1690.] THE BONITA. 17 



forf^ writes, have sharp Heads, I know nothing of such Gold- 

 fish as these ; those that I saw had a round flatish Snout, that 

 gives them a certain Physiognomy, in which I did not take 

 much delight. Neither do I believe that any Body values this 

 Fish for the beauty of its shape, but that of its Colours are 

 admirable : There are tw^o sorts of Gold-fish, that which I have 

 giv'n the Figure of, is enammel'd on its Back, with speckles 

 of a blewish Green on a black Ground : Its Belly is of a 

 bright Silver Colour, its Tail and Fins as if gilded with fine 

 Gold ; Nothing can be more bright and shining when 'tis in 

 its Element, or before it begins to Mortifie, which it does pre- 

 sently when 'tis out of it : ^Tis four or five foot long, and not 

 thicker than a Salmon.^ BondJcld calls it the Sea-Bream, our 

 Mariners told me, that the other Species of the Gold-fish 

 differs from this only in that its Jaw sticks out a little more, 

 and that its Speckles are a beautiful Azure on a Golden 

 Ground. The flesh of this Fish is firm, and tasts very 

 well. 



The Bonita is generally three or four Foot long, very thick 

 and Fleshy, its Back is cover'd with a little Scale, so thin, 

 that one can scarce perceive it ; 'tis of a Slate colour, and a 

 little upon the Green in some Places. Its Belly is of a grey 

 Pearl colour, and turns brown near the Back ; four streaks of 

 a yellowish colour begin at the side of its Head, run along 

 the Body almost at a Parallel distance, and join at the Tail, 

 wdiich is not unlike that of a Makarel. Its Eye is large and 

 lively, resembling a Jet-stone set in a Silver Pang. I have 



history ; for he inserts, for comparison, the figure of a honito^ which 

 one of his friends had drawn and communicated to him from an ex- 

 ample, caught in 1702, on the coast of Kent" {Ihis, 1866, p. 151). The 

 French word is " Dorade", nowadays commonly called " Dolphins" by 

 misapplication. N.B. — Dorades and bouitos are very different kinds of 

 fishes. 



1 Histoire naturelle et morale des lies Antilles, par L. de Poincy et C. 

 de Rochefort (Rotterdam, 1665). 



2 Rondelet (Gal.), Lihii de piscihus marmis (1554-55, Lugduni). 



C* 



