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cover; seven rays in the branchial membrane, and a faint radiation around the eyes. Length of the specimen now before me rather more than ten inches; depth three; girth nearly seven; was taken by a hook near a wharf of the city, on the 23d day of August, 1815; he and several dozens more of the same species having followed a ship from the ocean, and continuing to play about her rudder for several days after she had taken her birth beside the quay for unloading. The weight was eight ounces, and the individual said by the ship-masters to be fullgrown.

The general hue of the back was a dark greenish, with small black spots, particularly about the head, and a bluish tinge along the back; of the belly, a greenish white, not very bright, but rather dull. The skin is covered with small scales. The complexion of the living fish very like that after death.

The eyes were large and bright, with a faint yellowish suffusion, and a reddish circle around the inner iris. It was reported to me they were of a mazarine blue when first taken out of the water. Head bluut, thick, roundish, and smooth, excepting that the semi-osseous middle plate of the gill-covers was serrated with teeth, very plain to be felt as well as seen. Around the eyes a sort of radiated formation of the skin for a short distance.

There were zig-zag impressions in the skin along the sides between the back and belly; and those behind the vent and toward the tail are inclined obliquely upward and backward, and downwards and backwards, like the processes of the vertebra.

The lateral line is distinct, scaly, and crooked in a curve that does not vary very much from the course of the back. The fork of the tail is not acute;but the caudal fin, when expanded, is two inches from tip to tip, and then the curve it describes is somewhat lunated.

The pectoral fins are seated pretty high, and contain each twenty-one rays. The ventrals are of moderate size, and their rays, which are six in number, partake of the greenish white of the belly. The gill membrane has seven rays; the caudal fin nineteen.

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The dorsal fin occupies much of the space along the back, and contains twenty-nine rays, of which the first eight are short, sharp, and prickly.

The under jaw is thin and small in comparison of the upper, which is thick and blunt; the lips are furnished with a row of very small teeth; the gape is moderate, and the tongue long and smooth.

There are nineteen rays to the anal fin; the two foremost of which, near the vent, are spinous.

SCORPOENA.

PURPLISH SCORPŒNA-Scorpaena purpurea, with rusty-coloured skin diversified with yellowish and darkish clouds, particularly toward the tail and across the fins, and with a foliated corilus over each eye.

October 28, 1815. The specimen now alive before me was taken off Block-Island. The length is fourteen inches, and the breadth across the enormous head more than four. Like other species of the genus, the body tapers away to quite a slender tail.

The head is roughened by twenty or more knobs or protuberances, mostly disposed by pairs. These elevations are chiefly blunt, though those over the gill-covers are rather more pointed. The rays of the fins are coarse and large. The skin is without scales, and roughened by excrescences, almost like warts, over the back and sides; there is a row of them distinctly to be traced along the lateral line, and another from the back of the head, nearly parallel to the dorsal fins.

The colour is a russet brown, diversified toward the tail below with whitish, yellowish, or paler clouds, and through and across the fins with darker clouds, interspersed with lighter marks. Some of the warts terminate in white tops. Belly a pale orange yellow.

The lower jaw has a double set of cirrhi; the upper set, three in number, round the outer curvature, and small; the lower set, eight in number and foliated, and broad with branches. The upper jaw and head are likewise adorned with cirrhi; two foliated ones proceed like whiskers from the corners of the mouth. Two similar ones arise from the upper margin of the orbits and overhang the eyes. A pair of acuminated and slender cirrhi depend from the extremity of the upper jaw, and several other pairs are scattered over the head and cheeks.

There are two dorsal fins, the foremost of which has sixteen ramentose rays, with loose connexion; the other has thirteen rays, with something of the ramentose structure, and more closely associated. The pectorals have seventeen rays, distinct, wide apart, and with membraneous scallops between their extremities. The ventral fins have three rays, the foremost of which is the longest, and they all have skinny terminations. The anal fin has fifteen rays curved backwards. The caudal fin has about seventeen rays, and they terminate with a scalloped edge that is rather convex. The chin, neck, and parts about the mouth are spotted, and divided with yellow, brown, and white; but, in other respects, the fish has such strong characters of the Scorphena family, that there is no need of a more minute description.

RED SCORPENA.-Scorpœna rufa, with a more ruddy colour of the skin.

I mark as a variety the specimen now alive on my table, about eighteen inches long, and four and an half broad across the head; taken off Nantucket. The chief differences were its greater size and redder complexion, with less variegation and contrast in the clouds and colours.

GEOMETRICAL DORY-Zeus geometricus; with a black ray in the dorsal fin extending beyond the tail; a white ray in the anal not quite so long; two lines extending from the

upper part of the gill-cover toward the back, one gradually vanishing as it proceeds towards the dorsal fin, and the other ending abruptly not far from its origin.

This fish was taken on the south side of Long Island, on the 26th July, 1816. It is the largest New-York dory that I have hitherto seen, his length being thirteen inches; his breadth one inch and three-quarters; and his depth six inches. The slope of the forehead is six inches; making the head oblique and ugly. The tail is deeply forked, yellow, and measures three and an half inches from tip to tip. The first ray of the dorsal fin is eight inches long, reaching further back than the tail; the first ray of the anal fin is white, and is five inches in length. The skin is whitish and scaleless. The hue is white and bright, with bluish along the back, and yellowish from the eye along the front upward. There are also shades of greenish intermingled. The lateral line crooks upward about the thoracic parts, meandering a little in its progress downwards to a point, whence it proceeds straight to the tail. From a curved base a little forward of the origin of the lateral line, another line proceeds up ward, and turning backwards, disappears before it reaches the dorsal fin. This curved base is about the ninth of a circle. From the same point whence the line just described proceeds, and behind it, arises another line, and proceeds at an acute angle with the former about three-quarters of an inch, terminating then abruptly.

There are three spines in front of the dorsal fin; that consists of about twentythree rays, of which twenty are branched and capillary. The anal fin has about nineteen, of which all but three are of a similar constitution. The pectoral fins have each about twenty rays, the uppermost of which are long and pointed. The anus is very far forward, being on a line with the insertion of the pectoral, and immediately behind the ventral fins. The front or forehead of this fish ends in a horny edge, and between the termination of this edge on the top of the head, and the commencement of the beforementioned spines before the dorsal fin, are four knobs, or blunt elevations, with corresponding depressions between them. A double nostril a little in front of the eye, which is large and silvery, with a yellowish tinge like that of the surrounding skin. The back all along the insertion of the dorsal and anal fins has a sort of scallopped appearance. SPINOUS DORY-Zeus spinosus; with seven spiny rays in front of the dorsal fin, a lateral line moderately curved upwards, a very forked tail, and three spines in front of the anal fin. The specimen before me was taken in the bay of New York, on the 12th September, 1815. His length was three inches, depth almost two, and thickness less than half an inch; the whole figure being that of a nice and delicate little fish. It is very deep, and remarkably thin in proportion to his length. The circumscription of the back and belly is handsomely rounded; the head projects for ward with a blunt snout, and the tail, which

is quite narrow, divides into an extremity deeply forked. He has the nearest resemblance to the Z. septapinnis. The eyes are large and whitish, occupying a considerable space in the head; the upper jaw is much bigger than the lower, and this latter, which shuts within the former, makes a small mouth, and opens, after death, by its own elasticity. The teeth are scarcely perceptible.

There are seven spinous rays to the dorsal fin, and nineteen bristly ones, making twentysix in the whole. There are three spinous rays and about nineteen bristly rays to the anal fin, making twenty-two in the whole. In both, the first three or four bristly rays are longer than the others, and resemble somewhat the form of the chaetodons.

The ventral fins are minute, and have each four rays. The branchial membrane has seven. The pectoral fins are acuminated, and are composed of about nineteen rays. The caudal fin also possesses nearly the same number.

The lateral line is very moderately iacurved upwards, and then runs almost straight to the tail. The skin is scaleless, and on the back a dusky greenish, and on the belly a silvery white, with clouds along the sides, and somewhat of a ruddy tint. The gillopening does not slant so much as in several other species of the genus. There are undulating or waving depressions up and down the sides somewhat like the stromats. He seems to connect the chetadons and stromats with the dories.

SCOMBER.

SCOMBER HIPPOS; with a black spot at the posterior edge of the gill-cover; lateral line strongly mailed and aculeated backward; and with a single finlet above and below, near the extremity of the tail.

The specimen before me was bought in the market on the 28th July, 1815, and was rather more than eight inches in length, and two in depth. The form cylindrically roundish, and plump and tapering away toward the head, and more especially toward the tail. The mouth is remarkably free from teeth, there being fewer than I ever saw in a mackerel. The upper lip and jaw are almost as smooth as a herring's, and the lower has only a moderate roughness near its tip. There are two dorsal fins, the foremost of which consists of seven rays, and the second of ten; then follow twenty-one rays in lieu of spurious fins, and a single spurious fin at their posterior termination. In front of the anal fin there are two stiff spines; that fin consists of nine proper rays, which run with, and are connected with twenty-five more, extending along the tail, and concluded by a single finlet. Properly speaking, perhaps these rays might be reckoned as making an anal fin of thirty-four rays. The tail is deeply forked, and is composed of nineteen brushy rays. The lateral line is very characteristic. From the upper part of the gill-opening it bends gradually downward, and is marked by about a dozen dark dots till it reaches a point about midway of the second dorsal fin, whence it is continued

straight to the middle of the tail. All the curved or anterior part has adhering scales; all the straight or posterior part is strongly mailed with wide and contiguous plates that are serrated or aculeated backwards. Near the end of the tail the spines are very distinct. Head and gill-covers smooth, and the posterior extremity of the latter marked with a black spot. Eyes large and silvery, with a yellow tinge. Adhering small scales about the head and back of the neck, and large but very deciduous ones scattered over the back down towards the lateral line. A smutty oblong spot under each eye, marking the cheek. The ventral fins have five branching rays; the pectorals have nineteen rays in the usual way. Colour a greenish blue on the back; yellowish on the lateral line and caudal fin; silvery white along the throat and belly; dorsals brownish; anals whitish; the branchial membrane has seven rays.

The books contain the following description of the SCOMBER HIPPOs. Sc. operculis postice maculanigra-One row of teeth, the two foremost of which are larger than the rest; the lateral line very much declining in the middle, and carinated with short spines backward and behind, the posterior dorsal fin red; ventrals and anal yellowish; spines some distance in front of the anal fin.-Foster and Garden-Carolina-Otaheite.

BODIANUS.

SIX SPINED BODIAN-Bodianus bis-trisp nus, with three spines on the back part of the foremost gill- plate, and three more on the hindmost gill-plate, with a single dorsal fin, projecting lower jaw, and rounded tail. About two inches and a half long, and an inch deep. Brought from very deep water in the straits of Babama.

Head elongated and pointed; lower jaw longer; gape wide, rims of both jaws, the palate and tongue beset with small teeth; three naked spines on the foremost gillplate; three more on the hindmost; all pointing backward; ventral fins small and united at their base.

A single dorsal fin, and but one anal fin, both of them situated toward the tail, with an increase of length and breadth at their posterior margins; caudal fin rounded. The three so situated as almost to give the fish the appearance of a triple tail; the eyes are large, the pectoral fins narrow and lanceolated; tongue narrow and pointed; skin smooth; lateral line commences at the upper part of gill-opening, and proceeds with a moderate incurvation and very gentle sinuosities to the middle of the tail. The two first rays of the dorsal fin are spinous, the rest filamentous.

PERCA.

GLASS-EYE-Perca vitrea, with the pupils of the eyes appearing like the semi-globes of glass in the decks of vessels, when illuminated on the opposite side, and with a yellow iris.

Found in the Cayuga Lake, of a roundish (teres) figure; the middling magnitude

about eighteen inches long, by three and a quarter deep.

Colour of the body dark-yellowish, like that of the common pike; belly white, back darker than the sides. Scales stout, lateral line proceeds straight from the upper part of the gill-opening to the middle of the tail, and is of a deeper brown than the adjoining and surrounding skin. Ventral and anal fins light yellow. Two dorsal fins, the foremost of which is spinous, and consists of thirteen rays, and the hindmost filamentous and composed of twenty rays.

Lower jaw rather longer than the upper, tail sinuated toward the middle, and rendering the caudal rays of that part shorter than those above and below.

This character and description were taken from the drawing and notes of Simeon De Witt, Esq. made by him at Ithaca, in October, 1816; was pronounced by that gentleman to be tolerably good eating.

LABRUS.

BLACK EARED POND-FISH-Labrus appendix. Labrus with black, broad, and oblong appendages to the gill-covers; grows to the size of five or six inches long, three deep, and one and a half thick. Lives in the same waters with the Labrus auritus; but differs from him in being more stout, thick, and chubby, and having less variegation of colour in his scales, and a greater length and width of the ears or appendages to the gillcovers. In the Labrus auritus these are rounded and tipped with scarlet, while in the present species they are broader, longer, and uniformly black.

In addition to these differences, it will be observed by him who contrasts the two species, that the one now under consideration, has a larger mouth and a wider gape; and that his pectoral fins are broader and rounder; his throat and belly are also pale or whitish.

The Dorsal fin has twenty-one rays, of which the ten foremost are spinous. The ventrals have five branching rays. The anal has thirteen rays, of which the first three are spinous. The pectorals have about thirteen, and the caudal nineteen, all of which are prettily subdivided. There are five rays to the gill membrane.

With so many, and such obvious marks of difference, it can scarcely be supposed that this is merely a variety of the L. Auritus. I have therefore noted him as a distinct species.

SHEEPSHEAD CHETODON-Chatodon oviformis, with pale brown skin, crossed by four and a half dusky bands, and two dorsal fins, with five stiff spines between them.

Length of the present specimen 134 inches, depth rather more than 7, and thick

ness about 2.

Taken at the East end of Long-Island, July 27, 1815. Has more the aspect of a sheep's-head than of any other fish.

On the 19th September, 1817, I measured an individual that was seventeen inches long, eight from back to belly, twelve from dorsal to anal fin, and seven inches across the perpendicular tail.

Mouth moderate, and filled with thick sets of brushy teeth; eyes white, with a yellowish tinge; body covered with thick adhering scales.

Two dorsal fins, the first consisting of nine stiff spines lowering into a groove, or the four first may be considered as the fin, and the five others as scattered along and reaching to the second dorsal. The last of them, or the ninth, is situated at the very root of the first ray of the second dorsal fin; this is composed of twenty-three rays, the first six or seven of which are longer than the rest, and project far backward.

The anal fin is of a width and length corresponding to the second dorsal, and is composed of about eighteen rays. Of these the first five or six project further than the rest. The caudal fin consists of nineteen rays, is rather concave, and sometimes forked. The upper division is longer than the lower.

The pectorals are remarkably small, being not more than 1 inches long; they are roundish and composed of seventeen rays.

The branchial membrane has three rays. The ventrals have each five rays, and are fortified by a skinny scale crossing their base horizontally, they are accuminated, and are 24 inches in length.

The lateral line is regularly curved upward in a line corresponding to the arch of the back.

Two large nasal orifices in front of each eye, one oblong and larger, the other round and smaller.

A dusky band, of about an inch wide, reaching from the back somewhat obliquely backwards through the pectoral fin; another band about as broad, reaching down the broad side from the rear of the first dorsal to the forepart of the anal; a third from and through the second dorsal, the tail and the hinder part of the anal. Between the first and second bands, a narrow semi-zone descending from the first dorsal to the lateral line; a fourth band crosses the extremity of

the tail.

IV. ABDOMINAL.

SALMO. The length of the largest Smelts I have seen in New-York is about seven inches, the depth rather more than one, and the thickness about half an inch.

The head and back above the lateral line are semi-diaphanous, the mouth is large, and armed both in the jaws and on the tongue with numerous aud sharp teeth. The lower jaw is rather curved upward at its chin or tip; the tail is deeply forked, the broad side and belly, the whole length are of a silvery and uniform bright hue, the scales readily fall off, and leave traces of lines obliquely decussating each other, and also marks, apparently of ribs.

The first dorsal fin rises high and consists of eleven rays, the second is placed far back and has none, the ventrals are nearly midway of the length and consist of eight branching rays.

The specimens before me were examined on March 7, 1816, when the colour of the back was pale. They were taken near New

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For the American Monthly Magazine. MESSRS. EDITORS.

the Nautical Almanack, additional to I send the following list of errors in those given in your Magazine for December, 1817, with a respectful request that you will give them an insertion in a future number. They were found in Blunt's edition; and as I am obliged to rely on the politeness of a gentleman at glish edition, I cannot state whether the some distance, for examining the Ensame mistakes are in the London copies : but since the errors are in a part of the Almanack most important to navigators, it is of consequence that those in the copy of 1818, should be made public in season for seamen to make the corrections; and I therefore forward this list, without waiting for an opportunity to exof Longitude. amine the edition of the Commissioners

In the Almanack for 1814.

Page 21. The distance of Pollux and the Moon, on the 26th day, at IX hours is put down 57° 25′ 35. It should be 51° 25′ 35".

Page 130. The distance of Moon and Sun, on the 15th day, at midnight, is stated to be 46° 17′ 28". It should be 44° 17′ 28′′.

Page 141. The distance of Moon and Spica my, on the 28th day, at XV hours, is given 72° 55′ 17. It ought to be 730 55' 17".

For 1815.

Page 23. The distance of Moon and a Arietis, on the 19th day, at III hours, is given, 75° 15 52". It should be 570 15' 59".

Sun, on the 50th day, at IX hours, is put Page 33. The distance of Moon and down 10° 24/7. It should be 110° 24' 7". It is possible that this omission of the figure 1, may be owing to a failure in the impression of the type; though in two copies before me the appearance is the

same.

Page 44. The distance of Moon and Sun, on the 4th day, at noon, is stated to be 39° 50′ 57′′. It should be 59° 50′ 57′′.

Antares, on the 15th day, at IX hours, Page 94. The distance of Moon and is given 38° 4' 7". It should be 30° 4′7′′. For 1816.

Page 58. The distance of Moon and

Sun, on the 1st day, at XV hours, is stated to be 590 391 31". It should be 530 39 31".

Same Page. The distance of Moon and Pollux, on the 5th day, at III hours, is given 22° 16' 3". It should be 320 16' 3".

Page 59. The distance of Moon and Antares, on the 18th day, at VI hours, is put down 770 8' 27". It should be 760 8' 27".

For 1817.

Page 8. The distance of Moon and Antares, on the 9th day, at VI hours, is stated to be 51° 16' 17". It should be

580 16' 17".

Page 21. The distance of Moon and Aldebaran, on the 18th day, at noon, is put down 75° 5' 33". It should be 710

5' 33".

Page 56. The distance of Moon and a Pegasi, on the 5th day, at VI hours, is stated to be 65° 30′ 59′′. It should be 68° 30′ 59′′. I would not state positively that this is an error; for in the copy that I have, a long hair mark near the figure of the degrees supposed to be three, might have prevented the impression of the left half of an 8. It is however so manifestly 3, that it was judged best, with this qualification, to mention it.

Page 140. The distance of Moon and Sun, on the 1st day, at III hours, is given 420 48' 47". It should be 92° 43' 47". For 1818.

Page 33. The distance of Moon and Antares, on the 23d day, at noon, is stated to be 63° 9' 36". It should be 530 9'36".

Page 34. The distance of Moon and Sun, on the 16th day, at XV hours, is given 102° 56' 9". It should be 1120 56' 9".

Page 68. The distance of Moon and a Aquila, on the 16th day, at XXI hours, is put down 480 54′ 43." It should be 580 54' 43".

Page 69. The distance of Moon and a Pegasi, on the 21st day, at XXI hours, is given 36° 26' 11". It should be 370 26' 11".

Page 71. The distance of Moon and Antares, on the 21st day, at III hours, is given 62° 51' 54". It should be 630

51 54".

Page 130. The distance of Moon and Sun, en the 4th day, at noon, is given 74° 24' 23". It should be 78° 24′ 23′′. The quantum of the preceding errors has been determined, either by interpoTation, or spheric trigonometry.

EDWARD HITCHCOCK. Deerfield, (Mass.) Dec. 12th, 1817. VOL. 1.-No. iv.

Description of the Estrus ovis, or the
Botts of Sheep. By James_Clements,
of New-York, Veterinary Surgeon.
MESSRS. EDITORS,

The little information circulating in the
community, in regard to the various spe-
cies of Botts, and the importance to agri-
culturalists of some accurate account and
certain knowledge of them, has induced
me to take up the subject in a systematic
manner; and, through the medium of
your useful and widely circulating maga-
zine, offer the result of my investigations
to the public. An extensive field is here
opened for inquiry, and one that will
well repay the labour of exploring it. The
horse, the ox, the sheep, and the dog,
are all in a particular manner exposed to
the attacks of this persecuting insect, and
a generous humanity as well as an en-
lightened self-interest, furnish strong in-
ducements to alleviate the sufferings and
promote the good condition of animals
that contribute so much to men's pleasure
comfort, and profit. The species of botts
which is the subject of the present com-
munication is the Estrus ovis, or botts
of sheep. This insect attacks the nos-
trils of sheep, and its larvæ, i. e. the
worms, or caterpillars, which proceed
from the egg deposited by the insect, in-
habit those cavities in the face which are
called by anatomists the maxillary and
These cavities in the
frontal sinuses.
front and cheeks, are of considerable ex-
tent, affording a great expansion of sur-
face covered with a white membrane, on
the secretion of which the larvae of the
Estrus subsist. The effect produced on
this delicate membrane by the larva is
great; the irritation is often so violent,
that on examination, there will be dis-
covered an extensive determination of
blood. Few animals sneeze oftener than
sheep, and this is no doubt produced by
the motion of the larva. The mucus se-
creted in the above mentioned cavities,
furnishes the larva with food, of which,
an abundance is seen at all seasons of the
year; and the great vascularity of these
parts, and their general structure, is well
adapted to this species of botts.

Description of the larva. When young, the larva are perfectly white and transparent, except the tentaculars or feelers, and the two horny plates, which are black. As they advance in age a change ensues, and when full grown they are of a delicate white colour, flat on the under side; convex above; with circular bands, or segments armed with tentaculars at the small end; the large end truncated, with a marginal ring, which being opened $2

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