THE SEA SCORPION. 253 



The name of Miller's Thumb is derived from the peculiarly wide and flattened head, 

 which is thought to bear some resemblance to the object whence its name is taken. A 

 miller judges of the quality of the meal by rubbing it with his thumb over his fingers 

 as it is shot from the spout, and by the continual use of this custom, the thumb be- 

 comes gradually widened and flattened at its extremity. The name of Bull-head also 

 alludes to the same width and flatness of the skull. 



BULL-HEAD. CMtof goblo. 



The Bull-head is a voracious little fish, feeding on various water insects, worms, larvae 

 and the young fry of other fish. It is a representative of a rather large genus, com- 

 prising about twenty-six or twenty-seven known species, which are spread over all the 

 northern and temperate parts of the world. In Russia the Bull-head is believed by the 

 general public to possess the same quality as is attributed to the kingfisher by our own 

 rustic population, and to indicate the direction of the wind by always keeping its head 

 turned to windward when it 1 is dried and suspended horizontally by a thread. 



The mouth of this little fish is very wide, and contains numerous minute teeth. 

 There is one spine on the prasoperculum, and theoperculum ends in a flattened point. 

 The general color of the smooth skin is very dark brown on the back, white on the 

 abdomen, and grayish white on the flanks. The rays of the fins are spotted with dark 

 blackish brown and white, rather variable in different individuals, and the fins are 

 marked with dark brown dots. The eyes are yellow, and the pupil very dark blue. 

 It is but a small fish, averaging four, and seldom exceeding five, inches in length. 



Several other species of this genus inhabit England. There is the SHORT-SPINED 

 COTTUS, or SEA SCORPION (Coitus scorpius), which, as its name denotes, is one of the 

 marine species. It is a very common fish, being found plentifully under heavy seaweeds 

 and stones in the pools that are left above low- water mark by the retreating tide. The 

 name of Scorpion is given to it on account of the sharp spines with which its head is 

 armed, no less than eight sharp and four rather blunt prickles being found on the head. 

 The rays of the dorsal and pectoral fins are also sharply pointed, so that it must be 

 cautiously handled by those who wish to escape wounded fingers. This is a much 

 prettier species than the preceding fish, its body being rich purple-brown, mottled with 

 a warm red hue, and in the adult male there are some stripes of red on the pectoral fins, 

 and the abdomen is brightly decorated with some snowy white circular spots on glow- 

 ing scarlet. In this country, its extreme length seldom exceeds eight inches. 



