Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/87

Nov.] his long upper jaw, obliges him to turn himelf almot round upon his back in order to eize any object above him; o that his white belly, which the tranparency of the ea-water renders ditinguihable even at a great depth below the urface, points out to the fiherman the exact moment when he ought to draw his line, in order to faten this voracious fih to his hook.

Nature has amply provided it with the means of ecuring its prey; for beides everal rows of teeth formed in the manner mot adapted for penetrating the hardet bodies, the internal part of the mouth is likewie furnihed with various aperities that erve to prevent the egres of any ubtance that it has laid hold of.

Had we been trading to India, we hould not have failed to collect a quantity of the fins of this fih, as they are in great requet amongt the Chinee, who believe them to be a very powerful aphrodiiac.

When the air was calm the heat was extremely oppreive: the thermometer however tood no higher than 23°; although we were not more than 9° north of the equator. Our longitude was 20° 50′ eat. It appears that in thee parts the thermometer affords a very inadequate tandard of the enible heat of the atmophere; for though it indicated everal degrees lower than what