In more active fishes, as the mackerel, the display is still more brilliant, often presenting a blaze of light upon the surface, visible from the masthead of a vessel for a long distance, and often resulting in the capture of an entire school; as the mackerel-men, aware of the light produced by the fish, keep a lookout in the foretop; and upon its discovery, the great net is passed around it, the fishes becoming victims to the light they inadvertently produce. When the mackerel are tossed into the boat, they roll over in a golden mass in their struggles, hurling a cloud of spray into the air over boat, net, and men. In handling these fishes, phosphorescent matter will sometimes come off upon the hands, and the gleaming fluid is seen running from the bodies; so, possibly, in some instances, the fishes possess a luminous secretion, as in the case of the shark of Dr. Bennett. The sunfish (Plate XVIII., Fig. 3), an extremely common form on our eastern shores, appears to have a wide geographical range. In American waters, it is known as the sunfish, presumably from its oval shape. Two fins only are present, these being opposite one another, the tail represented by a mere ridge. The sunfish attains a height, from the tip of one fin to that of the other, of seven feet, and sometimes more, weighing several hundred pounds.[44] Some years ago, while at the little fishing-village of Mayport, at the mouth of the St. John’s River, Florida, one of these huge fishes ran aground on the bar, actually drawing too much water to cross. Its struggles attracted so much attention, that a boat was sent out, and the monster captured. I sent a photograph of the fish north, and the latter was afterwards purchased by the New-York Aquarium. It was the largest specimen of this fish I ever saw on exhibition. So sluggish are they, that, at Ogunquit, Me., the fishermen frequently ran alongside of them as they rolled about at the surface, and, thrusting a boat-hook into the small mouth, hauled them aboard; or, if too heavy, lashed them to the side, in which position they were towed ashore, where the liver, the only valuable portion, was secured; though the muscular tissue was sometimes appropriated by the boys of the neighborhood, who found it a good substitute for India-rubber as an interior for base-balls. * * * * *