104 ACANTHOPTERYGII. M^NADiE. 



in ancient times. They frequent the shallows of 

 the shore, especially where the bottom is muddy 

 and weedy ; hiding among the marine vegetation, 

 like birds among the bushes, and preying upon 

 small fishes, and the feebler Crustacea and mol- 

 lusca. One species, the commonest of all {Smarts 

 vulgaris, Cuv.), abounds so much at Ivica, one of 

 the Balearic Isles, that according to M. de La- 

 roche, it forms more than half of the whole pro- 

 duce of the fisheries of that island. It bears here 

 the name of jarret. Rondelet tells us that after 

 having been salted, the Picarel is exposed to the 

 action of the air, to make a sort of garum, or 

 sauce. It has been supposed that the appellation 

 of Picarel, was derived from picoter, to prick or 

 stimulate, alluding to the pungent taste of the 

 sauce so prepared. But M. Duhamel denies the 

 correctness of this ; for, according to the observa- 

 tions of a correspondent of his, from Antibes, the 

 Picarel is here confounded with a small species 

 of the Herring genus, called there pyraie. He 

 asserts that it is this fish, and not the true Picarel, 

 which is made into sauce. 



The most beautiful species of the genus is 

 that called by the fishermen of Nice, the King- 

 fisher of the Sea {Smaris alcedo, Cuv.), in allu- 

 sion to its brilliant tints. This lovely little fish 

 does not commonly exceed seven inches in length. 

 The upper parts are grey with golden reflections ; 

 the sides are silvery ; the belly tinged with yel- 

 lowish-green. The head and the gill-covers are 

 marked with blue dashes ; the sides are orna- 

 mented with four longitudinal lines of spots, of 

 the most radiant ultramarine blue ; and on the 

 belly there are six similar rows of a paler tint. 



