Sunderland, Charles Spencer
fish florets rise
SUNDERLAND, CHARLES SPENCER, THIRD EARL Os' broad fringe of the trunk. Directly in front of it rise (1675-1722), was the second son of the second earl, but dorsal and anal fins, high and broad, similar to each other on the death of his elder brother at Paris, on 5th Septem- in size and triangular in form. The head is
completely ber 1688, he became the heir to the peerage. He was merged in the trunk, the boundary between them being born in 1675, and when twenty years old was sent to the indicated only by a very small and narrow gill-opening House of Commons by the two constituencies of Hedon and a comparatively small pectoral fin. This fin can be in Yorkshire and Tiverton in Devonshire. He chose the of but
little use in locomotion, and the horizontal and verlatter, and represented it until his succession to the earldom tical movements of the fish, as well as the maintenance of of Sunderland in 1702. Throughout this period of his life its body in a vertical position, are evidently executed by the powerful dorsal and anal fins. The small mouth, situ- the spreading neuter florets of the ray, has,
indeed, a ated in front of the head, is armed with an undivided marked resemblance to the sun as conventionally depicted. dental plate above and below, similar to but weaker than The florets are provided with two or three dry, sharply the teeth of the globe-fish (Diodon). pointed scales, which serve as pappus, and the whole Sun-fishes are truly pelagic, propagating their species in mass of
florets is encircled by a close involucre of leafy the open sea, and only occasionally approach the coast. bracts. There are numerous varieties of the common During the stormy season they live probably at some sunflower in cultivation, the so-called double form being depth, but in calm bright weather they rise and rest or one in which the ordinarily tubular florets in the centre play on the
surface with their dorsal fin high above the become spreading and " ligulate " like those at the circumwater. This habit has given rise to the popular name ference. The seeds, or more strictly speaking the fruits, " sun-fish," a term also sometimes applied to the basking- contain much oil, for which the plant is cultivated in shark (vol. xxi. p. 777), which in like manner enjoys the southern
Russia. The oil is used in the manufacture of warmth of a sunny day. In some years the rough sun-fish soap. The seeds are also valued for their agreeable is by no means scarce on the south coast of England and on flavour, and are much used as food for poultry, &c. The ' the Irish coasts, where it appears so-called "Jerusalem artichoke" (Ilelianthus tuberosus) principally in the
summer months. belongs to the same genus. It is believed to be a native The usual size is from 3 to 4 feet of Canada, or perhaps a modified form of II. doronicoides. in length, but this species attains The tubers are rich in inulin and sugar, and the plant to 7 feet and more. One of the deserves more attention at the hands of cultivators than it largest specimens (see the accom- has yet received.
The word "Jerusalem" is evidently a
corruption, while "artichoke" applies to the flavour of the tuber, which is not unlike that of the artichoke.
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