100 



PISCES. 



tubercles covered with a very hard shell, and resembling 

 teeth, garnishing the inner disk of the lip, which is very cir- 

 cular ; tongue with two longitudinal rows of small teeth, and 

 moving backwards and forwards like a piston, producing a 

 suction, by means of which the Fish attaches itself to rocks 

 and other solid bodies, and even to other Fish, whom they 

 finally pierce and devour. Lampreys are highly esteemed 

 by epicures. In ancient Rome an extraordinary price was 

 paid for them, and satirists reproached the rich for their ex- 

 travagance in this respect. In the year 1600 a lamprey would 

 bring ten or even twenty pieces of gold. 



