An Odd Fish

In the Pacific ocean, among the islands of Santa Barbara and In the seas of California, a queer fish spends a lazy life, fioating on the surface for the most of the time, and basking ia the sunshine, with part of his body out of the water. It is called the "molamola" by the natives, and the "mole" or "moon" fish by the whites. Unlike other fish, it has no tail in the proper sense of the word, only a kind of fi-inge acting as a rudder. It U sometimes over ten feet across the flns, and round as a bladder. Strange to say, it serves as a floating island for large numbers of sea-birds, especialiy gulls and connorants, to rest upon and preen their plumage. When chased, the indolent moon-fish dives like a duck, to reappear at a distance. Nevertheless, it would be easily caught, were the flsh good to eat, but its toughness renders it only fit to dry in the sun as a substitute for India-rubber balls.