naval engagement between him and Augustus Cæsar, and caused the defeat of the former; and that the Emperor Calig'ula once suffered a similar accident, which was the cause of his downfall! If naturalists could be thus easily imposed upon with respect to the marvelous powers of the remora, it is not surprising that this wonderful fish should have formed a theme for the wonder-loving poet:

"The sucking-fish beneath, with secret chains,
Clung to the keel, the swiftest ship detains.
The seamen run confused, no labor spared,
Let fly the sheets, and hoist the topmast yard.
The master bids them give her all the sails
To court the winds and catch the coming gales.
But though the canvas bellies to the blast,
And boisterous winds bear down the cracking mast,
The bark stands firmly rooted on the sea,
And will, unmoved, nor winds nor waves obey;
Still, as when calms have flatted all the plain,
And infant waves scarce wrinkle on the main."

LESSON X.-SOFT-RAYED BONY FISHES, DESTITUTE OF VENTRAL FINS: called Apodals.

THE EEL FAMILY.-1. Electric Gymnotus, Gymnotus electricus. 2. Conger Eel, Conger vulgaris. 3. The Muræna, Muræna helena. 4. American Sand-launce, Ammodytes Americanus. 5. Sharp-nosed Eel, Anguila acutirostris.

1. THE third division of the soft-rayed bony fishes is com

posed wholly of the Eel family. Yarrell, in his valuable work, thus speaks of this family of fishes:

"The form of the eel, resembling that of the serpent, has long excited a prejudice against it, which exists in some countries even to the present time; and its similarity to snakes has even been repeated by those who, from the advantages of education, and their acquirements in natural history, might have been supposed capable of drawing more accurate conclusions. There is but little similarity in the snake and the eel, except in the external form of the body: the important internal organs of the two animals, and the character of the skeleton, are most decidedly different.

2. "Eels are, in reality, a valuable description of fish: their flesh is excellent food; they are very numerous, very prolific, and are found in almost every part of the world. The various species are hardy, tenacious of life, and very easily preserved." Ellis, in his Polynesian Researches, says: "In Otaheite, eels are great favorites, and are tamed and fed until they attain an enormous size. These pets are kept in large holes, two or three feet deep, partially filled with water. On the sides of these pits they generally remained, excepting when called by the person who fed them. I have been several times with the young chief when he has sat down by the hole, and, by giving a shrill sort of whistle, has brought out an enormous eel, which has moved about the surface of the water, and eaten with confidence out of its master's hand."

3. Some few eels are confined to fresh waters, and some wholly to the sea; but most of the species reside in the brackish water at the mouths of rivers. The murana, an eel of the Mediterranean, was so highly prized by the Romans that they kept it in a tame state, and carefully fattened it for the table. Its colors and markings are extremely beautiful.

4. Plutarch tells us that Lucius Crassus brought up these fish almost by hand, and that they acknowledged his presence by springing out of the water whenever he came near: he was wont to deck them with rings and other ornaments; and another writer says that their loss was a greater grief to him than the death of his three children! In short, Cicero tells us that " many of the great men of Rome vied with each other in this extravagant fish passion, and deemed no moment of their lives more happy than when these creatures came to eat out of their hands.'

5. But the most remarkable of the Eel family is the gymno'tus, or electrical eel of South America. It is sometimes five or six feet in length; it has no tail fin, and the scales are imperceptible to the naked eye. By its electric shocks it knocks down men and horses, and can be obtained only after its electric power has been expended by successive shocks. The Indians of Guiana, in South America, drive wild horses into the muddy ponds in which these eels abound, and thus are enabled to secure both horses and eels!

LES. XI.-SOFT-RAYED BONY FISHES WITH TUFTED GILLS: Lophobranchii. SOFT-RAYED BONY FISHES WITH SOLDERED JAWS: Plectognathii.

1. Hudson River Sea-horse, Hippocampus Hudsonius. 2. Indian File-fish, Balistes praslinoides. 3. Horned Ostracion, Ostracion cornutus. 4. Great Pipe-fish, Sygnathus 5. Equorial Pipe-fish, or Needle-fish, Acestra æquora. 6. Pennant's Globe-fish, Tetrodon Pennantii. 7. Short Sun-fish, or Head-fish, Orthagoriscus mola. 8. Oblong Sun-fish, Orthagoriscus oblongus. 2 European File-fish, Balistes capriscus.

acus.

1. THE remaining two divisions of the soft-rayed bony fishes, which are thus grouped in separate orders because they have certain peculiarities in the forms of their gills and the structure of their jaws, are embraced in the families of the Pipe fishes, the Balloon and Globe fishes, and a few armed fishes, mostly of tropical seas. In the drawing above are represented several species in each of these families. The pipe fishes, which vary from five or six inches to two feet in length, have a very remarkable appearance, the body being long and very slender, the snout also much lengthened, and the whole body covered with bony sculptured plates, like a coat of mail.

2. A remarkable peculiarity in several species of the pipe fishes is the existence, in the males, of two long and soft membranes which fold together, and form an abdominal pouch, in which the eggs are carried about until they are hatched, and into which the young retreat in case of danger. Fishermen assert that when the young are shaken out of the pouch into

the water, over the side of the boat, they do not swim away, but when the parent fish is held in the water in a favorable position, the young again enter the retreat which nature has provided for them. This provision for the care and safety of the young is strikingly similar to what is seen in marsupial quadrupeds. (See Third Reader, p. 236.)

3. A very singular species of the pipe fishes is the hippocampus, or, as it is frequently called in this country, the Hudson River sea-horse. It is five or six inches in length, the jaws are united and tubular, the shape of the head has considerable resemblance to that of the horse, the eyes move independently of each other, the body is covered with bony plates, and it is believed to be the only fish which has a prehensile1 tail, showing in this latter particular an additional resemblance of the pipe fishes to the marsupial quadrupeds. When swimming about it maintains a vertical position; but the tail, ready to grasp whatever it meets in the water, quickly entwines in any direction around the weeds; and when the animal is thus fixed, it intently watches the surrounding objects, and darts at its prey with great dexterity.

4. The globe and balloon fishes, which belong to the fifth division of the soft-rayed bony fishes, are little less singular in appearance than those of the fourth division. The globefishes, or puffers, possess the peculiar property of puffing themselves up into a globular form by swallowing a quantity of air. When thus inflated,2 in consequence of the under parts becoming lighter than the upper, the fish turns upside down, and floats about in this condition, still retaining the power of directing its course. As the inflated abdomen is covered with spines, this seems to be a means of warding off the attack of enemies.

5. The short and the oblong sun fishes appear as though portions had been cut away, so as to leave little but the head remaining. Among the armed fishes of this order, the European file-fish is the best known. It is so named because it has the first and strongest spine of the back studded up the front with small projections. In the same family is the balistes of the Indian Seas, which is armed near the tail with three rows of crooked spines; also the horned ostracion, a strange-looking fish, which has two horns extending from the head in front, and two near the ventral fins.

1 PRE-HEN'-SILE, grasping; adapted to seize, 2 IN-FLA'-TED, puffed up, or swollen by air. as the tail of a monkey.

THIRD CLASS OF FISHES. CARTILAGINOUS FISHES. (Chondropterygii.) [Shark, Sturgeon, Chimæra, Ray, and Lamprey Families.]

THE SHARK FAMILY.-1. Spinous Shark, Echinochinus spinosus. 2. Greenland Shark, Scymnus borealis. 3. Basking Shark, Selachus maximus. 4. White Shark, Charcharias vulgaris. 5. Fox Shark, or Thresher, Alopias vulpes. 6. Cirrated Saw-fish, Pristis cirratis. 7. Hammer-headed Shark, Zygaena malleus.

1.

LESSON XII.

-THE SHARK FAMILY. (PLACOIDS.)

No life is in the air, but in the waters

Are creatures huge, and terrible, and strong;

The sword-fish and the shark pursue their slaughters,
War universal reigns these depths along.

Like some new island on the ocean springing,
Floats on the surface some gigantic whale,

From its vast head a silver fountain flinging,

Bright as the fountain in a fairy tale.-L. E. MACLEAN.

2. Although the cartilaginous1 division is of very limited extent, compared with either of the preceding, yet the most formidable of the whole class of fishes are embraced in it. As their name implies, their skeleton consists of cartilage instead of bone; and it is probably owing to the comparatively soft texture of the skeleton that these fish continue to grow as long as they live. The consequence is that, as they mostly inhabit the wide ocean, and have few enemies, they are sometimes met with of a size so enormous that their weight and dimensions are almost incredible.