1 62 SMELT. 



anteriorly, and with several longitudinal series of smaller ones posteriorly. Pectoral fins moderately developed. 

 Pseudobranchise present, but rudimentary. Blind sac of the stomach of moderate length. Pyloric appendages very 

 short, in small number; ova small. Atlantic coasts of the temperate parts of Europe and North America; periodically 

 ascending rivers, and frequently permanent residents of fresh waters." — GOnther. 



THE Smelt or Sparling is, perhaps, one of the most delicate in flavour of all fish that 

 swim, whether In salt or fresh water. It is one of the few fishes which possess any 

 strong peculiar and decided flavour. Willughby's opinion is expressed in these words, — "Carne 

 est molle et friabile, sapore delicato, gratissimum violse odorem spirante." 



The Smelt is an inhabitant of fresh water from August to May. They spawn in March and 

 April, and about this time descend to the sea. Pennant, speaking of the peculiar odour, — which 

 some compare to the cucumber, others to violets, — says, "They have a very particular scent, 

 from whence is derived one of their English names, Smdt, i.e. smell it. That of Sparling, 

 which is used in Wales and the north of England, is taken from the French Epcrlan. There 

 is a wonderful disagreement in the opinion of people in respect to the scent of this fish ; 

 some assert it flavours of the violet; the Germans, for a very different reason, distinguish 

 it by the elegant title of Stink/isch.''* The derivation of the word Smelt is referred by 

 Johnston to the smelting of metals, in allusion to the transparency and delicacy of this fish ; 

 this is obviously wrong, for the name of the genus Osmcrus, as first used by Artedi, has 

 reference to the smell, from the Greek word oc7fj,7]pi]^ or oo-/x7;/309. Yarrell states that the Smelt, 

 as a British fish, appears to be almost exclusively confined to the eastern and western coasts 

 of Great Britain. The Smelt is abundant in Scotland, not so common in Ireland, where it 

 is local ; Couch says that no Smelts have been recognised along the shores of England 

 from the Thames westward to the Land's End. They formerly abounded in the Thames, 

 from Wandsworth to Putney Bridge, and from thence to the Suspension Bridge at Hammer- 

 smith from thirty to forty fishing-boats might have been seen working together many years 

 ago. Below Woolwich, where it is said they now alone appear in the Thames, the angler 

 would scarcely be inclined to go and try his luck among Smelt. 



Though the Smelt is a pearly and fragile-looking fish, it appears to be voracious in its 

 habits. A writer in La/id and Water found shrimps and small fish in quantities in their 

 stomachs. 



Dr. Giinther states that Smelts are frequently permanent residents of fresh waters. Ex- 

 periments have been occasionally made in this country to retain it in ponds, one of which, as 

 recorded by Yarrell, was attended with complete success. "Colonel Meynell, of Yarm, in 

 Yorkshire, kept Smelts for four years in a fresh-water pond, having no communication with 

 the sea: they continued to thrive, and propagated abundantly. They were not affected by 

 freezing, as the whole pond, which covered about three acres, was so frozen as to admit of 

 skating. When the pond was drawn, the fishermen of the Tees considered that they had 

 never seen a finer lot of Smelts. There was no loss of flavour or quality." — (ii. p. 131). I 

 do not know what further experiments have been made in this way, but I have often thought 

 that modern pisciculturists might profitably turn their attention to the cultivation of a fish of 

 such a peculiar and delicate flavour as the Smelt or Sparling. 



In some parts of Sweden, as we are informed by Nilsson, Smelts are found in lakes with 

 a sandy bottom all the year round. In the spring they leave the deep water and pass in 

 thousands to the shallower shores of the rivers, where they are caught in numbers. 



The finest Smelts I ever see come from the Conway, where they grow to the length of 

 ten or even twelve inches ; but the specimens usually exposed for sale in the fish-shops are 

 much smaller. The Smelt is found in the Tay, the Frith of. Forth, and the Ure on the 



* Pennant in a note says, "And not without reason, if we may depend on Linnaeus, who says there are two 

 varieties in the Baltic; the one which is called Nors, fxtidissinms, skrcaris instar, which in the early spring, when the 

 peasants come to buy it, fills all the streets of Upsal with the smell. He adds that at this season agues reign there." 



