THE BOOK ABOUT THE SEA GARDENS 



curved teeth like those of a boa constrictor, and 

 holds its prey securely until it decides to go the 

 way of least resistance, but of most misfortune. 

 It is a greenish yellow with closely distributed 

 brown spots all over it, the head being almost a 

 purple. I have caught one specimen which was 

 white with small brown speckles, having a few 

 large brown-black spots well defined, which I 

 think must be very scarce, as I have not met any- 

 one else who has seen it. 



It is interesting to quote a passage from the 

 Memoirs of Peter Henry Bruce, Esq., "a military 

 officer in the services of Prussia, Russia and Great 

 Britain/' who gives the following information 

 with regard to the fish of the Bahamas in the 

 year 1744 : 



"The sea hereabouts abounds with fish unknown 

 to us in Europe ; those of prey are crocodiles, alli- 

 gators, sharks, dolphins, swordfish, sea devils, 

 spermaceti whales, grampuses, porpoises, seals, 

 nurses, and snappers ; those for food are the king 

 fish, jew fish, hog fish, pork fish, mutton fish, rock 

 fish, margaret fish, cuckold fish, coney fish, angle 

 fish, bill fish, hound fish, gar fish, parrot fish, blue 

 fish, sucking fish, tang fish, trumpet fish, porjes, 

 grupers, jacks, hynes, old wives, grunts, skates, 

 schoolmaster, breams, ten pounders, stingers, 

 ryspree, mullets, senets, baracuda, ship jacks, 

 albecores, rainbow threshers, mackrel, hedgehogs, 



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