The prices at which the surmullet was sometimes purchased by the Romans were enormously great. We read of a Roman consul having given at the rate of more than 64l. of our money for one of them; and of one of the Roman emperors having paid upwards of 240l. for another--to such an absurdity of extravagance did this people arrive before the dissolution of their empire. But it went further:--they are said to have considered even the surmullet of little value unless it died in the very hands of their guests. Some of the most luxurious of the Romans had stews formed even in their eating-rooms, so that the fish could at once be brought from under the table and placed upon it. Here they were put into transparent vases, that the guests might be entertained with their various changes of colour, from red to violet and blue, as they expired. The parts chiefly admired for the table were the head and the liver. Both the above species of surmullet occasionally visit our coasts during the summer season. Their flesh is white, firm, and well-tasted; but they cannot long be kept without becoming putrid. 230. _GURNARDS_ (Trigla, Fig. 62.) _are fish with a large angular and bony head; and two or more distinct appendages near the pectoral fins._ Of about fifteen known species of gurnards, five are caught near the British coasts. These are the GREY GURNARD, RED GURNARD, PIPER, TUB-FISH, and STREAKED GURNARD, of which the two former are considered best for the table. Their flesh is white, firm, and good, though somewhat insipid; and they are thought to be in greatest perfection from about the beginning of May to the end of July. ORDER. IV.--ABDOMINAL FISH. 231. _The COMMON SALMON_ (Salmo salar, Fig. 68) _is a fish known by its forked tail, the upper jaw being somewhat longer than the lower, and by the extremity of the under jaw, in the male, being hooked and bent upward._ _All the fish of the salmon tribe have their hindmost dorsal fin fleshy._ At an early season of the year salmon begin to leave their winter haunts in the ocean, and to pass up the fresh water rivers, sometimes to vast distances, to deposit their spawn. And it is in these peregrinations that they are chiefly caught. The British rivers that are most celebrated for salmon are the Tweed, the Tyne, the Trent, the Severn, and the Thames. Sometimes they are taken in nets, sometimes in traps or engines, and sometimes by harpoons. They have been known to ascend the rivers to the distance of more than 200 miles. Vast numbers of salmon are annually pickled at Berwick for the London markets, and for sale on the Continent. These are packed in small tubs, and are usually sold under the name of Newcastle salmon.