THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



cetaceans, which they invari- 

 ably succeed in killing by 

 repeated thrusts of the sword. 

 It appears that occasionally 

 suonl-hshes make u miM 

 and, after the fashion of l>"ii 

 (Jui.xote, tilt at windmills, in 

 the shape of large vessels, 

 under the impression that 

 they arc whales. But this 

 most grave error of judgment 

 brings with it a heavy penalty, 

 in that, having no power to 

 make effective backward move- 

 ments, the sword remains 



fixed, and is eventually broken off in the struggle for freedom. Frank Buckland reminds us 

 that in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London, is a section of the bow of 

 a whaler impaled by one of these swords. That portion of the sword which remains is i foot 

 long and 5 inches in circumference. " At one single blow," he writes, " the fish had plunged 

 his sword through, and completely transfixed 13! inches of solid timber. The sword had of 

 course broken off and prevented a dangerous leak in the ship." In the British Museum is 

 a second specimen of a ship's side in which the sword of a sword-fish is fixed. 



. , A. S. 



nd A* S., 



SWORD-FISH 



Tlu kuge back-fiii n laid ic tc often used ai a tail -.vhtn the fih it foaling near the surface of 



the water 



CHAPTER IV 



HAIR-TAILS, HORSE-MACKERELS, SEA-BATS, DORIES, MACKERELS, SUCKING- 

 FISHES, WEAl'ERS, FROG-FISHES, ANGLER-FISHES, BULL-HEADS, AND 

 GURNARDS 



BY W. P. PYCRAFT, A. L. S., F. 2.S. 



OF the family of HAIK-TAII.S perhaps the most important members arc the Sr.MUUHn- or 

 Fkosr-KISH and the SNOF.K. The first is common in the Mediterranean and the 

 warmer parts of the Atlantic, extending northwards to the south coast of Knglaml, 

 where it occurs at rare intervals. It is also known in New Zealand, where it is called 

 the Frost-fish, and furthermore is regarded as one of the most delicious fish of the colony, its 

 flesh being fine, tender, and of delicate flavour. On this account it is much in demand, but 

 the supply is very uncertain. The conditions of capture, indeed, of this t'i-~h are unp.ualleled 

 in the annals of fishing, for it can be taken neither with the rod nor the net. The would-be 

 captor has to wait patiently under favourable conditions on the seashore for the fish to come 





Phttt iy ftr.j 



J *ft 



Tkiijitk ii flu knvuix at the Barracuda 



