THE BLUNT-NOSED SHINER. 323 



similar and dissimilar, it seems the most suitable for general adoption. The fish is found every- 

 where throughout the West Indies, as well as iu Northern Brazil and in the Gulf of Guinea, the 

 Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of California, and southward along the coast to Panama, but has not 

 been found in Europe. In Eastern Florida it is not very unusual, being frequently taken in the 

 Lower Saint John's, and sometimes driven up as far as Jacksonville by easterly storms. Here and 

 in the Indian Eiver it is known as the "Mooufish." It is a fivqueut summer visitor all along the 

 coast as far north as Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, where it lias a peculiar name, the people there 

 calling it the "Hump-backed Butterfish." The species attains the length <>1' ten or twelve inches, 

 and is esteemed an excellent article of food. Considerable lumbers are brought yearly to New 

 York, but elsewhere it rarely appears in the markets. Young from three inches iu length 

 upwards are found, but we have no definite knowledge as to its breeding habits. 



THE SILVER MOON-FISHSELENE ARGENTEA. 



This species is almost certain to be confused by fishermen with the one last described, which 

 it resembles and is often spoken of under the same names. It occurs abundantly on our coast as 

 far north as Wood's Holl, and is found in the West Indies, iu Brazil, and in the Gulf of Mexico, 

 as well as in the Pacific, from the Gulf of California to Panama. 



The young of the Silver Moon-fish is abundant in our waters, and has been frequently taken 

 in Massachusetts Bay, and, in one or two instances, as far north as Halifax, Nova Scotia. Their 

 bodies are so thin that they can be dried in the sun without the use of any preservatives, without 

 loss of form and color. They are, consequently, of no importance for food. In the Chesapeake 

 this fish is often called by the names "Horse-head" and "Look-down." 



103. THE CAVALLY, THE SCAD, AND THE JURELS. 

 THE CAVALLY CAEANX HIPPOS. 



The Cavally of the Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Florida the "Horse CrevaHe"" of South Caro- 

 lina occurs abundantly on our Southern coast, and has been recorded by Professor Poey from 

 Cuba and by Cope from St. Christopher and St. Croix. It is generally distributed throughout the 

 West Indies, and is found along the Pacific coast from the Gulf of California to Panama. The 

 species was originally described from specimens sent from South Carolina by Garden to Linnaeus. 

 The name of this fish is usually written and printed " Crevalle"," but the form in common use among- 

 the fishermen of the South, "Cavally," is nearer to the Spanish and Portuguese names, Cavalha 

 and Caballa, meaning " horse." The name as used in South Carolina is a curious reduplication,, 

 being a combination of the English and Spanish namesfor " horse." It should be carefully remem- 

 bered that in South Carolina the name Crevalle" is most generally applied to quite another fish, the 

 Pouipano. 



The Cavally, as it seems most appropriate to call Garanx hippos, though in individual cases 

 occurring as far north as Cape Cod, and even, iu one instance, at Lynn, Massachusetts, is not 

 commonly known in the United States north of Florida. Storer remarks: "This fish is so- 

 seldom seen in the waters of South Carolina that we are unacquainted with its habits." I 

 observed a specimen in the Jacksonville market in April, 1874. Concerning the Cavally of 

 Southern Florida, which is either this or a closely allied species, Mr. H. S. Williams writes: 



"In the Indian Eiyer this is one of the best of the larger varieties. Its season is from the 1st 

 of May to November. It ranges in weight from three to twenty pounds, being larger and more 

 numerous to the southward toward the Mosquito Inlet. The south end of Merritt's Island and 

 the inlets opposite old Fort Capron seem to be a sort of headquarters for the Cavalli. When in 



