IN ILLUSTRATION OF ITS NATURAL HISTORY. 43 



in the churchyard near the shore, was not used, but 

 removed every year, during the herring season, because 

 they believed that the fish would be scared away from 

 the coast by its noise. (Chambers' Picture of Scotland, 

 p. 210.) 



Nose. — The nose of the herring has a considerable 

 cavity behind the two nostrils, which are separated from 

 each other by a very small and almost imperceptible film, 

 but the whole exhibits the most perfect, although minute, 

 adjustment of details. 



Teeth, — There are, almost unseen, a few teeth in the 

 upper jaw, four rows in the tongue, a few in the upper 

 portion of the mouth and at the throat, and on the lower 

 jaw four or five small teeth on each side. 



Gills. — The herring has four gills or branchiae on each 

 side, each being supported by an arched cartilage. There 

 are besides two small imperfect gills not having any arch ; 

 these join the gill-lid, apparently to regulate its motions. 

 The convex side of the gills is supplied with fringed fleshy 

 fibres of a red colour when the fish is in a healthy state ; 

 the concave side, or that nearest the mouth, is furnished 

 with long serrated spines. 



Fins. — The fins are seven in number, namely, one 

 dorsal of eighteen rays, two ventrals of nine rays each, 

 one anal of seventeen rays, two pectorals of eighteen rays 

 each, and the tail or caudal-fin of eighteen rays. But 

 the number of rays varies ; we have sometimes counted, 

 dorsal seventeen, anal fourteen to seventeen, pectoral 

 fifteen to eighteen, and caudal eighteen to twenty ; 

 the ventral fin we have always found to contain nine 

 rays. 



Scales. — When fresh from the sea, the scales have at 

 first a clear lustrous golden or orange colour of consider- 



