GEN. CARANX. THE HORSE MACKEREL. 211 



*' Tliey possess a portion of the flavour of the Macke- 

 rel, but are not so fine." In Scotland these fish are 

 not often seen : in the Firth of Forth, during some 

 years, scarcely one being procured, whilst in others 

 a dozen or two may be obtained ; they are occa- 

 sionally taken in the Tay, in Berwick Bay, and off 

 Yarmouth. On the eastern and southern shores of 

 Ireland they are more common, and in the west and 

 south of Britain they abound. Mr. Couch remarks, 

 " The Scad regularly visits the coasts of Cornwall 

 and Devonshire, commonly in scattered quantities, 

 but occasionally in considerable achulls, pronounced 

 •Schools, in the district. They are not abundant 

 l>efore the warmer months of the year, after which 

 some may be found on board of every fishing-boat. 

 Tlie usual habit of the fish is to keep near the 

 ground ; but when they assemble in pursuit of some 

 favourite food, as they sometimes do in immense 

 imultitudes, they become so eager as to thrust each 

 other in heaps on the land." *' In July 1834, great 

 shoals," as reported by Mr. Bicheno to Mr. Yarrell, 

 " visited the coast of Glamorganshire. They were 

 first observed in the evening ; and the whole sea, 

 •as far as we could command it with the eye, seemed 

 in a state of fermentation with their numbers. Those 

 'who stood on some projecting rock had only to dip 

 iheir hand into the water, and with a sudden jerk 

 they might throw up three or four. J'he bathers 

 felt them come against their bodies ; and the sea, 

 looked on from above, appeared a dark mass of 

 fish. Every net was immediately put into requisi- 



