40 
FISHES. 
brought from the South Sea Islands, and de- 
posited in the British Museum. 
The most curious, as well as most serviceable 
hooks are made of the inner part of the shell of 
the Pearl-oyster, or rather large bivalves, the in- 
terior of which is pearly, called mother-of-pearh 
These have great care and pains bestowed upon 
them : the smaller ones are cut almost cir- 
cular, and made to resemble a worm, thus answer- 
ing the purpose of bait as well as hook. A much 
larger kind is that used for the capture of the 
Albacore, Bonito, and Coryphene. The shank is 
about six inches in length, and nearly^ an inch 
in width, cut out of pearl-shell, in the shape of 
a small fish, and finely polished. The barb is 
formed separately ; it is an inch and a half in 
length, and is firmly bound in its place by a 
bandage of fine flax. The line is fastened to this, 
and braided all along the curve of the hook, and 
again fastened at the head. Sometimes a number 
of long bristles are attached to the shell to mimic 
the appearance of the Flying -fish. 
The line is afiixed to the end of a long bamboo 
rod; and the anglers sitting in the stern of a 
light single canoe are rowed briskly over the 
waves. The rod is held so that the hook shall 
just skim the tops of the billows ; the Albacore 
or Bonito, deceived by the resemblance, leaps 
after the fancied Flying-fish, and finds itself a 
prey. Twenty or thirty large fishes are occa- 
sionally taken by two men in this manner, in the 
course of a morning. 
A still more ingenious mode of deception is 
practised upon these large Fishes, by employing 
a swift double canoe, from the bows of which 
