FISHES. 537 



below conical ; the grinding teeth and those in the palate round 

 the fin covering the gill has seven rays. 



32. The Stromateus. The body oblong; the head small 

 the teeth moderately sharp ; the fin covering the gills with five 

 or six rays. 



33. The Ammodytes or Launce. The body slender and round 

 ish ; the head terminated by a beak ; the teeth of a hair-lik 

 fineness j the fin covering the gills with seven rays. 



Snfl-finned Jugular Fish. 



34. The Lepadogaster. The body wedge-like ; the head ob- 

 long, forwarder than the body, flattish, the beak resembling that 

 of a duck J the pectoral fins double, two on each side ; the ven- 

 tral-fins joined together; a kind of bony breast-plate between 

 the pectoral fins ; the fin covering the gills with five rays ; the 

 opening to the gills pipe-fashion. 



35. The Gadus or Cod-fish. The body oblong ; the head 

 wedge-like ; the fin covering the gills with seven-rays ; several 

 back and anal fins.* 



Soft-finned Thoracic Fish. 



36. The Pleuronectes or Flat-fish. The body elliptical ; the 



* The Haddock. — This well-known fish is a species of the cod ; it has a 

 bearded mouth, and three fins on the back ; the upper jaw longest, and the 

 tail a little forked. On each side of the body, just beyond the gills, there is 

 a dark spot, which the superstitious assert is the impression of St Peter's 

 finger and thumb, when he took the tribute money (at the command of his 

 Master) out of the mouth of a fish of this species, and which has ever since 

 been continued to the whole race of haddocks. 



Haddocks seldom grow to any great size ; they very rarely become so 

 largo as to weigh twelve or fourteen pounds : they are esteemed more de- 

 licate eating when tliey do not exceed three pounds in weight. These fish, 

 during stormy weather, are s!ud to take shelter in the sand or mud, or 

 among the sea-weeds. 'ITiey feed on various small marine animals, and fre. 

 quently become fat on herrings. The females deposit their spawn on the 

 sea-weeds near the shore. The larger ones begin to be in roe in Novem. 

 ber, and continue so for somewhat more than two months : from this time 

 till May they are reckoned out of season, and are not good. They then 

 begin to recover. The small ones are extremely good from May till Feb. 

 ruary ; and those that are not nlil enough to breed, for oven two months 

 longer. 



The wluting is another species of the cod, but without a benrd. 



