ATHERINE. 



231 



tants and visitors during the winter months. They possess a 

 little of the cucumber smell and flavour of the true Smelt ; 

 and as they are very pretty in appearance, from the fine broad 

 silver stripe along the side, they look attractive as arranged 

 by the fishmongers in their shops, and obtain a ready sale. 



The net used for taking them is made of fine thread-like 

 twine, the mesh of course very small : the net is thirty yards 

 long, and about eighteen feet deep. It is drawn along near 

 the edge of the water, by two parties ; one of which in a boat, 

 having the head and ground-line of the seaward end of the 

 net, row gently on ; the other party on the shore, at or near 

 the edge of the water, advance in a line with the boat, hold- 

 ing and drawing on their end of the net, and thus sweep the 

 circle of the bays and sandy shores. For those caught for 

 the supply of Brighton market I have seen the fishermen 

 going westward, probably to the sandy shore of Shoreham 

 or Worthing. T have also seen this mode of taking Athe- 

 rine adopted in the bay close to the sea-houses near East- 

 bourne. 



Another method is practised in Portsmouth harbour. 

 The fishermen use a concave circular net suspended from an 

 iron ring of four feet diameter, kept horizontal by a three-slip 

 bridle. The net is lowered steadily in eight feet water, 

 among the timber floating on the side of the harbour nearest 

 the dock-yard. Pounded crabs sprinkled over the net as bait 

 is the attraction ; and the net is occasionally raised to the 

 surface. In this way five or six dozen are obtained during 

 the flood-tide. 



I have not been able to learn that this fish is taken any- 

 where on the eastern coast of England ; but it does occur, 

 occasionally, on the east coast of the southern part of Scot- 

 land. Dr. Neill states, in vol. i. of the Wernerian Trans- 

 actions, that he has frequently found the Atherine washed 

 ashore about Figget Whins, in the Frith of Forth, after 



