THE COMMON FISHES OF THE HEREING FAMILY. 



PLATES VII TO XII. 



HENRY C. TRACY, A. M. 



BROWN UNIVERSITY, PROVIDENCE, R. 



The fishes of the herring family common in Rhode Island waters 

 are the herring, the hickory shad, the ale^ife, the glut herring, the 

 shad, and the menhaden. The shad (Plate XI) and the menhaden 

 (Plate XII) are so well known as to require no description, but I 

 have found by conversations with fishermen and others that con- 

 siderable uncertainty exists as to the identity of some of the other 

 more closely related species. The reason why the herring is not 

 better known is doubtless due to the fact that its numbers in Rhode 

 Island waters are so small that its capture is of little importance. 

 The alewives are generally properly distinguished, but the fact that 

 there are two distinct species of them does not seem to be generally 

 known. This is due, probably, to the fact that the two species are 

 so very much alike that special care is necessary to separate them; 

 and as the market is good for both under the name " alewife, " there is 

 no necessity for distinguishing them. The following description of 

 these species is given in order to make clear the differences be- 

 tween them. 



The true herring (Plate VII), sometimes called the sea herring or 

 English herring, is probably the most important of all food fishes. It 

 ranges along the North Atlantic coasts of both Europe and America 

 in immense schools covering many square miles, and from which 

 are captured every year thousands of millions of fishes. Its south- 



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