CHAP. 26. (17.)—THE MULLET.
One singular propensity of the mullet[2398] 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 propensities[2400] 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.