own element for that of the finny race, to dive through the water with such marvellous address that they can chase and capture even the swift and active fishes, and can remain submerged for a much longer period than the Flying-fish can remain in the air. Flying and swimming are indeed convertible terms, as are wings and fins, wings being the fins of the air, and fins the wings of the waters.

It is well known that the flight of this fish is short and intermittent, the creature being obliged to dip into the sea after its sweep through the air, and the cause of this necessity is said to be the drying of the fin-membranes, which prevents the fish from sustaining itself in the air, inasmuch as it leaps with fresh vigour into the atmosphere after being refreshed by a dip in the water. I cannot but think, however, that one reason of the intermittent flight is simply that the original impetus is exhausted, and that the fish requires to seek the water in order to obtain a fresh start. There may, perhaps, be another reason.

It has already been mentioned that the climbing perch, and other fish of similar habits, possess certain reservoirs of water, which constantly bathe the gills, and thus oxygenize the blood in the same method that is adopted when the body is entirely submerged in the waters. Now, the Flying-fish possesses no such reservoir, and the question therefore arises, whether the passage through the air may not act powerfully on the blood by supplying it with an excess of oxygen, and, through the blood, upon the nervous system, producing a kind of temporary delirium or intoxication. It would be an interesting experiment to catch a Flying-fish after its flight, and test the temperature of the blood with a trustworthy instrument, and also to ascertain the length of time that a Flying-fish can survive when removed from the water.

Perhaps some of my readers may have the opportunity of making these investigations, and of solving some of the countless divine enigmas which surround us. It may be that if the full history of the Flying-fish were discovered, we should find therein not only the operations of nature as exemplified in the individual species, but discover enshrined within the limits of that delicate framework the deepest mysteries of vitality, health, and a material locomotion of which we have as yet hardly dreamed.

About thirty species of Flying-fish are known, mostly belonging to the Mediterranean Sea, but others occur in the North Sea, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

BEFORE proceeding to our next figured example of the finny tribes, we must briefly notice a curious fish which seems to be a kind of balance to the sword-fish already mentioned, the "sword" in this instance belonging to the lower instead of the upper jaw, and being formed by a prolongation of its bones. It is known by the scientific name of Hemiramphus argenteus, and is found near the surface of the water in the Pacific Ocean. Its colour is uniform silvery white, and its average length is only four inches.

THE odd-looking GAR-FISH is known by a vast variety of names, such as SEA PIKE, MACKAREL GUIDE, SEA-NEEDLE, LONG-NOSE, GORE-BILL, HORNFISH, and GREENBONE, the lastmentioned title being given to it because, when it is boiled, its bones are of a bright green hue. The name of Mackarel Guide is owing to the fact that its spawning season exactly precedes that of the mackarel, and the other names explain themselves.

This is one of the marine fish, and is sometimes taken and sent to market, generally causing some little excitement as its long pointed head and brightly coloured body lie shining on the dealer's table. It is not, however, extensively captured, on account of a senseless prejudice which exists in many parts against the fish, the green hue of the spine being its probable cause. Despite of prejudice, the fish is an excellent one, and when properly dressed is not unlike eel, but is not so rich.

It is a voracious and bold-biting fish, taking almost any animal substance used as bait, and seizing it so strongly that it hooks itself without any trouble to the angler. To those who fish for their living, and not merely for sport, the Gar-fish behaves in a very agreeable manner; for instead of plunging about when it feels the hook, and by its struggles frightening all other fishes away, it gives one strong pull when it finds itself checked, and then resigns the contest, hanging quietly until released by the fisherman. As a number

of hooks are fastened by snoods to each line, the advantages of a quiet capture can hardly be overrated.

The colour of the Gar-fish is dark bluish green on the back and upper part of the nead, fading gradually on the sides into the silvery white of the abdomen. Its usual length is about two feet.

THE fierce and voracious PIKE has well earned its titles of Fresh-water Shark and River Pirate, for though perhaps not one whit more destructive to animal life than the roach, gudgeon, and other harmless fish, the prey which it devours are of larger size, and its means of destruction are so conspicuous and powerful, that its name has long been a by-word for pitiless rapacity.

The Pike is found in almost every English river, and although supposed to have been artificially introduced into our country, has multiplied as rapidly as any indigenous fish. The Pike is the master of the waters in which it resides, destroying without mercy every other fish that happens to come near its residence, none seeming able to escape except the perch, whose array of sharp spines daunts even the voracious Pike from attempting its capture. As if to show that the Pike really desires to eat the perch, and is only withheld from doing so by a wholesome dread of its weapons, there is no better bait for a Pike than a young perch from which the dorsal fin has been removed. It will even feed upon its own kind, and a young Pike, or Jack as it is then called, of three or four inches in length, has little chance of life if it should come across one of its larger kindred.

At the beginning of spring, the Pike leaves the larger rivers, and ascends the creeks and narrow ditches in order to deposit its spawn. Many fine fish are captured at that time of year by penning them in with a couple of nets, which are gradually approached towards each other until the fish is inclosed between them.

After hatching, the growth of the young Jack is extremely rapid, and according to Bloch, it will attain a length of ten inches in the first year of its life. If well fed, the growth of this fish continues at a tolerably uniform rate of about four pounds per year, and this increase will be maintained for six or seven successive years.

The voracity of the Pike is too well known to need much comment. A tiny Jack of five inches in length has been known to capture and try to eat a gudgeon of its own size, and to swim about quite unconcernedly, with the tail of its victim protruding from its mouth. Had it been suffered to live, it would probably have finished the gudgeon in course of time, as the head was found to have been partially digested. Three water-rats have been found in the stomach of one Pike, accompanied by the remains of a bird too far decomposed to be recognisable, but supposed to be the remnants of a duck. An opinion was once prevalent, and still exists in some places, that the Pike would not eat the

gold-fish, being scared by the burnished glitter of their scales. This idea, however, is incorrect, as the Pike has been seen to devour gold-fish in spite of their brilliant armour. So universal is the appetite of this fish, that it has even been known to seize the paste bait which had been used for other and less voracious inhabitants of the waters.

When the Pike attains a tolerable size, it takes possession of some particular spot in the bank, usually a kind of hole or cave which is sheltered by overhanging soil or roots, and affords a lair where it can lurk in readiness to pounce upon its passing prey. It is rather remarkable that these fish seem to be well acquainted with the most "eligible residences," and that if a large Pike is taken from a hole, another is sure to take possession in a very short space of time.

The Pike seems to have no limit to its size, for it is a very long-lived fish, and seems always to increase in dimensions provided it be well supplied with food. A fish of ten or twelve pounds' weight is considered to be a fine specimen, though there have been examples where the Pike has attained more than five times the latter weight. These huge fishes of sixty or seventy pounds are, however, of little value for the table.

The colour of the Pike is olive-brown on the back, taking a lighter hue on the sides, and being variegated with green and yellow. The abdomen is silvery white.

The SALMON is undoubtedly the king of British river-fish; not so much for its dimensions, which are exceeded by one or two giant members of the finny tribe, but for the silvery sheen of its glittering scales, its wonderful dash and activity, affording magnificent sport to the angler, the interesting nature of its life from the egg to full maturity, and last, but not least, for the exquisite flavour and nutritive character of its flesh.

In former days, before civilization had substituted man and his dwellings for the broad meadows and their furred and feathered inmates, the Salmon was found in many au English river. Now, however, there are but few streams where this splendid fish can be seen, for, in the greater number of British rivers, the water has been so defiled by human agency that the fastidious Salmon will not suffer itself to be poisoned by such hateful mixture of evil odours and polluted waters; and in the few streams where the water is still sufficiently pure for the Salmon to venture into them, the array of nets, weirs. and all

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kinds of Salmon traps is so tremendous, that not one tithe of the normal number are now found in them.

The ingenuity which has been exhibited in the invention of these "infernal machines," as the fixed nets have been justly termed, and the amount of labour which has been expended in their manufacture, are worthy of a better cause; for in their arrangement the habits of the fish have been carefully studied, and, in their manufacture, its capabilities have been foreseen. The evil has, of late years, arisen to so great a height, that the Salmon would soon have been extirpated from our rivers, had not the nation wisely interfered to prevent the loss of so much national wealth, and given the fish a fair chance of re-establishing itself in its former plenty.

The shortsighted persons who plant all these obstructions forget that by this wholesale destruction of the Salmon they are acting against their own interests, and that if they destroy the ill-conditioned and young fish, as well as the adult and healthy Salmon, they condemn themselves to the probability of eating bad fish for the present, and the certainty of total deprivation for the future. The fact, however, seems to be, that each petty proprietor of a fishery is jealous of the neighbours above and below him, and indiscriminately slaughters all fish that he can capture in his own waters, simply that they may not pass into those of his neighbour.

The preservation of this noble fish is truly a subject of national importance, and it is to be hoped that, by judicious legislation and active administration of the law, the Salmon may no longer be the rich man's luxury, but again hold its legitimate place as the poor man's cheap subsistence. That it should ever re-enter the Thames, from which it has been banished for more than forty years, is a dream that perhaps may never be realized. But as the increasing facilities of transport become more developed, a Salmon stream in the far north is virtually brought within a few miles of any railway station in the kingdom, and every portion of our island may perchance procure this delicious fish even before the well-known "curd" has vanished.

While speaking of this curd, which is to the Salmon what the fin is to the turbot, and the green fat to the turtle, it may be mentioned that the practice of "scoring" is destructive of this delicacy, and indeed is one of the most ingenious methods of spoiling the fish that can be invented.

The life history of the Salmon is very interesting, and in many parts not a little mysterious. In the short space which is allowable for the subject, I will endeavour to trace the life of a Salmon from its earliest entrance into the world to its exit therefrom; putting forward no particular theories, but merely enumerating the accredited observations that have been made on this curious subject.

We will begin with the cradle that is prepared for the expected brood. This is a groove in the gravelly bed of a river, and is scooped out by one or both of the parents. Even here a discrepancy exists between practical observers, some of whom aver that the groove is made by both parents by means of rooting with their noses in the ground; others that the male Salmon scoops out the gravel with a hook-like appendage that is developed on his chin during the breeding season; while others declare that the male never troubles himself about the labour of scooping the groove, his duty being to watch over his mate and to fight any other fish of his own sex and species who may intrude upon their home, and that the whole task devolves upon the female, who executes it by twirling her tail and not by grubbing with her snout.

The whole process of depositing the numerous eggs occupies on the average about ten days, and, after it is accomplished, the parent fish leave the eggs to be hatched by surrounding influences, while they themselves quit the spot and remain in the river for a short period while they recover from the exhaustion caused by the process. During this period they are unusually ravenous, and vast quantities of the young of their own kind, which are about that time abundant in the river, fall victims to their insatiable appetite. After a time, and about the months of March and April, they drop down from pool to pool, in any flood which may seem favourable to them, until they reach the sea, where they are supposed to remain from six weeks to three or four months, when they again seek the irver, vastly increased in weight and improved in condition.

While they are occupied in this migration, the abandoned eggs are gradually approaching maturity under the influence of warmth and the rushing waters, and after a period, varying according to the temperature of the water, the young Salmon bursts through its prison. It is then a tiny and almost transparent creature, hardly to be recognised as a fish; and being too feeble to employ the mouth in obtaining subsistence, bears a portion of the egg still adhering to the abdomen like a transparent amber-coloured