THE BLUE-FISH. 



BY G. BROWN GOODE. 



THIS fish, which on the coast of New England and the 

 Middle States is called the Blue-fish, is also known in 

 Rhode Island as the "Horse Mackerel;" south of Cape 

 Hatteras as the "Skipjack;" in North Carolina, Virginia and 

 Maryland it is sometimes known as the "Green-fish." Young 

 Blue-fish are in some parts of New England called "Snapping 

 Mackerel," or "Snappers;" about New Bedford "Blue Snap- 

 pers;" to distinguish them from the Sea Bass, they are some- 

 times spoken of as the "Blue-fish." About New York they are 

 called "Skip Mackerel," and higher up the Hudson River 

 "White-fish." In the Gulf of Mexico the name "Blue-fish" 

 is in general use. 



Pomatomus Saltatrix is widely distributed in the Malay Ar- 

 chipelago, Australia, at the Cape of Good Hope, at Natal and 

 about Madagascar; in the Mediterranean, where it is a well- 

 known and highly-prized food-fish in the markets of Algiers, 

 though rare on the Italian side. It has been seen at Malta, 

 at Alexandria, along the coast of Syria, and about the Cana- 

 ries. It has never been seen on the Atlantic coast of Europe, 

 and, strangely enough, never in the waters of the Bermudas 

 or any of the Western Islands. On our coast it ranges from 

 Central Brazil and the Guianas through the Gulf of Mexico 

 and north to Nova Scotia, though never seen in the Bay of 

 Fundy. 



From Cape Florida to Penobscot Bay, Blue-fish are abun- 

 dant at all seasons when the temperature of the water is pro- 

 pitious. It is not yet known what limits of temperature are 



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