[Ancient Sports Contents] Dundee Courier, Monday 1st January, 1934, p.10.  ANCIENT FIFE GAMES TO-DAY  —————— Kirkcaldy and Wemyss Contests     At Kirkcaldy and Wemyss this morning two ancient Ne’erday games peculiar to the respective places will be played.     On Dominic’s Green at Ravenscraig Park, Kirkcaldy, the game that will be played is called “A … Continue reading Miscellaneous Sports →

[Ancient Sports Contents] Scotsman, Wednesday 21st January, 1829, p.8.     New Curling Pond. - Mr John Carnie, of Largs, both during the last and the present winter, succeeded in forming a curling pond. So late as Tuesday and Wednesday last, he and his friends played various games, when in all probability not a single stone … Continue reading Bonspiel (Curling) →

[Ancient Sports Contents] Scotsman, Saturday 30th July, 1831, p.3.  LEITH GOLFING.     In ancient times, Leith was distinguished for nothing so much as its golf-playing. This healthful Scottish game was practised by all classes with a degree of frank and free hilarity, which has long since ceased to animate the modern practice of this manly … Continue reading Gowf (Golf) →

[Ancient Sports Contents] We'll start with the prohibitions against football, &c. James I.     “Item it is statut and the king forbiddis that ony man ['Item it is deliverit that na man'.] play at the futball undir the pain of iiij d. to the lorde of the lande als oft as he beis taintit (be … Continue reading Kickba’ (Football) →

[Notes on the Black Book Contents]    The Black Book of Paisley is often spoken of and treated as an original work1 but as has been shewn it is not so. Still, the language of some of the older writers suggests the question whether there was not, after all, an independent chronicle kept or written … Continue reading VI. – The Chronicle of Paisley, pp.68-71. →

[Notes on the Black Book Contents]    Dr. Skene remarks1 that no sooner had the Scotichronicon appeared than there seems to have arisen an outcry against its intolerable diffuseness and irrelevant sermonizing, and Bower himself proceeded to prepare an abridgement, which is represented by the Book of Cupar. In 1501 the Paisley copy of the … Continue reading V. – The Abridgement of the Black Book, pp.63-68. →

[Notes on the Black Book Contents]    The Scotichronicon, as we learn from statements in its text, was in progress in 1441,1 and was completed, according to the Memorandum on the fly leaf of the Black Book of Paisley, in 1447, or as Mr. Skene says, betwixt that date and 1449,2 the year in which … Continue reading IV. – The History of the Black Book, pp.43-63. →

[Notes on the Black Book Contents]    Without pretending to give anything like a collation of the MSS., it may be interesting to compare, in a general way, the text of the Black Book with that printed by Goodall.     PREFACIUNCULA OPERIS. - The Black Book and the Schevez MS. correspond with the Edinburgh MS., … Continue reading III. – The Text of the Black Book, pp.29-43. →

[Notes on the Black Book Contents]    The Black Book of Paisley is a heavy volume of twenty-nine quires of vellum, each composed of five sheets forming ten folios, but in a few cases one or two pages have been removed. The outer pages of some of the quires have originally been signed a, b, … Continue reading II. – The Contents, pp.15-29. →

[Scanned Images Contents] I cannot guarantee I've not made a couple of wee errors but this transcription is definitely the best I can do over the course of 7 hours with much of the rechecking of words throughout. The author's Vs look like Bs but I've typed them out as Vs after deciding copying it … Continue reading Vellum Instrument of Sasine Related to Anne, Duchess of Hamilton (1723) →

[Notes on the Black Book Contents]    IN the Royal Collection, in the British Museum, there is preserved a Manuscript, 13 E. X., known as “THE BLACK BOOK OF PAISLEY.” It is a large, stout vellum folio written in double columns, but so far as colour goes it now belies its name, as it is … Continue reading I. – What It Is, pp.1-15. →

[Notes on the Black Book Contents]    THE following account of the Black Book of Paisley was originally intended to form part of the Appendix to Dr. Lees’ History of the Abbey of Paisley, but at the request of the Publisher a shorter one was substituted, and this was reserved for a separate publication. The … Continue reading Preface. →

[Extra Articles Contents] WHAT IS THE ARTHURIAN MERLIN MYTH?  A bit like with the unicorns it depends a wee bit on where and when in time you are when you ask. The story itself goes a bit like this:  We start in the late 4th century. Before Arthur was born, Merlin had been active and … Continue reading Scottish Arthurian/Merlin Myth →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    ALSO a middle-being between vegetation and animality, is often found adhering to rocks on the sea shores. They have a slow and progressive motion, and, like the Polypus, if cut into several pieces, have the property of forming again new limbs, and thereby becoming a whole individual. The common species … Continue reading The Asteria, or Star-Fish, p.350. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    HAVE been long supposed to be vegetable marine productions, and, indeed, their ramifications and progressive growth give to them so much the appearance of a plant, that it is no wonder if they have been, for so many centuries, classed among the children of mere vegetation. However, it has been … Continue reading The Coral and Corallines, pp.349-350. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THERE are two kinds of this water insect. The fresh-water Polypus is found hanging at the roots or branches of plants that grow at the bottom of ditches and pools. The marine Polypus is found in similar situations, but is much bigger than the fresh water one. They resemble the … Continue reading The Polypus, p.348. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THIS word is derived from the Greek Zoos, an animal, and Phyton, a plant, and signifies a body of organized matter, partaking of the nature of both an animal and a vegetable being.     To this order belong all those creatures which may be propagated by cutting the body asunder, … Continue reading Zoophytes, pp.347-348. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS a kind of beetle, well known in this and other countries. It flies at dusk, with a rash and noisome impulse; lives upon the first budding leaves of the elm tree, and when caught, is often tormented by children, who, placing a paper fixed with a pin at one … Continue reading The Chaffer, pp.345-346. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    SCARABŒUS, is the generic name for the whole tribe of beetles. The characters of the genus are, two transparent wings, covered with cases; they are produced from eggs, in the shape of grubs, then change into chrysalises, and soon arrive at the form of beetle. There are many different species … Continue reading The Beetle and Ear-Wig, pp.344-345. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    TWO fundamental laws of nature rule the whole of animated beings. They have for their ultimate scope the preservation of the species in general, and that of every individual in particular. To the first of these admirable laws we must refer all the trouble which the female, in every kind … Continue reading The Aphis, or Tree-Louse, pp.342-344. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THE Wasp is a very fierce, dangerous, and most rapacious insect; it is much larger than the bee, and furnished with a powerful sting. The belly is striped with yellow and black. They make a curious hive, which they hang at the top of a barn or other place, and … Continue reading The Wasp, Bee, and Lady Cow, pp.339-341. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS a very curious insect, having upon its head two horns, not unlike the smaller prongs of a lobster’s claw, which meet together at the end and pinch severely whatever they can get hold of. They have a largish corselet, armed on the sides with points, and the body contains … Continue reading The Stag Beetle, or Lucanus, pp.338-339. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS of a gay green colour, the head somewhat resembling that of a horse; the corselet is armed with a strong buckler; it has four wings and six legs, the hinder ones being much longer than the other, to assist the insect in leaping. As naturalists have found three kinds … Continue reading The Grasshopper, pp.336-338. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THE Locust is a voracious insect well-known in Egypt and all the coast of Barbary, where they are found in such a quantity, that when they take their flight they obscure the air, and appear like a cloud of several hundred yards square. Wherever they alight, devastation and misery follow … Continue reading The Locust, Cricket, and Mole Cricket, pp.333-336. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THE Fly, although the most numerous, most common, and domesticated, is perhaps the least known of insects as to its general habits. They appear in a troublesome number in the beginning of warm-weather, and remain with us, preying on tables, staining our mirrors and ceilings, till September, when they get … Continue reading The Common Fly, Spider, and Death Watch, pp.331-333. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THE Bug is a worse insect than the two foregoing, for although it deserves death for its troublesome depredations on our very blood, yet he punishes us for the deed, leaving a strong and nauseous smell. They hide themselves so curiously in bed-posts and wooden partitions of houses, that when … Continue reading The Bug, Ant, Glow-Worm, Gnat, and Antlion, pp.323-330. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THE Louse is an insect of the order of the aptera, that is to say, those that have no wings. Several animals are pestered by that or similar kind of vermin, and every one is different according to the substance upon which it feeds. The human Louse deserves a particular … Continue reading The Louse and Flea, pp.319-323. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IT would be a considerable task to enumerate, and a much greater one to describe, every insect which obtains these names. Every bush, every tree, every plant, has its assigned Caterpillar, or an insect nearly of the same nature; and that which lives on the nettle could no more feed … Continue reading Caterpillar, Chrysalis, and Butterfly, pp.315-319. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    These creatures constitute a class by themselves, under the name of Vermes, in the voluminous works of nomenclators. They are generally divided into four orders, which embrace the whole of these innumerable tribes which swarm and pullulate nearly every where. The Worm is distinguished from the caterpillar and maggot, on … Continue reading Worms, p.314. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS furnished with four small horns; two of which are smaller than the others; at the end of those horns, which the animal pushes out or draws back, like telescopes, as most convenient to itself, are the eyes, which look like black spots, one upon each of see the horns, … Continue reading The Snail, pp,312-313. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS about three inches in length, and in its exterior form somewhat resembles the worm; it has a small head, a black skin edged with a yellow line on each side. The back is spotted with yellow, and the belly is of a reddish cast, with some faint yellow spots. … Continue reading The Leech, pp.311-312. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    A serpent of a harmless nature, being destitute of those fangs which prepare the venom in similar animals. It moves backwards and forwards with equal facility, and each extremity of his body is of an equal thickness, which has given occasion to the story that this animal has [two] heads. … Continue reading The Amphisbæna, p.310. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    WHOSE name is so intimately connected with the memory of the Queen of Egypt, and her spontaneous and melancholy death, is found in Africa; its bite always occasions a speedy but gentle death. This animal is from three to six feet in length; it has two teeth longer than the … Continue reading The Asp, p.309. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS a native of the new world; it grows to five, and sometimes to six feet in length, and is nearly as thick as a man’s leg; it is not unlike the Viper, having a large head and small neck, and inflicts a most dangerous wound. Over each eye is … Continue reading The Rattle-Snake, pp.308-309. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS the largest of all English serpents, sometimes exceeding four feet in length. The colour of the body is variegated with yellow, green, white, and regular spots of brown and black. They seem to enjoy themselves when basking in the sun, at the foot of an old wall, as if … Continue reading The Snake, p.307. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THIS particular kind of Asp, has two small horns on its head; it is harmless and nearly domesticated in Egypt, where it enters the houses when the family are at table, picks up the crumbs from the floor and retires without doing any injury to the company. This is very … Continue reading The Horned Viper, pp.306-307. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS a venomous animal, a species of serpent that seldom exceeds the length of two or three feet; it is of a dirty yellow colour with black spots, and the belly entirely black; the head is nearly figured in the shape of a lozenge. Unlike all others of the serpent … Continue reading The Viper, pp.305-306. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents] “Their faming crests above the waves they show;  Their bellies seem to burn the seas below;  Their speckled tails advance to steer their course,  And on the sounding shore the flying billows force.  And now the strand, and now the plain they held;  Their ardent eyes with bloody streaks were fill’d,  … Continue reading Serpents, pp.301-305. →

[Old Scottish Music Contents] Paul Burns has reproduced in his inimitable way for us some of James Scott Skinner's Music. - This tune is by James Scott Skinner (5th August, 1843 - 17th March, 1927), who was a Scottish dancing master, violinist, fiddler and composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential fiddlers in Scottish traditional music, … Continue reading James Scott Skinner’s Music →

[Guest Articles Contents] Here Paul Burns has given us his brilliant reproductions of William Marshall's music. - After corresponding upon the topic of Ballindalloch Castle, Paul sent me these with the notes attached; I can now give you the two tunes with that name. Tune 1 is by William Marshall (27th December, 1748 - 29th May, … Continue reading William Marshall’s Music →

[Old Scottish Music Contents] Here we have some excellent examples from Paul Burns of Niel Gow's music. - Firstly, Paul has for us, Coilsfield House, for which he gives some background, "Coilsfield House, Ayrshire - The estate was acquired circa 1640 by the 6th Earl of Eglinton for his fourth son, the Honourable Colonel James … Continue reading Niel Gow’s Music →

[Old Scottish Music Contents] Paul Burns has given us some excellently reproduced music originally by John Foulds. - This is A Keltic Lament, Paul has said that this, "tune was composed by John Foulds who lived from 1880 to 1939, not a tune that is as old as some but very much in the idiom … Continue reading John Foulds’ Music →

[Old Scottish Music Contents] The music here is of unknown origin. Paul Burns has very wonderfully brought them back to life for us. - Firstly we have Greysteil, said to be "for certain as old as 1627, and presumed to be traditional from at least 1497," and it's had me curious for a wee while. … Continue reading Miscellaneous Music →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS an univalve shell-fish, the shape of which is pyramidal; it adheres to the rock with such strength that no human force can make him leave his hold, unless it is crushed by a strong blow. The apex of the shell is sometimes sharp, sometimes obtuse, and often surrounded with … Continue reading The Limpet, pp.299-300. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THE Snipe, a shell fish, so called on account of the curious length of a certain prominency coming out of the shell. It is surrounded with blunt prickles, and the colour of the whole is elegantly variegated.  The Wilk.     BELONGS to the family of the Turbines. It is the … Continue reading The Snipe and Wilk, p.298-299. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    LIKE the oyster, the Muscle inhabits a bivalve shell, to which he adheres, as others of that species, by a strong cartilaginous tye. His name means in Latin a small rat, from the shape of the fish. The shells of several muscles are beautiful; some of them, chiefly those of … Continue reading The Muscle and Admiral, pp.297-298. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THE first is a well known small crustaceous fish of the lobster kind. It has long slender feelers, between which are two projecting laminæ. It has three pair of legs and five fins, but no claws. All the sandy shores of Great Britain breed this insect and its flavour is … Continue reading The Shrimp and Prawn, p.296. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS a curious animal, and ought to be recorded here for the wonderful singularities of his habits. This animal, when divested of its shell, is somewhat like a lobster; it is about four inches in length, has no shell on the hinder part, but is covered down to the tail … Continue reading The Soldier Crab, pp.295-296. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS an amphibious animal; living on land and in water. The common Crab obtains various sizes, some weighing several pounds and others not one ounce, all of different species. They move not forward, but on one side as it suits them best. They have no tail, which is a considerable … Continue reading The Crab, pp.293-284. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS the lobster of fresh water, and is reckoned a very strengthening food. They are caught in shallow brooks, hid under large stones, out of which they crawl backwards, to seek for their prey, which consists of small insects; they are easily baited with liver or flesh, to which they … Continue reading The Cray Fish, p.293. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    HAS a cylindric body, the antennæ long, and a broad tail. This fish, for it is one of the crustaceous kind, begins the class of water insects. His large claws enable him to seize on his prey and to fix himself at the small prominencies of rocks in the sea, … Continue reading The Lobster, pp.292-293. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    HAS long been in favour with man for the delicacy of its food; the Lac Lucrin used to be as much in renown among the Romans for the choicest kind of Oysters, as the Cancale shores with the French, and the Colchester beds with us. It is a bivalve shell … Continue reading The Oyster, pp.290-291. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS reckoned a very delicate food, specially the green, and the logger head. Some of them are so large that they weigh near four hundred pounds, and some eight hundred pounds. They generally ascend from the sea, and crawl on the beach, either for food or for laying their eggs, … Continue reading The Sea-Tortoise, or Turtle, pp.259-260. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS a distinct genus of animals, of the class of amphibious, and of the reptile order. It is a quadruped, but with these two essential distinctions, that it is covered with a kind of strong arched crust or shell, and that it is oviparous. They are found of all sizes … Continue reading The Tortoise, p.288-289. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    OF which the figure above is an exact representation, is of a most extraordinary form. The body is not unlike that of a mackerel for the shape and colour, but the nose or upper jaw, is protracted out in a kind of lance, nearly as long, in itself, as the … Continue reading The Garfish, p.287. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    A CETACEOUS fish caught in the icy sea, and very remarkable for a horn or tooth of seven or eight feet in length, proceeding from the nose; it is white like ivory and curiously wreathed and twisted; the substance is still much heavier than ivory or any sort of bone, … Continue reading Sea Unicorn, or Narval, pp.285-287. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS of a coarse nature, and full of bones; it seldom exceeds the weight of five pounds. The body is of an oblong shape nearly round; the head, which is large, and the back, are of a deep dusky green, the sides silvery, and the belly white; the pectoral fins … Continue reading The Chub, pp.284-285. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    BELONGS also to the cyprinus order, and is remarkable for its numerous progeny. It is a deep yet thin made fish, in shape nearly resembling the bream, but approaching to the carp by the breadth and shape of its scales, which are large and deciduous. The soundness of the flesh … Continue reading The Roach, pp.283-284. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    SELDOM grows to any great size, and the largest of which we have any account is said to have weighed nine pounds. The body is deep, the scales rough, the back arched, and the side lines placed near the back. For beauties of colours, the Perch vies with the gaudiest … Continue reading The Perch, or, Pearch, pp.282-283. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    BELONGS to the elegant order of the cyprinus. It is of a thick short body and seldom exceeds ten or eleven inches in length. The irides are red, the back, dorsal and ventral fins, dusky; the head, sides, and belly of a greenish hue, mixed with gold, and the tail … Continue reading The Tench, pp.281-282. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    ABIDES in the Mediterranean, and is not more than three inches in length; he has a large snout, long and narrow at the end; the eyes are large, the irides red, and the body is covered with rough cinerous scales. The anterior part of the body has two bony substances … Continue reading The Trumpet Fish, p.280. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THE figure of the animal above bas been correctly copied at the foot of Blackfriars Bridge in the month of May, 1812, from a specimen exhibited there for several days by the fishermen, who had caught it below the river; it is about three feet and a half long, the … Continue reading The Toad Fish, pp.278-280. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    How admirable is nature! how extensive her power, and how various the forms with which she has surrounded the united elements of animated matter! From the uncouth shape of the wallowing whale, of the unwieldly hippopotamus, or ponderous elephant, to the light and elegant form of the painted moth or … Continue reading The Flying Scorpion, pp.276-277. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS of the nature of harmless serpents; it lives in fresh water rivers, lakes, and ponds. It is a very voracious fish, feeding on worms, the young fry of fish, and even carrion and putrid flesh. The eyes are placed near the end of the nose, the teeth are small … Continue reading The Eel, p.275. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS to the whale as the humming bird is to the Condor, and the mouse to the elephant, in their respective bulks. It is a small fish found in gravelly fresh-water streams in this island. The back is olive, the sides and belly either red, blue, or white, being of … Continue reading The Minnow, p.274. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    HAS been gifted by Providence with the same power as that of the preceding fish. It is about three feet in length and twelve inches in circumference in the thickest part of the body. The head is broad, flat, and large, the rostrum obtuse and rounded; the eyes are small … Continue reading The Electric Eel, pp.273-274. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS a most wonderful marine animal, endowed by Providence with an electric power, the nature of which it has not been yet possible to ascertain. It gives a smart shock to the person who handles the fish, similar to that produced by the electrical machine. The body of this fish … Continue reading The Torpedo, pp.272-273. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IT would be an inexcusable neglect to pass this fish unnoticed, not on account of its disputing with the haddock the honour of having been pressed by the fingers of the apostle, nor of its having been trod upon by the gigantic foot of St. Christopher, when he carried on … Continue reading The John Doree, pp.271-272. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THIS genus is divided into several species. The red Gurnard, the fins and body of which are of a bright red colour, is not unfrequent on the southern shores of England; it is often seen exposed at the fish markets of the maritime towns of Dorset and Devonshire, as well … Continue reading The Gunnard, pp.270-271. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS a species of the Ray. This fish had long been disregarded in this country as coarse, bad-tasted food, but for some time past it rose into fashion, and appears now with no unbecoming grace upon our best tables. The body is broad and flat, of a brown colour on … Continue reading The Skate, pp.267-269. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS a flat fish, not unlike the carp in several points, but much broader in proportion with its length and thickness. They abide in the deepest parts of rivers, lakes and ponds. The scales are large and of a bright colour; the tail has the form of a crescent. They … Continue reading The Bream, p.267. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS an odd shaped fish; its colour is blackish with faint red, in spots; the belly is red; it has no scales but on all sides sharp black tubercles, in shape like warts; on each side are three rows of sharp prickles, and on the back two distinct fins. It … Continue reading The Lump, or Sea Owl, p.266. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    A WELL known fresh-water fish, generally found in gentle streams; it is between five and six inches in length. The back brown, the belly white, the sides tinged with red, and the tail forked. They spawn three or four times in summer, and feed upon wasps and any flies which … Continue reading The Gudgeon, pp.265-266. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS in length about eight or nine inches, and nearly one broad; the body is of a light olive green, inclining to silver white. The smell of this small fish when fresh and raw is not unlike that of ripe cucumbers, but it goes off in the frying pan, and … Continue reading The Smelt, p.265. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    A WELL known marine fish, between four or five inches in length, the back fin very remote from its nose; the lower jaw longer than the upper, the eyes blood-shot, like those of the Herring, and in shape so much like that fish that several clever ichthyologists have took the … Continue reading The Sprat, pp.264-265. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    COMES next after the mackarel in shape as well as in delicacy of taste, although it differs much in flavour. It is about nine or ten inches long, and about two and a half broad, and has blood shot eyes; it has large roundish scales; a forked tail; the body … Continue reading The Herring, pp.262-264. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS taken and well known in all parts of the world. It is usually about a foot in length, or more; the body is thick, firm, and fleshy, slender towards the tail; the snout sharp, the tail forked, the back of a lovely green, beautifully speckled, or, as it were, … Continue reading The Mackarel, p.261. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    RESEMBLES the chub in its form, but is less and of a lighter colour; it is a gregarious fish, frequenting the same places, and remarkably prolific. The body seldom extends ten inches in length, and like the rest of the leather-mouth kind, it has no teeth in its jaw, but … Continue reading The Dace, p.260. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    HAS a great fame for the sweetness of its flesh, and appears often with great repute on our tables, when measuring twelve inches between the eye and the beginning of the tail. The scales are large with a golden gloss upon a dark green ground. They grow sometimes to a … Continue reading The Carp, pp.258-259. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS a small fish of a curious shape. The length is about two inches; the head bears some resemblance to that of a horse, whence originates its name; a long dorsal fin runs from the head to the tail, which is spirally turned inside. They are often seen in cabinets … Continue reading The Cavallo-Marino, or Sea-horse, p.258. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    THE regions of fresh water have their sharks as well as the empire of the seas. This fish lives in rivers, lakes, and ponds: and, in a confined piece of water, he will soon destroy all other fish, as he generally does not feed upon any thing else and often … Continue reading The Pike, pp.256-258. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS very beautiful, about the same size and shape as the silver fish, except that it has not such long fins. This animal was originally brought from China, and first introduced into England in 1661; but they are now become quite common in this kingdom, and will breed as freely … Continue reading The Gold Fish, pp.254-255. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS a noble inhabitant of the seas; not only on account of his size, but also for the goodness of his flesh, either fresh or salted. The body measures sometimes above three and even four feet in length, with a proportionable thickness. The back is of a brown olive colour, … Continue reading The Cod Fish, pp.253-254. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS well known as a most excellent fish, whose flesh is firm, delicate and of a pleasing flavour. They grow to the length of eighteen inches, and even more in some of our seas. They are often found of that bigness and superiority in Torbay, from whence they are sent … Continue reading The Sole, pp.251-252. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    DIFFERS from the plaice by its being a little longer in the body, and, when full grown, somewhat thicker. The back is of a dark olive colour, spotted; some of them, with round reddish spots on the back and fins. In taste they are reckoned by some more delicate than … Continue reading The Flounder, p.251. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    A WELL known English fish; and a species of the pleuronectes. It has smooth sides, an anal spine, and the eyes and six tubercles are placed on the same side of the head. The body is very flat, and the upper part of the fins of a clear brown colour, … Continue reading The Plaice, p.250. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    AS to its figure resembles the salmon; it has a short roundish head, and a blunt snout. Trouts breed and live constantly in small rivers, whose transparent stream frets along upon the clean pebbles and beds of sand which cover the bottom of the water; they feed on river flies … Continue reading The Trout, pp.249-250. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    ALSO called the Bull Trout or Sea Trout, is thicker than the common trout in the body, weighing about three pounds; it has a large smooth head, which as well as the back is of a bluish tint, with a green gloss; the sides are interspersed with black spots, the … Continue reading The Salmon Trout, pp.248-249. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS not unlike the trout; the scales are very small; the colour of the back varied with spots; the belly white, the snout bluish. This fish is esteemed very delicate by all nations, and chiefly by the Italians. They have it plentifully in Lago di Gardo, near Venice, and it … Continue reading The Char, or Gilt Charre, pp.247-248. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS the boast of large rivers, and one of the noblest inhabitants of the sea, if we esteem him by his bulk, his colour, or the sweetness of his flesh. They are found of a great weight, and sometimes measure five feet at least in length. The colour is beautiful, … Continue reading The Salmon, pp.246-247. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS longer than the trout, and measures sometimes twenty inches in length. The back and sides are of a silvery grey, and when the fish is first taken out of the water, slightly varied with blue and gold. The coverts of the gills are of a glossy green, and the … Continue reading The Grayling, pp.245-246. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS from three to four feet in length, and some have been caught much longer. The body is long, the head flat, the teeth in the upper jaw small and numerous, and a small beard on the chin; it has two dorsal fins, two pectoral ones, and one ventral.     … Continue reading The Ling, pp.244-245. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS seldom more than twelve inches in length, and of a slender and tapering form. The scales are small and fine. The back is silvery, and when just taken out of the sea, reflects the rays of light with great lustre and gloss. The flesh is light, wholesome, and gently … Continue reading The Whiting, pp.243-244. →

[Three Hundred Animals Contents]    IS much less in size than the cod fish, and differs somewhat from it in shape; it is of a bluish colour on the back, with small scales; a black line is carried on from the upper corner of the gills on both sides down to the tail; in the … Continue reading The Haddock, pp.242-243. →