This includes the well-known Fishes—of which the Cod-fish is the type—so commonly found on our tables. They are characterized by their pointed fins, and grouped according to the position of these fins. The body is long and slightly compressed; the head well proportioned. Their fins are soft and their scales are small and soft. The majority of these Fishes are too well known to require further description. According to the position of their fins we find forming one of the smaller groups—the Cod, the Whiting and the Haddock. In another small group is the Salmon and the Trout. A third group includes the Pike, and several curious relatives—the Stomias, Flying-fish and the Chetedon. And a fourth includes the Herring, Ancovy, Pilchard, Sprat and Shad. THE CHEATODONS. [Illustration: CHAETODON.] These Fish form a very curious species. They are brilliantly colored and marked with odd stripes. Their head is large, with small eyes placed near the top; the nose and the mouth of some species are very curiously formed; and the tail—which is not divided—also shows strange forms in some varieties. One of the best known is the Bow-banded Chaetodon. The ground color of this Fish is brown, which shades to black towards the back, and looks as though covered with velvet and inlaid with ivory, and the light stripes in the form of a bow, on both sides of the body give it still more showy appearance. This species inhabits the coasts of Brazil, and other parts of South America, and grows from three to six inches in length. Other varieties are somewhat larger, but they are all comparatively small Fish. In the winter or rainy seasons they lie deep in holes near the shore. During the summer, when the sun in that climate blazes the whole day, they keep at a depth of twenty to thirty yards, which protects them from its intense heat. FLYING-FISH. Strange tales have been told from time to time of the marvellous powers of flight possessed by certain Fishes; and while some of these have been greatly exaggerated, it is nevertheless true that some Fish do possess that power to a surprising degree, yet only on certain limited lines, unlike the upward flight of Birds. (See colored plate). The front fins of the Flying-fish are transformed into wings by which they are enabled to rise for a few seconds. These wings, however, are neither long nor powerful, for they act the part of a parachute, rather than wings. These curious fins of the Flying-fish are nearly as long as the whole body; the head is flattened above and on the sides, and the lower part of the body is covered with a long series of scales; and the mouth is filled with small pointed teeth.