658 



ICHTHYOLOGY. 



Hit >ry. of these is consumed by ourselves, and a part exported 

 x ~"~/~~"' to foreign countries. These fisheries give employment 

 to many thousands of healthy natives, and are universal- 

 ly considered as the best nurseries of intrepid seamen. 



Those who have paid attention to our fisheries, and the 

 legislative enactments by which they are regulated, must 

 be convinced that the subject is imperfectly understood, 

 and acknowledge that many of these statutes originate 

 in our ignorance of the habits and the haunts of the fin- 

 ny tribes. It must therefore appear an object of vast 

 importance to examine the structure of fishes, and trace 

 their manners and economy, with the view of impro- 

 ving the modes of fishing, ascertaining the best frequent- 

 ed grounds, and the periods in which they are in season. 

 These are the objects which the ichthyologist should 

 keep steadily in view, and to the accomplishment of 

 these all his investigations ought to be directed. Hi. 

 therto, however, the economical department of the 

 science has been in a great measure overlooked by the 

 systematic inquirer. Occupied, almost exclusively, in 

 ascertaining the position of the fins, or in counting the 

 number of their rays, so as to form the divisions of his 

 arrangement, the ichthyologist seldom condescends to 

 investigate the history or discover the uses of the spe- 

 cies. Systematic works in this branch of natural histo- 

 ry are therefore seldom consulted by the ordinary in- 

 quirer. Disgusted with the mere enumeration of names 

 and external appearances, of which these books consist, 

 he retires to the hut of some old fisherman, and listens 

 with interest to the recital of many anecdotes, illustra- 

 tive of the different kinds of fish, the best frequented 

 grounds, and the most enticing baits. In such a school 

 he will learn much genuine natural history, mixed per- 

 haps with a little fable. 



We wish not to be understood as condemning as use- 

 less, the systematic part of ichthyology, but from the 

 heart we condemn that want of attention to the man- 

 ners of fishes, so conspicuous in the writings of natural- 

 ists ; a negligence, which has brought the science into 

 discredit, and which may be considered as the princi- 

 pal reason why this department of nature has obtained 

 so few admirers. But we trust the period is at no 

 great distance, in which the ichthyologist will be as 

 "anxious to explore the habits of those fishes, with whose 

 specific differences he is already acquainted, as he is at 

 present to add a new species to his list, or effect some 

 trivial revolution in the arrangement of the genera. 



In order to present the reader with a general view of 

 the present state of ichthyological science, we propose 

 in the following Chapters, to consider, 1st, The history 

 of the science; 2d, The structure and functions of 

 fishes ; 3d, The condition of fishes ; and lastly, Their 

 systematic arrangement. We propose to avoid all mi- 

 nute details which would prove uninteresting to the or- 

 dinary observer, in order to make room for the deve- 

 lopement of those laws which regulate this great class 

 of animated beings. 



CHAP. I. 



HISTORY or ICHTHYOLOGY. 



History. THE history of ichthyology during the first ages of 

 science, may gratify curiosity, but is incapable of yield- 

 ing instruction. We are in a great measure ignorant of 

 the sources from whence Aristotle obtained his infor- 

 mation on this subject ; nor do we consider as of great 

 importance those descriptions which he has communi- 

 cated. Although he treats of "the manners and uses of 



several fishes, and divides the class into cetaceous, car- History. 

 tilaginous, and spinous, his labours did not contribute T~~ 

 much to the progress of the science. The writings of 

 Pliny were equally unproductive of advantage. He 

 appears, however, to contemplate fishes as a distinct 

 class of animals, without attempting to define its limits. 

 Ovid, Elian, Athenaeus, Oppian, and Ausonius, have 

 contributed a few facts, and several entertaining de- 

 scriptions. But as we are investigating the history of 

 ichthyology as a branch of the system of nature, we 

 must take our leave of these early writers, and examine 

 the productions of those naturalists who flourished after 

 the revival of letters. 



Belon, a French physician, deserves to be noticed in Belon. 

 this place, as the first modern ichthyologist. In the 

 year 1553, he published his great work De Aquatilibu s ; 

 and in 1555 he produced another work, or rather the 

 ichthyological part of the former, under the title, La 

 Nature et diversity des Poissons avec lews Portraits. Al- 

 though Belon was more advantageously known as a tra- 

 veller and ornithologist than as an ichthyologist, his la- 

 bours in this last department were of service to the sci- 

 ence. He did not attempt any general system, but by 

 collecting fishes into groups, he laid the foundation of 

 many natural families or genera. He separated the os- 

 seous from the cartilaginous flat fishes, and brought to- 

 gether the different species of sharks into one division. 

 The wooden cuts which accompany the work are not 

 destitute of merit, if we take into consideration the 

 state of the arts at the time. 



In the year 1554, Rondelet, a professor of physic Rondekt 

 at Montpelier, published his work De Piscibus Marinis. 

 He has'been rather ungraciously treated by his coun- 

 trymen, for saying, that he was unable for some time to 

 determine on the particular fish with which to begin 

 the descriptions, and that he gave the preference to the 

 Gill/iead, because it was best known to the ancients and 

 moderns, and highly prized as esculent food. In the 

 course of his observations, he pointed out several dis- 

 tinguishing characters of fishes, which must have con- 

 tributed to draw the attention of naturalists to their sys- 

 tematic arrangement. In the first four books, he treats 

 of the differences observable among fishes, in regard to 

 their food and haunts, their forms and functions. In 

 the remaining books he describes the different species, 

 in many cases forming these into natural groups. His 

 figures of fishes are superior in execution to those of 

 Belon. 



The work of Salvianus, which appeared in the same Salvianus 

 year at Rome, under the title Aquatilium Animalium 

 Histories liber primus, cum eonmdem formis cere txcusis, 

 contained a description of the fishes of Italy to the 

 amount of ninety species. The distribution of the spe- 

 cies is destitute of arrangement ; but in the description 

 of these he follows a regular plan, treating of the name, 

 characters, station, food, time of spawning, and method 

 of catching of each. It is a matter of regret, that this 

 method of communicating the history of the species has 

 been in a great measure overlooked by succeeding ich- 

 thyologists. 



Passing over a number of laborious compilers, who willough 

 flourished in the end of the sixteenth century, we come and Bay. 

 now to consider the merits of our countryman Willough- 

 by, and his friend Ray. " These illustrious naturalists," 

 says the intelligent President of the Linnaean Society 

 in his introductory discourse, " laboured together with 

 uncommon ardour in the study of nature, and left 

 scarcely any of her tribes unexplored. But death, 

 which so often disappoints the fairest hopes, cut off the 



