races are highly prolific. Their range, in fact, is confined; and, as fishes prey upon each other, the larger ones preying indiscriminately upon the smaller fry, including that of their own speciesthey are endowed with powers within themselves, of maintaining a very reasonable Malthusian equality between their numbers, and the supply of food. With the sea it is very different. The volume of water there is immense; and there are fishes inhabiting and finding food over its whole range, and to a considerable depth, varying, of course, with the temperature and productiveness of the waters. Some are discursive, near the surface, and never go to any very great depth; as is the case with the herring and mackerel families, and many others. Some are found in the mid-waters, and are still rather discursive in their habits; and some again inhabit the banks and bottoms at various depths, and seldom move far from the same locality. But whatever may be the general habit of the species, or the tribe, their numbers are beyond all arithmetic, and their powers of increase are perfectly astonishing. Some produce little short of ten millions at a time; others, perhaps, not so many hundreds: but so far as has been ascertained by experiment, it is, perhaps, not far from the truth to estimate the average of encrease at a million. With regard to the times, at which this extraordinary power of nature is repeated, we are very much in the dark. The analogy of land animals would lead us to conclude, that it was annual, though we cannot speak positively upon the subject. If this, however, be the case, let us only imagine what would be the encrease, if there were no means provided for keeping down the numbers. It does not appear that there is the same fixed term of life in fishes, as there is in vertebrated land animals. The death of the latter, when it comes without casualty, seems to originate in the bones, which do not encrease in size after the maturity of the animal, and which begin to be absorbed, and waste away in its decrepitude. To the growth of bones in fishes there does not appear to be any such limit, nor, we believe has there ever been found any sign of absorption of the bones in an old fish. Hence, if the productive powers of sea fishes were to work undisturbed, and no casualty from without were to affect the produce, the sea would become, not only solid with fish, but absolutely mountain high, in the course of a very limited number of years.

But nature, which always has a resource at hand, provides against this consequence, by allowing the tribes in question, as it is usually said, to enjoy themselves in eating one another. Nor is this the only way in which their numbers are kept down. Numerous kinds of shore birds, and other land animals, live upon the eggs and spawn of fishes; and, as if it were to provide for

the subsistence of these creatures, different tribes and species of fishes deposit their spawn, at different times of the year. Some commit it to the waters, some fasten it to sea-weed and other substances, and some approach the shores with it, or enter the estuaries, and even ascend far up the branches of the rivers, for the same purpose. It is this which gives rise to those migrations of fishes, of which so many ridiculous stories used to be told, but which in all the correctly observed cases, are now ascertained to be nothing more than movements towards the shores and shallows, for the purpose of spawning, and back into the deep water, for the recovery of their health and flesh.

The approach to the shore appears to be for the purpose of exposing the eggs to the more powerful action of the sun and atmospheric air; and the purpose for which the rivers and brooks are ascended, appears to be exactly the same. There is one important point, connected with this matter, the clearing up of which we owe to Mr. Yarrell. White bait, and some other delicate species, come to the top of the brackish water for this purpose; and they obviously do so, because the temperature there is higher than it is, either in the salt water below, or in the fresh water above. Mr. Yarrell has proved, on the most unquestionable evidence, that white bait, though a member of the herring family, is a distinct species, and not the young of the shad, as was formerly supposed; just in the same manner as the sprat is a distinct species, and not the young of the herring. Mr. Yarrell was also the first to prove, in a satisfactory manner, that eels are not, as was formerly imagined, viviparous; but that they spawn like other fishes; and that those worm-shaped substances, often found in the viscera, are really entozoa, or intestinal worms, parasites upon the animal, and not its progeny. He was also the first, satisfactorily to demonstrate, that, in many rivers, at least, eels descend the stream in autumn, and pass the winter in the mud, in knots of many together, and in a sort of hybernating, or dormant state. It would far exceed our limits, however, to point out either what Mr. Yarrell has done himself, or what his stimulating example has caused to be done by others, in promoting a correct and philosophical knowledge of the economy of fishes, whether of the fresh water, or of the salt, or migratory between both.

Still, we must observe, that these are labours deserving of the highest honour, in a philosophical, and, yet more remarkably, in an economical point of view. Even now, the harvest of the sea, around the British shores, is abundant: even now, we are constantly hearing of the plenty of the waters being abundantly brought in, as a supply, where otherwise there would have been

famine in the land. Yet, the knowledge of the subject is still but in its infancy. Much remains to be acquired; and there is no reason why, if sufficient talent, skill, and capital, were made to bear upon it, it might not be encreased, a hundred, a thousand, aye, many thousand fold. The resource is boundless. The men who have hitherto taken fish, or attended to the fisheries, have been proverbial for their want of knowledge of the philosophy of nature. Therefore, we have only to acquire wisdom, and apply industry, in order to fetch, from the all-bountiful sea, any supply we may require of the most wholesome food, at an exceedingly low price, and at any time of the year, if the weather is such that a fishing boat may live upon the water.

It is customary to say, and to publish, that such a kind of fish is in season, at one time of the year, and not in season at another but there is one species which may be said to be in season all the year round-namely, the sole. Now, the sole not only spawns like other fishes, but it is an exceedingly prolific fish, and therefore, must be exhausted as well as the others. In fact, upon the more shallow fishing grounds, it is found to be soft and watery, in part of February and March; and yet, even then, all that is necessary is, to go into deeper water, and good soles are to be obtained.

Now, this fact speaks volumes, and tells us, that, if we would follow the other fishes into deeper water, we should also find them good at all seasons of the year. Fishes, of whatever species, inhabiting the same ground, do not all spawn in one day, or week, or month; and all therefore, that we have to do is, to find out where the good ones are, and devise means of taking them. The sole is among the least discursive of all fishes, and, consequently, we find it always good within a limited range. We should, of course, have to follow the other species to greater distances, in proportion as their characters were more ranging; yet there is little doubt but that one and all of them might be found. In a national point of view, this is one of the most important questions which can well be imagined. The land has to be ploughed, and kept in condition, at great expense; and rent and other burdens have to be paid for it, before the labouring cultivator can obtain a return but the sea is as free as the air over it, and it requires nothing but to gather in the harvest.

We have, because it is in a great measure new to the generality of readers, gone into the subject of sea fishing at some length; and thus we have but little space to devote to the works of Messrs. Yarrell and Jesse. Much, however, is not necessary. Mr. Yarrell's work, being published in nineteen monthly numbers, and completed on the first of September last, came gradually

before the public, and has already, we are sure, produced the happiest effects. It contains brief, but remarkably clear, accurate, and satisfactory notices of every species of fish, and also every variety, hitherto found in the fresh waters and seas of Britain. These notices include the manners, if any thing peculiar, and also the mode of capture. They are full of information, are often graphic and amusing in a very high degree, and, being founded upon actual observation, may always be implicitly depended on. As a specimen of the information contained in Mr. Yarrell's most excellent volumes, we give a portion of his spirited account of "sean-fishing" for pilchards on the Cornish coast, regretting that our limits will not admit of our quoting the whole.

"The sean used for this purpose is 120 fathoms, or 720 feet long, which is more than a furlong, and twelve fathoms, or 72 feet in depth, floated with corks on the head-rope, and kept taut by sinkers below. There are three boats, a large sean boat, a rather smaller volyer, and a still smaller lurker. There are seven hands in each of the large boats, and four and the master-fisher in the small one. The small one finds the schull (shoal), ascertains its direction, and instructs the others how to pay out the net, stretch it by parting, and present a moderate bight toward the advancing fish. Notwithstanding the size of the net, it is payed out and ready in about five minutes, all in perfect silence, without the least splash of an oar. If the water is deep, a different kind of net, 108 feet deep, is used, with a bunt or hollow at the middle.

"When the net is out, the two boats advance with the ends, the lurker splashing and making a noise to drive the fish on; and the ends of the net are ultimately brought and fastened together. The haul may vary from a single hogshead to a thousand hogsheads of fish; and when it is large, the net is secured by grapplings, lest the strength of the fish should carry it off to sea. At low water, the fish are raised, by placing a tuck-sean within it, by which the fish are brought within a smaller compass, and raised by closing the bottom of this second sean. During this operation, noise, shouting, and stones suspended by ropes, and plunged into the water, are practised, until the opening of the net is closed, and the fish are lodged in the bunt, in which they can be raised to the surface, and taken into the boat.

"When brought to the surface, the voices of the men are lost in the noise made by the fish, as they beat the water. The seaners fix themselves in pairs on the gunwales of the boats, with flaskets, to lade the fish on board. When the quantity enclosed in the stop-sean is large, the tuck-scan is made to enclose no more than the boats can carry, of which a master-seaner forms a correct judgment by the extent of brimming in his sean, as the fish move in it; and many advantages result from taking up only a portion at one time, for the whole can thus be salted in proper condition, without fatigue, or extraordinary expense. Thus, a week may possibly elapse, before the whole of the capture is secured, part being taken up every night."-Vol. ii. p. 100.

The whole description is remarkably well given, and so is every fishing process described in the book; and there are many brief, but satisfactory observations, on the anatomy, physiology, and habits of fishes. The arrangement is that of Cuvier, beginning with the spinous-finned tribes, passing to those having the rays of the fins jointed, and ending with those which have the skeleton cartilaginous. The last are the lancelet, in which the vertebrated character is nearly obliterated, thus forming a transition, or rather approximation, to the invertebrated character closing the list. The excellence of the arrangement cannot be questioned; and we may say with truth, that there are few, perhaps no, books, which have brought larger accessions of knowledge to any one department of natural history, than "Yarrell's History of British Fishes."

The illustrations are exceedingly beautiful and valuable. Every species is figured from nature, under the author's inspection in the majority of cases; and where such is not the fact, it is mentioned. We have seldom seen wood-cuts executed with so much truth and spirit; and we are quite sure, that any one who possesses the figure, can be at no loss in instantly recognizing the fish, whenever, and wherever, he may happen to meet with a specimen. Nor are these the only illustrations of these two excellent volumes; for there are numerous interspersed cuts of dissections, peculiar organs, apparatus, and modes of procedure in the capture of fish. Besides these, there are a number of "sweet bits," in the way of tail pieces, all connected with the waters, and fish, and fishing, which, if they have not the pointedly sarcastic humour of some of Bewick's matchless tail-pieces, are, at least, more chaste in design, and finer in the execution. In fact, the work is perfectly unique, as well it may be imagined, by every one acquainted with the industry, the talent, the glee, and the liberality of the amiable and excellent author; and no man who loves either fishing or fish ought to be without it. If a nautical expression might be allowed, in closing this brief notice of the best account that has ever been given of the finny inhabitants of the British seas, we would say, that Mr. Yarrell is no mere Ichthyologist, but can "box the compass of animated nature, either with the sun, or agen it, without missing a single point."

Mr. Jesse's volume is quite of a different structure. With all the lightness of a lounging book, it has all the depth of a philosophic treatise; and, though with an aim and purpose entirely different, is not inferior, in its way, to Mr. Yarrell's more elaborate and systematic work. The fact is, that the two authors are as sworn brothers, in the pleasing contemplation of nature; and

VOL. II.-NO. III.