162 
NATURAL HISTORY 
elevated, and the belly flat; the lips, mouth, and tongue of 
this animal are of a deep red ; the whole skin is rough, with 
bony knobs, the largest row is along the ridge ot the back ; 
the belly is of a bright crimson colour ; but what makes the 
chief singularity in this fish, is, an oval aperture in the belly, 
surrounded with a fleshy, soft substance, that seems bearded 
all round; by means of this part it adheres with vast force 
to any thing it pleases. If flung into a pail of water, it will 
stick so close to the bottom, that on taking' the fish by the 
tail, one may lift up pail and all, though it hold several 
gallons of water. Great numbers of these fish are found 
along the coasts of Greenland in the beginning of summer, 
where they resort to spawn. Their roe is remarkably large, 
and the Greenlanders boil it to a pulp for eating. They 
are extremely fat, but not admired in England, being both 
flabby and insipid. 
The Unctuous Sucker, or Sea Snail takes its name from 
the soft and unctuous texture of its body, resembling the 
snail upon land. It is almost transparent, and soon dis- 
solves, and melts away. It is but a little animal, being not 
above five inches long. The colour, when fresh taken, is of 
a pale brown, and the shape of the body is round. It is 
taken in England, at the mouths of rivers, four or five miles 
distant from the sea. 
The body of the Pipe Fish in, the thickest part, is not 
thicker than a swan-quill, while it is above fifteen inches 
long. Its general colour is an excellent olive brown, marked 
with numbers of bluish lines, pointing from the back to the 
belly. It is viviparous; for, on crushing one that was just 
taken, hundreds of very minute young ones were observed to 
crawl about. 
The Hippocampus which, from the form of its head, 
some call the Sea Horse, never exceeds nine inches in length. 
It is about as thick as a man’s thumb, and the body is said, 
while alive, to have hair on the fore part, which falls off when 
it is dead. The snout is a sort of tube, with a hole at the 
bottom, to which there is a cover, which the animal can 
open and shut at pleasure. Behind the eyes there are two 
fins, which look like ears; and above them are two holes, 
which serve for respiration. It, upon the whole, more re- 
sembles a great caterpillar than a fish. 
The Sea Porcupine is almost round, has a mouth like 
