126 
NOTES. 
time past been setting along the coast to the northward and 
eastward. May not the action of this current (which is be¬ 
lieved to be without example) have had an effect to bare the 
copper banks that have been ascertained to abound in the 
more southern latitudes ? And if so, may not the increased 
exposure of these banks have imparted to the ‘ watery deep ’ 
the poisonous substance it seems to bear upon its * mountain 
wave ? ’ — Winy aw Intelligencer , 29th inst .” 
On page 50, I say, u aqua vitce and castor they threw in 
the wave .” Aqua vitae may do, but I should have said assa- 
foetida; for Pontoppidan says, sec. 8, page 204,—“ An emi¬ 
nent apothecary here has informed me, that, instead of castor, 
our fishermen provide themselves with nothing but assa- 
foetida; for if what they carry have but a strong smell, it 
has the same effect upon those sea-snakes: besides, assa- 
fcetida comes at a lower price than castor.” 
Note 10. (Page 58.) 
The Devil-Fish is one of the ugliest fishes in the sea. At 
this dinner party given by the Serpent, I have endeavoured 
to introduce only such fish as are the most hostile to each 
other. We sometimes see queerly assorted dinner parties on 
land; those, however, are not usually intentional. The sharks, 
not belonging to the aristocratic circle in which the Serpent 
circulates, were not invited. The Wolf-Fish, as its name im¬ 
plies, eats everything it can get. And in Storer’s Report of 
the Fishes of Massachusetts, page 69, I find that “ this 
ferocious species is captured about rocky ledges at all sea¬ 
sons of the year,” and that “ its hideous appearance renders 
it an object of disgust.” In the same work, speaking of the 
sea-devil, page 71, the author says: “ A perfect specimen of 
this loathsome-looking fish was brought me,” &c.; and in 
page 72 of the same work, he further says: “ That it some¬ 
times seizes large and powerful fishes we learn from Pennant, 
who says it is so highly regarded by the fishermen on the 
coast of Scarborough, being supposed by them to be a great 
