THE SALMON. 
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erel in size; one of which Mr. Pennant saw at Inverary that 
weighed 460 pounds. It was seven feet ten inches in length, 
and the circumference in the largest part was five feet seven, 
and near the tail only one foot six. The pieces, when fresh 
cut, appear like raw beefj but when boiled turn pale, and 
have something of the Hayour of salmon. 
The Scad, or horse mackerel, is much smaller than the 
tunny. It is distinguished by a large black spot on the 
covers of the gills, and by the second back fin reaching 
almost to the tail. It is tolerable food. 
The Surmulet has the body slender ; the head almost 
four-cornered; the lin covering the gills with three spines ; 
some of these have beards ; it was a fish highly prized by 
the Romans, and is still considered as a very great delicacy. 
The Gurnard genus is known by a slender body, the 
head nearly four-cornered, and covered with a bony coat ; 
the fin covering the gills with seven spines : the pectoral 
and ventral fins, strengthened with additional muscles and 
bones, and very large for the animal’s size. 
Of the gurnard Mr. Pennant has remarked five species. 
The greg^ the red, the piper, the sapphirine, and the 
streaked. They have all nearly the same nature and man- 
ners. They are taken in deep water, with no other bait 
than a red rag, and are esteemed good food. 
The fourth division of the spinous fibres consists of the 
Abdominai, or those which have the ventral jins behind 
the pectoral, that is nearer the tail, as in the salmon. 
The Loach is the first genus which is noticed in this 
division, and is a well known little fish, which never exceeds 
four inches in length. It is distinguished by an oblong 
body; almost equally broad throughout; the head small, a 
little elongated : the eyes in the hinder part of the head ; 
the fin covering the gills from four to six rays ; the covers 
of the gills closed below. 
The Salmon is too well known to require a description. 
It is entirely a northern fish, being found both at Green- 
land and Kamschatka, but never so far south as the Medi- 
terranean. About the latter end of the year the salmon 
begin to press up the rivers to deposit their spawn, which 
lies buried in the sand till spring, if not disturbed by the 
Hoods, or devoured by other fishes. About March the young 
