238 FISHES OF THE FIRTH OF FORTH. 



front of each jaw ; none on the vomer, tongue, or palatines. (Mr 

 Yarrell in mentioning the generic characters of this fish, states the 

 teeth to be conical, placed in a single row. In the description he says 

 the teeth are short, conical, sharp, with a second row round the front 

 only of the lower jaw ; the lips fleshy .) It is probable that Mr Yarrell 

 drew his characters from a young specimen, in which the teeth were 

 not completely developed ; for when the fish is less than three inches 

 in length, only one row of teeth in each jaw is visible, the second 

 row commencing first on the lower jaw. Number of fin rays — 

 D. 90 ; P. 19 ; V. 3 ; A. 70 ; C. 40 ; B. 6. 



This fish is scarce on the coast of Devon, but appears 

 more common as we approach the north. In the Firth of 

 Forth it exists in great plenty, hiding under sea- weed in 

 rocky situations. They are often taken with lines in the 

 winter months, and brought to market, where they fetch a 

 ready sale at the rate of three a penny. Some people con- 

 sider the flesh as very fine and wholesome ; while others, 

 again, announce it as dry and of a disagreeable flavour. Dr 

 Neill, in the month of February 1807, saw a female fish 

 fifteen inches long, from which several dozen of young 

 escaped alive : these fry were from four to five inches in 

 length. A short time since, in the month of March, I had 

 a specimen sent me which measured six inches in length, 

 from which I took fifty-six young, all alive, although the 

 parent fish had been dead for nearly two days. Each 

 was an inch and a quarter in length, and on being put into 

 a glass of fresh water, they at first appeared remarkably 

 active, but in less than half an hour after they all ex- 

 pired. 



The general length of this fish is about eight inches, al- 

 though at Berwick, at the mouth of the Tweed, specimens 

 have been taken which measured nearly two feet in length. 

 They are there named Mamma eels, and at Edinburgh 

 Bards. 



The bones of this fish when boiled assume a green ap- 



