THE SMELTS 



THIS delicious table fish is in its prime 

 in New England waters, not only in 

 flavor of flesh, but in numbers. Their 

 excellence as food is easily understood, 

 for they are close relatives to the salmon family, 

 having, like those fishes, a fatty or adipose fin 

 which is present on all species of smelt. 



Taking the world at large, the smelts consist 

 of about ten genera, and perhaps a dozen species, 

 all of which, however, are included in one family, 

 the Argentinidce ; the typical fish being the Eulachon 

 or candle-fish of the northwestern waters of the 

 Pacific, from Oregon to Alaska (inclusive), which 

 ascends streams in the spring in almost incredible 

 numbers. When eaten fresh from the water, it 

 is said to surpass in delicacy of flesh all other fish, 

 being far superior, in that respect, to any of the 

 salmon family. The flesh is extremely oily, but 

 the oil flavor is very attractive to the palate. So 

 great is this oily constituent, that it has a medical 

 and commercial, as well as a domestic value, 

 being not only used as a substitute for cod-liver 

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