•i92 HISTORY OF 



iiig rapidity, tlie strongest appetites for mischief: as he ap. 

 preaches nearly in size to the whale, he far surpasses him in 

 strength and celerity, in the formidable arrangement of his teeth, 

 9nd 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 thousand 

 pound weight ; and we are told particularly of one, that had a 

 human corpse in his belly. The head is large and somewhat 

 flatted; the snout long, and the eyes large. The mouth is 

 enormously wide, as is the throat, and capable of swallowing a 

 man with great ease. But its furniture of teeth is still more 

 terrible; of these there are six row^s, extremely hard, sharp - 

 pointed, and of a wedge-like figure. It is asserted that there are 



Tliey soraptimes run off with two hundred fathoms of line, and two liar- 

 poons in them ; and ^ill employ the men from twelve 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 out 

 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 uulike the common sharks, being distin- 

 guished 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. 

 The head is of a circular 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; wliile Willoughby 

 and Uondelet assert, that there are three in the former, and five in the latter. 

 The fins are large and wide, and their resemblance to wings has probably 

 procured tliis fish the denomination of angel. Of a certain portion of the 

 skin the Turks make the most beautiful shagreen for watch cases. The 

 ^ngel-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 reddisli 

 brown, with large distinct black spots ; it is white beneath, and a little com- 

 pressed 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-gi-een colour; the iris of the eye is white ; the mouth 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 lube and ver. 

 miform appendage ; the vent is placed before the middle of the body, the 

 ventral fins distinct ; the first dorsal fin is placed behind the ventral ; the 

 second dorsal fin is less, and nearly opposite the anal ; the tail is narrow, 

 ending below in a sharp angle. 



