292 natural history 
partial to still water, and particularly to such as is muddy 
at the bottom. 
Eels are best in season from May to July, but may 
be caught with a line till September. When the water 
is thick with rains, they may be fished for during the 
whole day; but the largest and best are caught by night 
lines. The baits generally used, are wasp-grubs, dew 
worms, minnows, and gudgeons. 
The common eel seldom exceeds a foot in length. The 
head is compressed, and narrower than the body; the 
upper jaw is narrower than the under, and the body is 
cylindrical, with scales hardly perceptible. 
Cordated Eel. (. Murama . PL 51.) This fish in- 
habits the West-India seas; its whole length is about 
thirty-two inches, of which the process at the end of the 
tail measures twenty-two; body rich silvery, flexible part 
belonging to the snout, brown, fins and caudal process 
paler brown. Snout connected to the back part of the 
head by a flexible leathery duplicature, winch permits it 
to be extended so that the mouth points upwards, or to 
fall back so as to be received into a sort of case formed by 
the upper part of the head; eyes close to each other, and 
with short columns, clear chesnut-brown, with a coppery 
gloss: below the head on each side, is a considerable 
compressed semicircular space, the forepart of which is 
bounded by the gill-cover, which seems to consist of a 
moderately strong membrane; body gradually diminish- 
ing as it approaches the tail, which terminates in a pro- 
cess or string of enormous length, ending in a very fine 
point; pectoral fins small, situate behind the cavity on 
each side the thorax, caudal fin w r ith five spinous rays. 
Butterfly-Fish. (PL 51.) The head is long, nar- 
rowed at the sides, and large. The eyes are large, pro- 
minent, with black pupil, and orange-coloured iris; the 
mouth is large; the jaws are of equal length, with a row 
of very narrow teeth standing close to each other; the 
tongue is broad, but short. The gills wide, the cheeks 
are large, and of a silver colour. The back is round, 
and of a dark green; the belly is short but broad. The 
ground colour of the fish is a dirty green, with brown 
