THE GREY MULLET. 295 



My impression is, that this migration must take place at night or before sunrise, for 

 it was only early in the morning that I have seen them progressing, and I found that 

 those I brought away with me in the chatties appeared quiet by day, but a large pro- 

 portion managed to get out of the chatties by night some escaped altogether, others 

 were trodden on and killed. 



One peculiarity is the large size of the vertebral column, quite disproportioned to 

 the bulk of the fish. I particularly noticed that all in the act of migrating had their 

 gills expanded." 



It is known of the Climbing Perch that the fishermen of the Ganges, who subsist 

 largely on these fishes, are accustomed to put them into an earthen pan or chatty as 

 soon as caught ; and although no water is supplied to them, they exist very well with- 

 out it, and live this strange life for five or six days. 



On opening the head of this fish, the curious structure which enables it to perform 

 such marvellous feats is clearly seen. Just within the sides of the head, the " pharyn- 

 geal " bones, /'. e. the bones that support the orifice between the mouth and gullet, are 

 much enlarged, and modified into a series of labyrinthine cells and duplications, so 

 that they retain a large amount of water in the interstices, and prevent the gill-mem- 

 branes from becoming dry. Some writers say that this fish is capable of climbing up 

 the rough stems of palm-trees, in search of the water that lodges between the bases of 

 the dead leaves and the stem, but this account is now held unworthy of belief. In the 

 Tamoule language it is called Paneiri, or Tree-climber. 



THE small genus Atherinidae has a British representative in the SAND SMELT \AtJier- 

 ina presbyter}, a pretty little fish, and one that is of great use to fishermen, both for sale 

 and for bait. 



It is extremely plentiful upon the southern coast, and in many places is sold as 

 the true smelt, which it somewhat resembles in flavor and the peculiar odor as of 

 cucumber. Owing to the small size of this fish the net is the usual mode of capture, 

 the fashion of which varies according to the locality. On some coasts the net is about 

 ninety feet in length and eighteen in depth, and is drawn along the sands by the united 

 aid of one party in a boat and the other on the shore. In other places, however, it 

 is circular and supported on an iron hoop. It is then baited with broken Crustacea 

 and lowered into the water. At intervals it is raised smartly to the surface, and the 

 entrapped Sand Smelts removed. 



The color of the Sand Smelt is the palest pink, diversified with a broad belt of 

 shining silvery white, which is drawn along the side. The cheeks, gill-covers, and the 

 base of each pectoral fin are of the same white hue. Upon the upper part of the back 

 and head are a great number of little black spots. The length of the fish is from six 

 to seven inches. 



WE now come to the important family of the Mugilidag, of which the common GRAY 

 MULLET is a good example. In all these fish there are two dorsal fins, the first hav- 

 ing four stiff spines. They are spread over all sea-coasts and fresh waters of the tem- 

 perate and tropical regions. The mode of feeding is rather curious. These fish live 

 chiefly on the soft organic substances that are found mixed with weed and sand, and 

 in swallowing the food a considerable amount of sand is taken into the mouth. The 

 fish, however, is furnished with a kind of self-filtering apparatus, by means of which 

 the heterogeneous mass is raked and sifted, as it were, and the indigestible portions 

 rejected. 



The Gray Mullet deserves notice as being one of the most daring and ingenious of 

 the finny race, and is, in fact, a very fox for artfulness. The idea of constraint is most 

 obnoxious to it, and its instincts of freedom are so strongly developed that it endeavors 

 to recover its liberty in the most extraordinary ways. 



If, for example, it has been inclosed in a net, it will at once dart to the side and 

 try to leap over the head-rope into the open sea. Moreover, if one fish succeeds in 

 the attempt, the remainder immediately follow their leader, like a flock of sheep jump- 

 ipg over a hurdle. If the net is raised so high that the leap is impracticable, the fish 



