THE BASSE. 231 



five to seven in number. The first dorsal fin is brown, with a little black between two 

 or three of the first and last rays ; the second dorsal and the pectoral are pale brown, 

 and the tail and other fins are bright red. 



THE fine fish so well known under the name of BASSE, or SEA-DACE or SEA-PERCH, 

 is common on many of our coasts, and is considered by anglers as affording good sport. 



It seems, from the accounts of practical sportsmen, to bite with readiness at a bait, 

 but to be a difficult fish to secure, on account of its tender mouth, its ingenious strata- 

 gems, and its great strength. When hooked, it leaps, plunges, and swims with such 

 force and swiftness, that the captor is forced to exercise the greatest skill in prevent- 

 ing it from breaking away. One of its favorite ruses is to double back under the boat, 

 in hopes of cutting the line against the keel, or gaining a fixed point by which it may 

 be able to drag the hook from its mouth. 



Even when fairly tired out, and drawn to the edge of the boat, it is by no means 

 secured, for its scales are so hard that a very sharp blow of the gaff is needed to fix the 

 hook in its side, and its gills and fins are so formidably armed, that it cannot be grasped 



BASSE. Labmx lupus. 



with impunity. The spines of the dorsal fin, in particular, are strong and sharp as 

 packing needles, and the various portions of the operculum are edged with projecting 

 teeth that cut like lancets. Many are the wounds that have been inflicted by the sud- 

 den twist and wriggle of the Basse, when grasped in a careless manner. When lifted 

 into the boat, the hook is not to be taken from the mouth without some risk, as may be 

 imagined on reference to the illustration. 



It is a voracious fish, and derives it name of " lupus," or wolf, in consequence of its 

 insatiate appetite. It feeds upon other fish and various inhabitants of the sea. Mr. 

 Couch states that it is very fond of woodlice, and is bold enough to venture among 

 rocks in a tempest for the sake of snapping up these creatures, as they are washed by 

 the waves and beaten by the winds from their places of concealment among the stones. 



The flesh of the Basse is very excellent, and is thought to be in best condition when 

 the fish is small, measuring about eighteen inches in length. The color of this fish is 

 dark dusky blue on the back, and silvery white on the abdomen ; the fins are brown. 

 It sometimes attains a very large size, having been known to weigh upwards of twenty 

 pounds. It seldom, however, reaches such extreme dimensions, and a specimen of 

 fifteen pounds' weight is thought to be a remarkably fine one. 



