154 NATURAL HISTORY of TVOic WA T. 



neath,^ like that of the Shark, but is differently formed from the 

 Shark's, for it is^quite round, and about two or three inches dia- 

 meter. The mouth is not armed with teeth, either for ufe or 

 defence, as has been faid before, for their food is only what they 

 fuck up at the oozy bottom of the water. As this Fifh is thus 

 unarmed, and incapable either of defending itfelf, or of hurting 



God's provi- other Fifh, the marks of Providence appear in its peculiar ftruc- 

 ture ; for it has defenfive weapons of an extraordinary fize : thefe 

 are thick and broad fcales, or plates of bone, which cover almoft 

 all its body, and ferve as it were for a coat of mail Thefe 

 plates of bone, for fo they may properly be called, are fixty-four 

 in number, every one of which is as big as a crown-piece, but 

 lbmewhat oval *. They may be divided into five rows. The 

 middle row is angular, and runs all along the back ; their fins 

 and tail are very much like thofe of the Shark. The gills are 

 pretty wide, and guarded with very ftrong bones. In all this 

 we may obferve how wifely God has formed every creature to 

 anfwer his purpofes and defigns. 



Swwd-M.' The Swaerd-fifk, or, more properly, the Saug-fifk, the Saw- fifh, 

 Priftis, or Serra Pifcis : Thus Clufius Exot. L. vi. c. 9, calls it, 

 becaufe of its long and flat nofe, or rather the flat horn, that it 

 has on the upper part of the fnout. This horn is fet on both fides 

 with fmall fpines, or teeth, like thofe of a faw, from whence 

 it has its name. The dry'd Saw-fifh that is in my pofleflion is 

 about three feet fix inches long, and about three fingers broad, 

 but they grow much larger, this being but a young one ; it has 

 twenty-five teeth in each jaw, which are about a finger's breadth 

 diftant from each other. 



This Fifh is fhaped almoft like a Spring-whale, but has not 

 fuch a fharp head, nor is it of the clafs of Whales, according to 

 the opinion of the before-quoted author and others. On the 

 contrary, he often attacks the Whale, and with his faw tears him 

 under the belly, ib that he makes a terrible roaring, and jumps 

 up above the furface of the water, in order to efcape from it. This 

 Fifh is but feldom feen in our feas. Its proper refidenceis about 

 Spitzberg, Iceland, and Greenland. See more on this head in 

 Martin's Spitzberg Travels, Cap. vi. No. 7. It is alfb frequently 

 feen on the coaft of Guinea in Africa ; and in the General Col- 

 lection of Voyages and Travels, Tom. v. p. 32,1, it is faid, that 



* Ordines officulorum in cute 5. funt, fed medius tantum ordo, qui 15. circiteroffi- 

 culis conftat, angulofus eft, cujus nimirum fingula fquama ephippium forma refert, per 

 medium dorfum fecundum totam longitudinem in procefium tenuem &fecantem afTur- 

 gens, pofterius adunco fine terminata. Lateralia omcula ut & ventralia rhomboidea 

 & fere plana funt, &c, C. Linnaeus in Fauna Suec. p. 102. 



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