CHAP. 26. (17.)—THE MULLET.
One singular propensity of the mullet2398 has afforded a subject for laughter;2399 when it is frightened, it hides its head, and fancies that the whole of its body is concealed. Their salacious propensities2400 render them so unguarded, that in Phœnicia and in the province of Gallia Narbonensis, at the time of coupling, a male, being taken from out of the preserves, is fastened to a long line, which is passed through his mouth and gills; he is then let go in the sea, after which he is drawn back again by the line, upon which the females will follow him to the very water’s edge; and so, on the other hand, the male will follow the female, during the spawning season.