18 THE OCEAN. 
in the well-known Dutch saying, ‘The city of Am- 
sterdam is built upon herring-bones:” and though, 
from the superiority of our internal resources, we 
are not compelled to give so undivided an atten- 
tion to the scaly tenants of the deep as they have 
been, we may still assert, that on a similar base stand 
many of our important seaport towns. Let us then 
examine these finny tribes, which come so strongly 
recommended to our notice, and see if we cannot dis- 
cover in their formation and economy evidences of 
that all-pervading wisdom and goodness of which we 
have had occasion before to speak. 
An intelligent observer can scarcely fail to be 
struck with the perfect adaptation of fishes for swift 
motion through a/dense fluid. The form most suited 
for rapid progression is that of a spindle, swelling in 
the middle and tapering to the extremities: and this 
is the general form of fishes. The variations from 
this normal shape are comparatively rare, and con- 
sist chiefly in the lengthening of the body, as in the 
Eels, or in widening its diameter perpendicularly, as 
in the Flat-fishes, or horizontally, as in the Skates. 
But in these cases, and similar ones, the exceptions 
are made to suit variations in habits, for the. Skates 
and Flat-fishes are intended not for rapid swimming, 
but for lying flat upon the bottom; while the worm- 
like form of the Eels enables them to insinuate them- 
selves with facility through the mud and ooze, or 
even to leave the water and crawl upon the shore. 
Still, however, in both the usual form is to be 
traced, the central part of the body being the widest 
and the extremities being pointed. The facility of 
