THE SWORD-FISH. 217 



sword-fish, in their turn, attacked the distressed whale, stab- 

 bing from below, and thus beset on all sides and wounded, 

 when the poor creature appeared, the water around him was 

 dyed with blood. In this manner they continued tormenting 

 and wounding him for many hours, until we lost sight of 

 him ; and I have no doubt they in the end completed his 

 destruction.'" 



" Their mode of capture in the Mediterranean may be 

 likened to whale-fishing in miniature, and is said to be a 

 very amusing and exciting sport. A watchman placed upon 

 a mark, or standing on the summit of a neighbouring rock, 

 gives warning by signal when he sees a fish approach. The 

 fishermen then row towards it, and, being very skilful, fre- 

 quently strike the fish from a great distance, by throwing 

 into it a harpoon attached to a long line. An arduous 

 struggle then commences, during which the aggressors are 

 sometimes pulled about by the fish for many hours before 

 they can get it into the boat. 



" This fish is not only the largest species of the Euro- 

 pean seas, attaining sometimes to a length of fifteen feet, 

 but it is also much esteemed as an article of diet, when 

 young especially ; the flesh is white, firm, and of excellent 

 flavour."* 



Genus CARANX. Dorsal fins two, nearly contiguous ; 

 no finlets behind the second dorsal or anal fins. 



CARANX TRACHLTRUS.-f- THE HoRSE-M ACKEREL. 



Specific Character. — Lateral line with from seventy to seventy- 

 five large scaly laminae. 



Description. — From a specimen eleven inches long. Head one- 



• Encyclopaedia Britannica, article Ichthyology. 



SCaranx trachurus, Cuv., Yarr. ; Scomber trachurus, Linn., Penn. ; Horse- 

 Mackerel. Scad. 



