{23} Thirdly, Of Fishes.[62]
Reading edition
{23} Thirdly, Of Fishes.[62]
Pliny and Isadore write there are not above 144 Kinds of Fishes, but to my knowledge there are nearer 300: I suppose America was not known to Pliny and Isadore.
A Catalogue of Fish, that is, of those that are to be seen between the English Coast and America, and those proper to the Countrey.
Alderling.
Alize, Alewife, because great-bellied; Olafle, Oldwife, Allow.[63]
Anchova or Sea Minnow.
Aleport.
Albicore.[64]
Barble.
Barracha.
Barracoutha, a fish peculiar to the West-Indies.[65]
Barsticle.
Basse.[66]
Sea Bishop, proper to the Norway Seas.
{24} River Bleak or Bley, a River Swallow.
Sea Bleak or Bley, or Sea Camelion.
Blew Fish or Hound Fish, two kinds, speckled Hound Fish, and Blew Hound Fish called Horse Fish.[67]
Bonito or Dozado, or Spanish Dolphin.[68]
River Bream.
Sea Bream.[69]
Cud Bream.
Bullhead or Indian Muscle.
River Bulls.
Burfish.
Burret.
Cackarel or Laxe.
Calemarie or Sea Clerk.
Catfish.[70]
Carp.
Chare, a Fish proper to the River Wimander in Lancashire.
Sea Chough.
Chub or Chevin.
Cony Fish.
Clam or Clamp.[71]
Sea Cob.
Cockes, or Coccles, or Coquil.[72]
Cook Fish.
Rock Cod.
Sea Cod or Sea Whiting.[73]
{25} Crab, divers kinds, as the Sea Crab, Boatfish, River Crab, Sea Lion, &c.
Sea Cucumber.
Cunger or Sea Eel.
Cunner or Sea Roach.
Cur.
Currier, Post, or Lacquey of the Sea.
Crampfish or Torpedo.
Cuttle, or Sleeves, or Sea Angler.
Clupea, the Tunnies enemy.
Sea Cornet.
Cornuta or Horned Fish.
Dace, Dare, or Dart.
Sea Dart, Javelins.
Dog-fish or Tubarone.
Dolphin.
Dorce.
Dorrie, Goldfish.
Golden-eye, Gilt-pole, or Godline, Yellow-heads.
Sea Dragon or Sea Spider, Quaviner.
Drum, a Fish frequent in the West Indies.
Sea Emperour or Sword Fish.
Eel, of which divers kinds.[74]
Sea Elephant, the Leather of this Fish will never rot, excellent for Thongs.
Ears of the Sea.
Flayl-fish.
{26} Flownder or Flook, the young ones are called Dabs.
Sea Flownder or Flowre.
Sea Fox.
Frogfish.
Frostfish.[75]
Frutola, a broad plain Fish with a Tail like a half Moon.
Sea Flea.
Gallyfish.
Grandpiss[76] or Herring Hog, this, as all Fish of extraordinary size, are accounted Regal Fishes.
Grayling.
Greedigut.
Groundling.
Gudgin.
Gulf.
Sea Grape.
Gull.
Gurnard.
Hake.
Haccle or Sticklebacks.
Haddock.
Horse Foot or Asses Hoof.
Herring.
Hallibut or Sea Pheasant. Some will have the Turbut all one, others distinguish {27} them, calling the young Fish of the first Buttis, and of the other Birt. There is no question to be made of it but that they are distinct kinds of Fish.[77]
Sea Hare.[78]
Sea Hawk.
Hartfish.
Sea Hermit.
Henfish.
Sea Hind.
Hornbeak, Sea Ruff and Reeves.
Sea Horseman.
Hog or Flying Fish.
Sea Kite or Flying Swallow.
Lampret or Lamprel.
Lampreys or Lamprones.[79]
Limpin.
Ling, Sea Beef; the smaller sort is called Cusk.
Sea Lanthorn.
Sea Liver.
Lobster.[80]
Sea Lizard.
Sea Locusts.
Lump, Poddle, or Sea Owl.
Lanter.
Lux, peculiar to the river Rhyne.
Sea Lights.
{28} Luna, a very small Fish, but exceeding beautiful, broad-bodied and blewish of colour; when it swims, the Fins make a Circle like the Moon.
Maycril.
Maid.
Manatee.
Mola, a Fish like a lump of Flesh, taken in the Venetian Sea.
Millers Thumb, Mulcet or Pollard.
Molefish.
Minnow, called likewise a Pink; the same name is given to young Salmon; it is called also a Witlin.
Monkefish.[81]
Morse, River or Sea Horse,[82] fresh water Mullet.
Sea Mullet, Botargo or Petargo is made of their Spawn.
Muscle, divers kinds.[83]
Navelfish.
Nunfish.
Needlefish.
Sea Nettle.
Oyster.[84]
Occulata.
Perch or River Partridge.
Pollack.
{29} Piper or Gavefish.
Periwig.
Periwincle or Sea Snail or Whelk.
Pike, or Fresh-water Wolf, or River Wolf, Luce and Lucerne, which is an overgrown Pike.
Pilchard, when they are dried as Red Herrings they are called Fumadoes.
Pilot Fish.
Plaice or Sea Sparrow.
Polipe or Pour-Contrel.
Porpuise or Porpiss, Molebut, Sea Hog, Sus Marinus, Tursion.
Priest Fish or Sea Priest.
Prawn or Crangone.
Punger.
Patella.
Powt, the Feathered Fish, or Fork Fish.
River Powt.
Pursefish, or Indian Reversus, like an Eel; having a Skin on the hinder part of her Head, like a Purse, with strings, which will open and shut.
Parratfish.
Purplefish.
Porgee.
Remora, or Suck Stone, or Stop Ship.
Sea Raven.
{30} Roch or Roach.
Rochet or Rouget.
Ruff or Pope.
Sea Ram.
Salmon.[85]
Sailfish.
Scallope or Venus Coccle.
Scate, or Ray, or Gristlefish; of which divers kinds; as sharp snowted Ray, Rock Ray, &c.
Shad.[86]
Shallow.
Sharpling.
Spurling.
Sculpin.
Sheepshead.[87]
Soles, or Tonguefish, or Sea Capon, or Sea Partridge.
Seal, or Soil, or Zeal.[88]
Sea Calf, and (as some will have it) Molebut.
Sheathfish.[89]
Sea Scales.
Sturgeon; of the Roe of this Fish they make Caviare, or Cavialtie.[90]
Shark or Bunch, several kinds.[91]
Smelt.
Snaccot.
{31} Shrimp.
Spyfish.
Spitefish.
Sprat.
Spungefish.
Squill.
Squid.[92]
Sunfish.
Starfish.[93]
Swordfish.
Tench.
Thornback or Neptunes Beard.
Thunnie, they cut the Fish in pieces like shingles and powder it, and this they call Melandria.
Sea Toad.
Tortoise, Torteise, Tortuga, Tortisse, Turcle or Turtle, of divers kinds.[94]
Trout.[95]
Turbut.[96]
Sea Tun.
Sea Tree.
Uraniscopus.
Ulatise or Sawfish, having a Saw in his Forehead three foot long, and very sharp.
Umber.
Sea Urchin.
{32} Sea Unicorn or Sea Mononeros.
Whale, many kinds.[97]
Whiting or Merling, the young ones are called Weerlings and Mops.
Whore.[98]
Yardfish, Asses Prick or Shamefish.
The Sturgeon.
The Sturgeon, of whose Sounds is made Isinglass, a kind of Glew much used in Physick: This Fish is here in great plenty, and in some Rivers so numerous, that it is hazardous for Canoes and the like small Vessels to pass to and again, as in Pechipscut River to the Eastward.
The Cod.
The Cod, which is a staple Commodity in the Country.
To stop Fluxes of Blood.
In the Head of this Fish is found a Stone, or rather a Bone, which being pulveriz’d and drank in any convenient liquor, will stop Womens overflowing Courses notably: Likewise,
{33} For the Stone.
There is a Stone found in their Bellies, in a Bladder against their Navel, which being pulveriz’d and drank in White-wine Posset or Ale, is present Remedy for the Stone.
To heal a green Cut.
About their Fins you may find a kind of Lowse, which healeth a green Cut in short time.
To restore them that have melted their Grease.
Their Livers and Sounds eaten, is a good Medicine for to restore them that have melted their Grease.
The Dogfish.
The Dogfish, a ravenous Fish.
For the Toothach.
Upon whose Back grows a Thorn two or three Inches long, that helps the Toothach, scarifying the Gums therewith.
Their Skins are good to cover Boxes and Instrument Cases.
{34} The Stingray.
The Stingray, a large Fish, of a rough Skin, good to cover Boxes and Hafts of Knives, and Rapier sticks.
The Tortous.
The Turtle or Tortous, of which there are three kinds: 1. The land Turtle; they are found in dry sandy Banks, under old Houses, and never go into the water.
For the Ptisick, Consumption, and Morbus Gallicus.
They are good for the Ptisick and Consumptions, and some say the Morbus Gallicus.
2. The River Turtle, which are venomous and stink.
3. The Turtle that lives in Lakes and is called in Virginia a Terrapine.
The Soile.
The Soile or Sea Calf, a Creature that brings forth her young ones upon dry land, but at other times keeps in the Sea preying upon Fish.
{35} For Scalds and Burns, and for the Mother.
The Oyl of it is much used by the Indians, who eat of it with their Fish, and anoint their limbs therewith, and their Wounds and Sores: It is very good for Scalds and Burns; and the fume of it, being cast upon Coals, will bring Women out of the Mother Fits. The Hair upon the young ones is white, and as soft as silk; their Skins, with the Hair on, are good to make Gloves for the Winter.
The Sperma Ceti Whale.
The Sperma Ceti Whale differeth from the Whales that yield us Whale-bones, for the first hath great and long Teeth, the other is nothing but Bones with Tassels hanging from their Jaws, with which they suck in their prey.
What Sperma Ceti is.
It is not long since a Sperma Ceti Whale or two were cast upon the shore, not far from Boston in the Massachusetts Bay, which being cut into small pieces and boiled in Cauldrons, yielded plenty of Oyl; the Oyl put up into Hogsheads, and flow’d into Cellars for some time, Candies at the {36} bottom, it may be one quarter; then the Oyl is drawn off, and the Candied Stuff put up into convenient Vessels is sold for Sperma Ceti, and is right Sperma Ceti.
For Bruises and Aches.
The Oyl that was drawn off Candies again and again, if well ordered; and is admirable for Bruises and Aches.
What Ambergreece is.
Now you must understand this Whale feeds upon Ambergreece, as is apparent, finding it in the Whales Maw in great quantity, but altered and excrementitious: I conceive that Ambergreece is no other than a kind of Mushroom growing at the bottom of some Seas; I was once shewed (by a Mariner) a piece of Ambergreece having a root to it like that of the land Mushroom, which the Whale breaking up, some scape his devouring Paunch, and is afterwards cast upon shore.
The Coccle.[99]
A kind of Coccle, of whose Shell the Indians make their Beads called Wompampeag and Mohaicks, the first are white, the other blew, both Orient, and beau{37}tified with a purple Vein. The white Beads are very good to stanch Blood.
The Scarlet Muscle.
The Scarlet Muscle, at Paschatawey a Plantation about fifty leagues by Sea Eastward from Boston, in a small Cove called Bakers Cove there is found this kind of Muscle which hath a purple Vein, which being prickt with a Needle yieldeth a perfect purple or scarlet juice, dying Linnen so that no washing will wear it out, but keeps its lustre many years: We mark our Handkerchiefs and Shirts with it.[100]
Fish of greatest Esteem in the West Indies.
The Indians of Peru esteem of three Fishes more than any other, viz. the Sea Torteise, the Tubaron, and the Manate,[101] or Sea Cow; but in New-England the Indians have in greatest request, the Bass, the Sturgeon, the Salmon, the Lamprey, the Eel, the Frost-fish, the Lobster and the Clam.