FISHES. 001 
Had nature allowed this fish to seize on his prey with 
as much facility as many others, the Shark tribe would 
have soon depopulated the ocean, and reigned alone in the 
vast regions of the sea, till hunger would have forced them 
to attack and ultimately destroy each other ; but the upper 
jaw of this devouring animal, is so constructed as to offer 
by its prominency, an impediment to the Shark's seizing 
easily his prey ; and consequently when on the point of 
catching hold of anything, the Shark is obliged to turn 
himself on one side, which troublesome evolution often 
gives the object of his pursuit time to escape. The flesh of 
this fish is of a disagreeable taste, and cannot be eaten with 
any kind of relish, except the part near the tail. The 
Greenland Shark is another very voracious species ; and 
one extremely difficult to kill. It is the great enemy of 
the Whale, and devours the bodies of those left by the 
fishers after cutting out all the blubber. 
The Dog-fishes are so excessively voracious, that they 
are altogether fearless of mankind. They follow vessels 
with great eagerness, seizing with avidity everything eat- 
able that is thrown overboard ; and they have sometimes 
been known to throw themselves on fishermen, and on 
persons bathing in the sea. As, however, they are much 
smaller and weaker than most of the other Sharks, they do 
not always attack their enemies by open force. In com- 
bating these, it is necessary for them to have recourse to 
stratagem. They, consequently, for this purpose conceal 
themselves in the mud, and lie in ambush like the ray, or 
skate-fish (also oneof the cartilaginous fishes)until they have 
an opportunity of attacking with success. On the coasts of 
Scarborough, where haddocks, cod, andDog-fish are in great 
abundance the fishermen univerally believe that theDog-h'sh 
make a line or semicircle to encompass a shoal of had- 
docks and cod, confining them within certain limits near 
the shore, and eating them as occasion requires : they are 
therefore considered very destructive to this fishery. The 
