94 ACANTHOPTERYGII. — SPARID^E. 
a gift ; the fact of payment having been made for 1 1 
them, would, it was pretended, deprive them of 1 1 
all their value. It is to be regretted that super- I 
stitions, equally groundless with this, are still Ijj 
common in this enlightened age, and in our own : 
country ; diseases being considered removable by j 
the wearing of certain amulets or charms. , 
The Maigre, as a British fish, is a great rarity ; | 
the Mediterranean, especially its northern shore, 
is its chief resort. In its habits it is somewhat | 
migratory ; swimming in small shoals, which shift I 
their quarters from one part of the coast to |; 
another, seldom remaining long in a place. The I: 
air-bladder is long, and tapers to a point behind ; ; 
the free edge of the membrane, being cut into : 
irregular fringes all along each side, gives it a sin- < 
gular appearance. 
Family VI. Sparid^e. 
(Sea-hr earns,) 
In form these fishes somewhat resemble those 
of the preceding Family, presenting a high, 
rather oval, vertical outline, of greater depth than 
thickness. They have but one dorsal, which is 
never clothed with scales in any degree : the 
operculum is not spinous, nor is the pre-oper- 
culum notched : the muzzle is not thickened, 
nor are the bones of the skull cavernous ; the 
mouth is not protrusile. In addition to these 
negative distinctions, it may be added that the 
jaws are furnished with round flat grinding teeth, 
arranged like the stones of a pavement, and often 
with strong pointed canines in front ; the pectoral 
