FISHES. 621 



frequents the same localities, and is caught with long lines baited 

 usually with mussels ; the old fish keep close in shore, and are only 

 got with herring bait. In the village of Findhorn, Morayshire, large 

 numbers of haddocks are dried and smoked with fumes of hard wood 

 and sawdust. Hence the temi " Finnan haddies," an article in such 

 request at a Scottish breakfast. The village of Findhorn affords a 

 very small portion of the haddocks sold as such, but the true " Fin- 

 nans " are supposed to have the finest flavour. 



The Whiting, Merlaiigiis vulgaris (Fig. 392), by some amateurs 

 considered the most delicate of all the Gadidse, is plentiful all round 

 our coast. It spawns in March, and the eggs are quickly hatched. It 

 prefers a sandy shore, and is usually found some miles from the coast. 

 It is a small fish, rarely exceeding twelve inches long, and seldom 

 reaching two pounds in Aveight. The whiting is long in the body, 

 clothed with very small, thin, and round scales ; its dorsal fins are, 

 like the cod's, three in number; it is without barbels ; its upper jaw 

 projects over the lower ; it is of a silvery white, sometimes relieved 

 by an olive tint, which is contrasted upon the back by the blackish 

 tint which distinguishes the pectoral and caudal fins, and by a black 

 spot which some individuals have at the junction of the pectorals with 

 the body. 



The whiting inhabits the seas which wash the Avhole European 

 coast, often approaching the shore in shoals, and are taken annually 

 in great numbers. 



VI. — ACANTHOPTERYGEA. 



The number of fishes belonging to this sub-order, which may be 

 regarded as the most typical of the class, is exceedingly great. The 

 families are also, as might be expected, very numerous. The first of 

 these we will mention is the Anlostonudce, in which the bones of the 

 face are drawn out into a longish tube at the end of which is the 

 small mouth. Of this family, Fistularia tabacaria (Fig. 393) may be 

 considered the type. The tube of the muzzle is long and flat, and 

 from the caudal fin springs a terminal filament nearly as long as the 

 body. This species of pipe-fish is common at the Antilles ; it 

 attains the length of about three feet, but its flesh is leathery and 

 insipid. It feeds upon crustaceans and small fishes, which it drags 

 from the interstices of the rocks and stones by means of its long and 

 taper snout. 



The TrachinldcE, known in England as the Weevers, forai 

 another family. They are characterised by their very compressed 

 head and the strong spines of the operculum. They are elongated 



