The Father Lasher^-The Sword-Fish. 433 
THE FATHER LASHER. (Coitus scorpius.) 
The whimsical denomination of Father Lasher, given to 
this fish, cannot be easily accounted for ; perhaps it may- 
be ascribable to the quick and repeated lashings of its 
tail, when the fish is caught and thrown upon the sand. 
The length is about eight or nine inches, and it is usually 
found under stones, on the rocky coasts of our island. In 
Greenland these fish are so numerous, that the inhabit- 
ants depend largely upon them for their food. When 
made into soup, they are nutritive and wholesome. The 
head is large, and armed with spines, by which this 
fish combats every enemy that attacks it, swelling out its 
cheeks and gill-covers to an unusual size. Its colour is 
a dull brown, mottled with white, and sometimes mixed 
with red ; the fins and tail are transparent, and the lower 
part of the body a shining white. 
THE SWORD-FISH, (Xiphias gladius,) 
Which belongs to the mackerel family, has received its 
2 F 
