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the fish, all the rest being cartilaginous, even the 

 back bone, which, like that of the lamprey, is fur- 

 nished with neither marrow nor nerves. The four 

 other fins are placed near the gills and beneath the 

 anus ; these are double, which is very uncommon, 

 and the tail is shaped like a leaf, with the point 

 turned towards the belly. This fish, when eaten, is 

 served up more as an object of curiosity than from 

 a regard for its flavour, which is very indifferent. 



The tollo (squalus Fernandinus) is a species of 

 dog-fish, a little larger than the cock-fish, and re- 

 markable for two dorsal spines, like those of the 

 squalus acanthias. These spines are triangular, bent 

 at the point, as hard as ivory, and two inches and a 

 half long, and five lines broad. They are said to be 

 an efliicacious remedy for the tooth-ache, by holding 

 the point of one of them to the affected tooth. 



Notwithstanding the whale belongs to the class of 

 lactiferous animals, I have thought proper to notice it 

 in this place, as many authors, from its external 

 conformation, have ranked it among fishes. The 

 species that frequent the Chilian seas are the great 

 whale (balaena mysticetus) called by the Arauca- 

 nians ijene ; the little whale (balaena boops) called 

 icol, and the three known species of the dolphin. 

 Both these kinds of whale are very common in that 

 sea, and at certain seasons they are seen in great 

 numbers, particularly near the mouths of rivers, 

 whither they come in quest of fish. 



The late English navigators speak of the great 

 quantity of whales which they met with upon the 

 coast of Terra del Fuego, and in the Straits of Magel- 



