OF FISH. 
28$ 
large; the rays of the fins ramified. This beautiful fish 
is found in the fresh waters of China, and is supposed 
to be a variety of the gold fish. 
White Bait. This fish has a great similarity to 
the bleak, and during the month of June, appears in the 
Thames, near Blackwall and Greenwich. The usual 
length of this small species is two inches; the dorsal-fin 
is placed near the head, so that, when suspended by it, 
the tail sinks down; the tail is forked and black on the 
tips. These small fry are usually caught for the pur- 
pose of bait for other fish. When fried with flour, they 
are reckoned a delicious viand by the lower order of 
epicures, who frequent the taverns contiguous to the 
places where they are taken. * 
No naturalist has determined to what particular fish 
this belongs, though all are agreed that it is the young 
of some species that resort there. Some have ascribed 
its origin to the shad; others to the sprat, the smelt, and 
the bleak. These fish, however, are all found in other 
streams, while the white bait is peculiar to the river 
Thames. 
Sand-Launce, or Eel. (. Miircehcu PI. 50.) The 
head of this fish is oblong, laterally compressed, and 
thinner than the trunk; the upper lip double; no teeth, but 
in the throat are two rugged bones, of an oblong shape, 
destined to retain the food. The aperture of the gills 
is wide. The cheeks, sides, and belly, are of a silver 
colour; the nostrils are double, lying midway between 
the eyes and mouth. The eyes are small, having a 
black pupil within a silvery iris. The back is round, 
has a furrow destined to receive the long dorsal-fin. 
The anus is nearer the end of the tail than the head; the 
lateral line goes straight along the middle of the trunk; 
but there is another nearer the back, and still another 
near the bottom of the belly. The rays of all the fins 
♦are soft, and united by a thin membrane; they are sim~ 
pie in the dorsal and anal fins, and divided at the ends 
in the pectoral and tail, which last is bifurcated. 
This fish is found in the North Sea and the Baltic; 
and is frequently dug out of the sand near the British 
2 c 
