THE JOHN DOBY. 275 



Sucking-fishes. What object is fulfilled by this capability of adhesion, is a problem as 

 yet unsolved. The Remora is perfectly organized and capable of procuring food for itself, 

 and though not a swift swimmer, is able to proceed through the water with tolerable 

 rapidity. Its mouth is moderately large, and that the creature has no difficulty in seeking 

 a subsistence is proved by the fact that its stomach usually contains remnants of small 

 Crustacea and molluscs. 



It is rather a voracious fish, and takes the hook eagerly if baited with a piece of raw 

 flesh. When hooked, however, it is by no means secured, for as soon as it feels the prick 

 of the sharp point and the pull of the line, it darts to the side of the vessel, dives deeply, and 

 affixes itself so strongly to the bottom that the hook may be torn out of the mouth before 

 the fish will relax its hold. It is, therefore, necessary to draw the Sucking-fish smartly 

 out of the water as soon as it is fairly hooked, and in this manner great numbers can be 



SUCKING-FISH. Echeneis remoro. 



caught. The flesh is thought to be very good, and is said to resemble that of the eel, 

 but without its richness. 



The colour of this species is dusky brown, darker on the back than on the abdomen. 

 The fins are darker than the body, and are of a dense leathery consistence. The length 

 of this fish seldom exceeds eight inches. 



THEEE are about ten species of Sucking-fishes known, of which the SHIELDED SUCKING- 

 FISH (Echeneis scutdla) is perhaps the most remarkable. This species may be at once 

 recognised by the very great size of the disc, and its length being nearly one-half that of 

 the body. At the hinder portion of the disc the laminae are. wanting, and its surface is 

 smooth. This species attains to considerable dimensions, a fine specimen in the British 

 Museum being nearly two feet in length. 



THE well-known JOHN DOEY, so dear to epicures, is found in the British seas, and is 

 frequently seen in the fishmongers' shops, where its peculiar shape seldom fails of attracting 

 attention even from those who are not likely to purchase it or even to have seen it on 

 the table. 



The name of John Dory is thought to be a corruption of the French namejaune doree, 

 a title given to the fish on account of the gilded yellow which decorates its body. It was 

 called Zeus by the ancients because they considered it to be the king of eatable fish ; and 

 the name of Faber, or blacksmith, has probably been earned by the smoky tints which 

 cloud its back. The dark and conspicuous spots on the side are thought in many places to 

 be imprinted 011 the fish as a memorial of the honour conferred upon its ancestor in times 

 past, when St. Peter took the tribute-money from the mouth of the Dory, and left the 



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