346 NOTES ON FISH AND FISHING. 



I must resist inflicting on my readers an etymological 

 disquisition as to the origin of the prefix " bull," much as 

 I should like to indulge in it. Here, however, is a string 

 of words with this prefix :— Bull-trout, bull-beggar, bull- 

 briar, bullice, bull-dog, bull-fice, bull-finch, bull-frog. Is 

 this prefix our " bull" (the bovine creature, ornament 

 and terror of our meadows), which is said to come from 

 the Anglo-Saxon, bellan, to roar — by the way, the red deer 

 in North Devon are said to "bell") — or is it "bull," Latin 

 bulla, a " globe " — in the sense of a large mass ? Then, 

 again, we have an Irish " bull," a bulletin, bullet, a bully, a 

 Pope's ""bull," and a "bulrush" and a "bulwark" with only 

 one I. Here is a fine field — but I leave it, onlyadding the re- 

 mark thatDr. Johnson interprets a "bull-head" as"astupid 

 fellow, " " a lubber." In some provinces of France our little 

 fishreceives a more insulting title than either miller's thumb 

 or bull-head, for he is called Teted'ane,i. e. "Donkey -head." 



But, though he has so many opprobrious names and is 

 troubled with a very ponderous cranium, Gottus is no 

 donkey or "stupid fellow." He is a lively little chap, 

 and " knows his way about." His dwelling, like that of the 

 stone loach, is beneath stones, and he is partial to shal- 

 low water at a mill-tail. You may occasionally catch him 

 when fishing for gudgeon, but not often. Tour best chance 

 is under his favourite stones, but he is quicker than the 

 loach in making his escape. But when you do catch him 

 there is the consolation of knowing what he is, by his 

 head. Some persons compare him to a tadpole, but he 

 always strikes me as being more like the classic dolphin, 

 with which we so frequently ornament our public and 

 private fountains. 



As long ago as the days of Aristotle, and doubtless 



