278 FOOT-FISHES 



perfect work, and eventually the maw of the Angler will be 

 develoijed on the same scale as its mouth. 



By taste and habit the Angler is in the same class as 

 the human fish-hog who fishes with three poles at once. He 

 lies on the bottom of the sea, where the muddy mottlings of 

 his skin give him the appearance of mud and sand, opens 

 his head widely, and props it open, for the free admission 

 of any fish, crustacean, reptile or aquatic bird that chooses 

 to enter. 



Dr. Goode observes that the Goosefish derived that 

 name from the swallowing of live geese, and that there is an 

 authentic record of the capture of one which contained seven 

 wild ducks. 



A fully-grown Angler is about 4 feet long, and its mouth 

 is a little more than a foot wide. From snout to tail its 

 lower jaw and the median line of the body are fringed with 

 tiny barbels most cunningly calculated to lure unsuspecting 

 fishes within seizing distance. 



The weight of a large specimen is from 35 to 40 pounds. 

 In our longitudes it is used only for bait, but Dr. Goode says 

 that "in Italj^ it is much esteemed as an article of food." No 

 doubt of it. In Naples they eat stewed octopus; which I can 

 testify is as tender and palatable as rubber hose stewed in 

 brine, but not any more so. 



