Fish
Fish names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Fish the name applied to a class of animals exclusively aquatic
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the name applied to a class of animals exclusively aquatic, and occиpying the fourth and lowest station of the section Vertebrata. The head is large, and set on the body without the intervention of any distinct neck; the body is usually of a spindle-shape, tapering gradually toward the extremity; and the surface is usually smooth, without any which m irregularities wh might impede the motion of t of the creature in its native element. In its general form the body is usually rounded, or slightly compressed at the sides; sometimes this flattening proceeds to a much greater extent, so that the animal presents the appearance of a broad band, or oval disk, of which the edges correspond with the dorsal and ventral surfaces; in other cases, the flattening takes place from above downward, producing a disk-like body, of which the upper and lower surfaces are dorsal and ventral. A fish may be shortly defined as an animal breathing through the medium of water by means of gills. This latter apparatus is the most important feature presented. It is situated on each side of the neck, and consists of numerous laminæ fixed on arches. These laminæ are covered with numerous blood-vessels, and are so constructed as to present a considerable surface to the water, so that the blood may receive a sufficient portion of the oxygen contained in that element. As the water in contact with the gills becomes deteriorated, it is necessary that a constant current be caused to flow over them. In most fishes this is effected by their taking water in at the mouth and expelling it at the gill-covers. The blood, which is constantly sent from the gills to the heart, is distributed by means of the arteries to every part of the body, whence it returns to the heart by means of the veins. Animals of this order are for the most part furnished with an air-bladder in the interior of the body, which, as it is often connected with the esophagus by a tube, must be regarded to a certain extent analogous to the lungs of the air breathing Vertebrata. This sac or air bladder, however, has nothing to do with respiration; it receives blood from the arteries, and returns it into the veins and the air which it incloses is probably derived from this fluid. By the dilatation or compression of this sac, the specific gravity of the fish is governed, and, acted on by a curious muscular apparatus, renders its possessor lighter or heavier than the surrounding element. The limbs of the fish are formed into fins; the forelegs constituting what are termed the pectoral fins, and the posterior extremities, the ventral. Besides these, ordinary fishes are furnished with one or two dorsal fins , an anal fin, and a caudal fin, or tail. per jaw The principal organ of motion is the caudal fin, or tail; by this it is propelled. The dorsal and ventral fins serve to balance it, and the pectorals to arrest its progress when required . The bones of fishes are of a less dense and compact nature than in the higher order of animals, and always remain in an isolated state, similar to that of the embryo of the Mammalia. The head varies more in form than in any other class of vertebrate animals . The same bones as those found in other oviparous animals are almost always traceable. The upper consists of maxillary and intermaxillary bones. In the greater number of fishes, the intermaxillary bones constitute the chief portion of the upper jaw, the maxillary bones being placed behind and parallel to them. The lower jaw is composed generally of two bones on each side, the dental portion in front, and the articular portion behind. The form of the body is for the most part such as mechanical principles teach to be best adapted for moving with least resistance through a liquid medium. The surface of the body is either smooth and lubricous, or is covered by closely imbricated scales, rarely defended by bony plates or roughened by hard tubercles, still more Vol. IV-Cyc-Ј rarely armed with spines. The power of touch can be but feebly developed in fishes. The organ of taste is a very inconspicuous one -the chief function of the framework supporting it, or the hyoidan apparatus , relating to the mechanthe organ of hearing there is no outward ism of swallowing and breathing. Of sign; but the essential part, the acoustic labyrinth, is present, and the semicircular canal, largely developed within the labyrinth, is without cochlea, and is rarely provided with a special chamber, but is lodged, in common with the brain, in the cranial cavity. usually large, but seldom defended by The eyes are eyelids, and ever destitute of a lachrymal organ. short and simple, with its divisions not The alimentary canal is commonly always clearly marked, the short and wide gullet being hardly distinguishable red but cold, and is rarely elevated above from the stomach. The blood of fishes is the temperature of the surrounding element. The sexes of fishes, excepting the sharks and rays, offer no very decided external characters by which they may be distinguished. The respiratory organs, however, occupy more space in the males than in the females , and, on the other hand, the abdomen is larger in the females than in the males . The differences of character in the scales have been of fishes by Agassiz, by whom all fishes made the foundation of a classification orders of cycloid, ctenoid, placoid, and are distributed into the following four ganoid fishes , having respectively cycloid, ctenoid, placoid, and ganoid scales; a classification which has been found particularly convenient with reference to fishes. diplomatist; born in New York City,
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a vertebrate animal living in water only. In place of lungs a fish has delicate fring-like gills in slits at the side of its neck. The blood courses through the gills as it does through ordinary lungs, and through the thin walls of the gills it absorbs the air that is mixed with the water. Ordinarily a fish cannot live in air. Its gills dry up and, strange to say, the fish dies for want of air. An exception to this statement must be made in favor of one fish, the climbing perch of India, which is able, it is said, to carry water in cells with which to moisten its gills. It is able to leave its pond for two or three days, and is exhibited by the jugglers of India and China as a "fish out of water." Nor can a fish live without a constant supply of air. Unless the water is kept fresh, that is, supplied with pure air, a fish dies. Ponds are sometimes frozen over so closely that all the fishes die for want of air. Air holes in ice are frequently crowded by fishes struggling for water that has fresh air in it. Fishes take in water through the mouth and force it out through the gills. If a fish be held head down stream, or if in any way water be forced through the gills and out of its mouth, it will drown, just as a person would drown from too much water on the lungs. The heart of a fish has one auricle and one ventricle. The circulation of its blood is slow and the blood is cold. The body of a fish is shaped for easy passage through the water. Boat builders have spent much time studying the form, "lines," of various fishes with a view to secure speedy models. The feet and tail of a fish are fitted for swimming. The front feet are converted into pectoral fins; the rear feet into ventral fins; the tail into a caudal fin; in addition to which a fish may have a dorsal or back fin or two, and an anal fin. A fin consists of a thin membrane spread on or supported by rays. The presence or absence, shape, and position of these fins is of service in the classification of fishes. The motion of a fish is derived chiefly from a flip of its tail; the dorsal and ventral fins serve to balance the body, and the front or pectoral fins are spread to arrest progress at any time. The scales are outgrowths of the skin and point backward. Each scale is to be regarded as a lock of hair imbedded in glue. Certain scales arranged in a line on each side of the fish are pierced with tubes through which a slimy matter oozes that serves to lubricate the body and make it slippery. The scales are exceedingly variable, and are another guide in classification. The catfish has no scales. Fishes are supposed to see well for short distances, to hear tolerably well, and to have a fairly acute sense of smell. It is thought they have little sense of taste or little sense of touch, save in the feelers with which some fishes are provided. Most fishes are flesh eaters, preying on flies, water insects crayfish, snails, frogs, and especially young fishes, or fishes smaller than themselves. Nature seems to have provided the small fishes for the benefit of the larger ones. The catching of fish is an occupation employing a large number of persons. Fishes are taken with the hook, the spear, the trap, and with nets. Fishes furnish a considerable portion of the food of mankind, and are a source of wealth to many nations. Angling is one of the most delightful of diversions, even though Dr. Johnson did define an angler as "a pole and line with a fool at one end and a worm at the other." Recent authorities state that the number of different kinds of fishes in the world, not counting fossil species, is about 12,000. Of this total, there are 3,263 species in North America . The cod is the most valuable American fish. The salmon ranks next. The fishes of North America may be placed in nineteen groups: 1. The spiny-finned fishes, including the bass, sunfish, perch, bluefish, mackerel, tuna, mullet, and swordfish. 2. The pikes, including the muskallunge and pickerel. 3. The trout, including the salmon, tarpon, shad, whitefish, and herring. 4. The flying fishes. 5. The solid-jaw fishes. 6. The suckers, including buffalo fish, carp, and minnows. 7. The catfishes, including the bullhead. 8. The sticklebacks. 9. The common halibut. 10. The angler. 11. The eeles. 12. The pipe-fishes. 13. The dogfish. 14. The gar-fishes. 15. The sturgeons. 16. The paddle-fish. 17. The chimeras. 18. The sharks. 19. The rays. See Fishery ; also articles on the several fishes.
Fish HAMILTON, an American Aug
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
HAMILTON , an American Aug. 3, 1808; was graduated at Columbia College, and admitted to the bar in 1830. A Whig in politics, he was elected a 1848. In 1851 he was returned to the congressman in 1842, and governor in United States Senate, where he opposed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise formation. He was Secretary of State and joined the Republican party on its under Grant from 1869 to 1877, signing, ington Treaty of 1871, and carrying as one of the commissioners, the Washthrough the settlement of the "Alabama" question. Died at Garrison, Putnam co., N. Y., Sept. 7, 1893. tary officer; born in New York City,
Fish NICHOLAS, an American mili- Aug
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
NICHOLAS, an American mili- Aug. 28, 1758, studied law; joined the Continental army and was an aide on the staff of John Morin Scott early in 1776; was promoted major of the 2d New York Regiment in November of that year; participated in the battles at Saratoga in 1777; led a corps of light Monmouth; and infantry in the battle of otherwise distinguished himself during the Revolutionary War. He was made adjutant-general of New York in 1786; supervisor of United States revenue in 1794, and president of the New York State Cincinnati Society in 1797. He died in New York City, June 20, 1833.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's placed fish at "the fourth and lowest station of the section Vertebrata" and endorsed Agassiz's division by scale type into cycloid, ctenoid, placoid and ganoid fishes; that classification is long gone, and so is the idea of Fishes as a single natural class. Under modern cladistic analysis "fish" is a convenience label rather than a group: a lungfish or a coelacanth is more closely related to a cow than to a salmon. The coelacanth itself, known in 1921 only as a fossil, was found alive off South Africa in 1938. Two other claims have been overturned in detail: the air bladder is now understood to be evolutionarily related to the tetrapod lung rather than something with "nothing to do with respiration," and the "feebly developed" sense of touch turns out to include the lateral line, a pressure-sensing system running along the flank, while modern work credits fish with far sharper hearing and with the capacity to feel pain.
Written for this edition, 2026.