THE JOHN DORY. 



27S 



train of 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 con- 

 tains 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 



SUCKING-FISH. Echeneis retaora. 



great numbers can be caught. The flesh is thought to be very good, and is said to re- 

 semble that of the eel, but without its richness. 



The color 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. 



THERE are about ten species of Sucking-fishes known, of which the SHIELDED SUCK- 

 ING-FISH (Echeneis seutdto) is perhaps the most remarkable. This species may be at 

 once recognized 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 DORY, 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 at- 

 tracting 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 n&mejaune 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 on the fish as a memorial of the honor conferred upon its 

 ancestor in times past, when St. Peter took the tribute-money from the mouth of the 



