glittering objects, or bright colors, such as a 

 house painted red, will drive them away. They press up 

 the rivers to a great distance, even for hundreds of miles. 

 The young grow very rapidly, so that in their sixth 

 year they will weigh twelve pounds. The best season 

 for catching salmon is in the spring, as they are then 

 fattest ; they feed on small fish and water insects. The 

 flesh is reddish, and, much esteemed, is eaten fresh or 

 salted and smoked. Salmon will not live in fish troughs. 

 They are taken in bow or salmon nets of peculiar con- 

 struction, and, as in their peregrinations they can clear 



