270 



HISTORY OF FISHES. 



voracious. The smallest of this tribe is not less 

 dreaded by greater fish, than many that to 

 appearance seem more powerful ; nor do any 

 of them seem fearful of attacking animals far 



a place fitted by nature for the reception of her young. 

 This, however, has been denied by some writers. 



The Basking Shark. This, though a very large fish, 

 possesses none of the voracity and ferociousness that 

 mark the generality of the shark tribe. It will frequently 



lie motionless on the surface of the water, generally on 

 its belly, but sometimes on its back ; and it seems so 

 little afraid of mankind as often to suffer itself to be 

 patted and stroked. Its body is slender, and from three 

 to twelve yards in length ; of a deep lead colour above, 

 and white below. The upper jaw is blunt at the end, 

 and much longer than the lower. The mouth is placed 

 beneath, and furnished with small teeth ; these before 

 much bent, and the remote ones conical and sharp- 

 pointed. On each side of the neck are five breathing 

 apertures. There are two dorsal, two pectoral, two 

 ventral fins, and one small anal fin. Within the mouth, 

 near the throat, is a short kind of whale-bone. The liver 

 is of such an immense size as frequently to weigh near 

 a. thousand pounds. From this a great quantity of good 

 oil is extracted, which renders this shark an animal of 

 considerable importance to the Scotch fishermen ; for 

 according to Anderson, the oil of a single fish will some- 

 times sell for twenty or thirty pounds sterling. The 

 basking shark (which derives its name from its propen- 

 sity to lie on the surface of the water, as if to bask itself 

 in the sun) frequents our seas during the warm summer 

 months, and is not uncommon on the Welch and Scot- 

 tish coasts, where they come in shoals, usually after in- 

 tervals of a certain number of years. In the intervening 

 summers, those that are seen upon the Welch coast are 

 generally single fish, that have probably strayed from the 

 rest. They appear in the frith of Clyde, and among the 

 Hebrides, about midsummer, in small droves of seven 

 or eight, or more commonly in pairs. Here they con- 

 tinue till the latter end of July, when they disappear. 

 The food of these sharks seems to consist entirely of 

 marine plants, and some of the species of medusae. They 

 swim very deliberately, and generally with their upper 

 fins above water. Sometimes they may be seen sporting 

 about amongst the waves, and leaping several feet above 

 the surface. The natives of our northern coasts are 

 very alert in the pursuit, and very dexterous in the 

 killing of those fish. When pursued, they do not accel- 

 erate their motion till the boat comes almost in contact 

 with them, when the harpooner strikes his weapon into 

 the body as near the gills as he can. They seem not 

 very susceptible of pain ; for they often remain in the 

 same place till the united strength of two men is exerted 

 to force the harpoon deeper. As soon as they perceive 

 themselves wounded, they plunge headlong to the bot- 

 tom, and frequently coil the rope round their bodies in 

 agony, attempting to disengage themselves from the 

 fatal instrument by rolling on the ground. Discovering 

 that these efforts are in vain, they swim off with such 

 amazing rapidity, that one instance has occurred of a 

 basking shark towing to some distance, a vessel of 

 seventy tons burden against a fresh gale. They some- 

 times run ofl'with two hundred fathoms of line, and two 

 harpoons in them ; and will employ the men from twelve 



above their size ; but the Great White Shark, 

 which is the largest of the kind, joins to the 

 most amazing rapidity, the strongest appetites 

 for mischief : as he approaches nearly in size 

 to the whale, he far surpasses him in strength 

 and celerity, in the formidable arrangement 

 of his teeth and his insatiable desire of 

 plunder. 



The White Shark is sometimes seen to rank 

 even among whales for magnitude ; and is 



found from twenty to thirty feet long. Some 

 assert that they have seen them of four 



to twenty-four hours before they are subdued. As soon 

 as they are killed, the fishermen haul them on shore ; or, 

 if at a distance from land, to the vessel's side, to cut 

 them up and take out the liver, which is the only useful 

 part of their bodies. This is melted into oil in kettles 

 provided for the purpose ; and if the fish be a large one, 

 it yields eight barrels or upwards. 



The Angel-shark. This is very unlike the common 

 sharks, being distinguished by its flat body, which forms 



the connecting link, as it were, between the genus of rays 

 and that of sharks, as it partakes of the figure of both. 

 It is called Angel-shark from its extended pectoral fins 

 having the appearance of wings. The head is of a cir- 

 cular form, and rather broader than the body. The mouth 

 is wide, and is situated at the extremity of the head. 

 Like the sharks, the old fish of this species have more 

 teeth than the young ones. Thus two angel-sharks, 

 only a foot long, in the possession of Dr Block, had only 

 two rows of teeth in the upper jaw, and three in the 

 lower ; while Willoughby and Rondelet assert, that there 

 are three in the former, and five in the latter. Of a 

 certain portion of the skin the Turks make the most 

 beautiful shagreen for watch cases. The angel-shark is 

 found in the Mediterranean and German ocean. 



The Spotted Dog-fish is an inhabitant of most seas, 

 and measures four feet long ; it is very voracious, and 

 feeds chiefly upon fish. The body is reddish brown, with 

 large distinct black spots; it is white beneath, and a 

 little compressed at each end : the skin, when dried, is 

 used for various purposes. The head is small, and the 

 snout short ; the eyes are oblong, and the pupil is of a sea- 

 green colour ; the iris of the eye is white ; the mou'h is 

 oblong, and wide, armed with three rows of teeth ; the 

 tongue is cartilaginous, and with the palate is rough; the 

 nostrils are surrounded with a lobe and vermiform ap- 

 pendage ; the vent is placed before the middle of the 



