THE ROSE-FISH. 
THE ROSE-FISH AND ITS ALLIES. 
And there were crystal pools, peopled with fish, 
Argent and gold ; and some of Tyrian skin, 
Some crimson-barred. And ever at a wish 
They rose obsequious, till the wave grew thin 
As glass upon their backs, aud then dived in, 
Quenching their ardent scales in watery gloom, 
Whilst others with fresh hues rowed forth to win 
My changeable regard. Thomas Hood. 
ALTHOUGH upon the west coast of North America the fishes of the 
■^family Scorpamidoe are among the most important, there are only four 
species on the Atlantic coast of our continent; of these, two have been 
discovered within the past decade, and the others, though well known and 
widely distributed, are not of great importance. The Rose-fish, Sebastes 
marinus , is conspicuous among cold-water fishes by its brilliant scarlet 
color; it is known as “Red Perch,”* “Norway Haddock,” “ Hemdur- 
gan,” and “Snapper,” as “Bream” in Gloucester, Mass., and “John 
Dory” at Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is found also in Northern Europe, 
where it has been recorded as far south as Newcastle, in Northern England, 
latitude 55°,f and it has been observed in Aberdeen and Berwick, and in 
Zetland, where it is called “ Bergylt ” and “ Norway Haddock.” 
* In distinction from the “ blue perch” or “ cunner ” (Ctenolabrus adspersus ), which it resembles in form, 
though not in color. 
f Gunther; Cat. Fishes Brit. Mus. 2, p. 26. 
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