The Natural Hiflory of the Book X. 
many, long and blunt-pointed ; the Body of the whole Fith is a 
triangular Trunk, the Belly-part making the Bafe of the {malleft Angle ; 
the Skin is black, hard and rough; being raifed into innumerable 
{mall Angles reprefenting Fret-Work ; the Mouth lies level with the 
Bafe of the Angle which coaftitutes the Belly-Part ; its Eyes are large, 
and the upper Part of the Head much indented between them 3 the 
“Back is very crooked and fharp-edged, being almoft of the Confiftence 
of a Horn ; it hath two {mall Fins poft Bronchia one upon the Back 
near the Tail, and one nearly oppofite to it under the Belly ; each 
Side of the loweft Angle being: the Belly-Part is, near the Tail, guarded 
with a fhort horny Prickle ; the whole Fifh ending in a forked Tail. 
This is delineated in Plate XXVIII 
The HorNED Conzy F isu, 
we iu HIS chiefly differs from that already defcribed, by having its 
Head guarded by a Pair of fhatp-pointed Horns of, fometimes, 
near an Inch long, bending fomewhat downwards. There is another 
temarkable Différence, which is peculiar to this Fifh alone ; for if eaten, 
efpecially the Liver and the Head, the Perfon feeding on it will, in a 
few Minutes after, be as drunk as if he had drank {trong Liquor to 
Excefs : For his Reafon and his Limbs will fail him, until reftored to 
both by a found Sleeps. ' 
The Soap Fisu. 
’ L VHIS isa {mall Fifh, not above fix Inches long ; it is of fo 
foapy a Nature, that when caught. and ftrongly agitated in 
Water, it will caufe almoft as ftrong a Lather as an equal Quantity of 
the beft Soap. I am of Opinion that Nature intended it this Quality 
(fince it is incapable of every other Defence) to be as much a Means of 
avoiding its Enemy, as the Swiftnefs of {wimming is. to fome, or their 
Prickles to others : But as the extraordinary Slippinefs of this Fith can 
be no Defence againft an Antagonift provided with Teeth, therefore I 
beg Leave to conjecture that its’ natural Enemy is among the cartilagi- 
nous Clafs of Fifh (efpecially as it is alway found feeding near the 
Shore ;) and none more likely of this Kind than the Cat of Nine Tails, 
and Scuttle-Fifh ; for thefe, by their numerous Tails which have fo 
ftrong-a mufcular Force, grafp and hug their Prey to Death, unle& by 
its Slippinefs it can difentangle itfelf from them: The Strength of the 
above-mention’d Tails is otherwife fo great, that by fixing their Heads, 
and, perhaps, fome of their Tails to a Rock. in the Bottom under 
Water, and the remaining round the Arm of the Perfon diving for 
them, there hath been one Inftance of the Diver not being able either. 
to 
