104 LIVING LIGHTS. 



tance, and often resulting in the capture of an entire school ; 

 as the mackerel-men, aware of the light produced by the fish, 

 keep a lookout in the foretop ; and upon its discovery, the 

 great net is passed around it, the fishes becoming victims to 

 the light they inadvertently produce. When the mackerel 

 are tossed into the boat, they roll over in a golden mass in 

 their struggles, hurling a cloud of spray into the air over 

 boat, net, and men. In handling these fishes, phosphores- 

 cent matter vrill sometimes come off upon the ha]ids, and the 

 gleaming fluid is seen running from the bodies ; so, possibly, 

 in some instances, the fishes possess a luminous secretion, as 

 in the case of the shark of Dr. Bennett. 



The sunfish (Plate XVIII., Fig. 3), an extremely common 

 form on our e'astern shores, appears to have a wide geograph- 

 ical range. In American waters, it is known as the sunfish, 

 presumably from its oval shape. Two fins only are present, 

 these being opposite one another, the tail represented by a 

 mere ridge. The sunfish attains a height, from the tip of one 

 fin to that of the other, of seven feet, and sometimes more, 

 weighing several hundred pounds.** 



Some years ago, while at the little fishing-village of May- 

 port, at the mouth of the St. John's River, Florida, one of 

 these huge fishes ran aground on the bar, actually drawing 

 too much water to cross. Its struggles attracted so much 

 attention, that a boat was sent out, and the monster captured. 

 I sent a photograph of the fish north, and the latter was 

 afterwards purchased by the New- York Aquarium. It was 

 the largest specimen of this fish I ever saw on exhibition. 



So sluggish are they, that, at Ogunquit, Me., the fishermen 

 frequently ran alongside of them as they rolled about at the 

 surface, and, thrusting a boat-hook into the small mouth, 



