Mr Yarrell's History of British Fishes. 391 



siders the fish here represented as new altogether, and as distinct 

 from the B. palmicornis of the Mediterranean, which has never 

 more than from 33 to 35 rays in the dorsal fin, while that in ques- 

 tion, now B. Yarrelli, Val. has 50 or 51. The wolf- fish, Anarrhi- 

 chas lupus, does not please us in its figure ; the limner has been 

 left to himself, and it would seem that in his eye the sea-cat was 

 imperfect without the head of a real cat. " The beautiful gem- 

 meous dragonet we also dislike ; it does not exhibit the best style of 

 the art, and looks as left unfinished. We agree with Mr Yarrell 

 in considering it distinct from the sordid dragonet. The T.abridce 

 are interesting, and some beautiful figures are given in their illustra- 

 tion. There is an error relative to the Crenilabrus Comubicus, or 

 Goldsinny, but we refer to our 167th page for its correction. 



Of the Cyprinidce, a difficult but most interesting family, we have 

 comparatively few species in the north. The carp, the barbel, the 

 gudgeon, the tench, with many more, are all wanting ; the slug- 

 gish streams of the south being more favourable for. their breeding, 

 and more pleasing to their habits, than the torrents of alpine dis- 

 tricts. The common bream will be the most numerous of the group, 

 being abundant in many lakes of southern Scotland, but they all 

 disappear towards the north, and the Grampians perhaps limit their 

 range in that direction. Abramis brama and blicca are common in 

 the Lochmaben lochs. Leucisctis idus we have been unable to 

 trace in Dumfries-shire, though it is introduced on the authority of 

 the late Dr Walker as taken at the mouth of the Nith. Leuciscus 

 dobula, Mr Parnell writes us, has been discovered in the Cumber- 

 land rivers The Pike. The lakes of Scotland have produced 



some 55 lbs. weight.* The weight is rather underrated ; we have 



seen a record of a pike taken in Lochlomond 79 ft>s. The Sal- 



monidae. This most beautiful, but most difficult group is on the 

 whole well represented. The Parr we must criticise a little. The 

 cut is not characteristic, the maxillary bone is far too long, and de- 

 stroys the peculiar character of the head. The salmon is good, a 

 fine fish : and then such trout ! What sport on single gut at the 

 end of Mackenzie's best, in one of Scotland's gullies ! Mr Yarrell 

 in his account of the Salmonidae, has condensed all our previous scat- 

 tered information, and is in this most useful ; he treads his ground 

 otherwise tenderly, and feels like ourselves the want of facts and 

 accurate observancies. We may notice a slight error, however ; 



* P. 387. 



