AND THE FISH THEREOF. 85 



Giglioli as having been caught near Spalato ; this appears to be the first 

 notice of this species in Mediterranean waters. 



Of the Herring tribe {Clupeida) the more important northern forms, such 

 as the Herring, Sprat, and Whitebait (fry of the Herring), are not met with 

 in these waters ; but the kindred species, Pilchard, or Sardine, and Clupea 

 papal ina, commonly called Papal ina, a Mediterranean species, and the 

 Anchovy {Engraulis encrasicJiolus) are the representative species of this 

 tribe, and form the chief staples of these fisheries. 



The Anchovy is common all over the Adriatic, from May to September, 

 and seldom occurs further north ; Clupea aurita has occasionally been 

 observed on the coast of Dalmatia, and is generally mistaken for the 

 common Sardine, though its flesh is far inferior : the Papal ina occurs under 

 the same conditions, and is as much esteemed as the common Sardine. It 

 attains a length of 4 inches. This species is not described- by the learned 

 ichthyologist Dr. Giinther, his nearest description as applying to it being that 

 of C. aurita, as synonymous with C. phalerica (Risso), which latter Canestrini, 

 on his part, renders as synonymous with C. papalina (Bp.). Dr. de 

 Marchesetti has been good enough to point out the difference between the 

 illustration of Valencienne and the description of Giinther, on the one hand, 

 and the C. papalina, as known here, on the other hand (see Systematic 

 List of Fishes, No. 322). 



The Sardine is common all over the Adriatic from May to October, and 

 is eaten fresh, salted, smoked, and preserved in oil, like the " Sardines de 

 Nantes." Risso made the observation at Nice that only every fifth year 

 was a good year for the Sardine fisheries on those coasts. Here, the fisher- 

 men consider themselves lucky if every fourth or fifth year prove a good one, 

 but in some places a really good season is not known for seven, twelve, or 

 fourteen years, the same being the case in respect of mackerel. The salting 

 is carried on chiefly on the west coast of I stria, on the coast of Dalmatia 

 (Ragusa), and the Dalmatian islands, the produce of Rovigno (Istria) and 

 the island of Lissa being especially renowned. 1 



1 See methods of curing and cooking fish. 



