132 SALT-WATER FISHES 



At times the mackerel feeds close to the surface ; at other times 

 in mid-water (by which is meant anywhere tolerably distant 

 from both the surface and bed of the sea) ; and still later in 

 the year the mackerel are busy feeding at the bottom. Two 

 distinct styles of food appear to suit the fish in its various 

 moods. In the one case it filters the water through its gill- 

 rakers, just as the herrings and pilchards do, sucking in and 

 retaining the minute copepoda, larval molluscs, or olive weed- 

 spores (Melanospermeti) ; in the other it chases young sand- 

 eels, rocklings, and pilchards. At the spawning time the 

 females, at any rate, do not seek food, and even the males 

 display some indifference in the matter of eating, with the 

 result that just at that season mackerel are caught almost 

 entirely in the nets, and rarely take a bait. Mr. Cunningham 

 satisfies himself that this accounts for the refusal of the fish 

 to take a bait in early spring, and the " blindness " conse- 

 quently alleged by the fishermen, who aver that the fish do 

 not take the bait because they are unable to see it. Without 

 desiring to offer any opinion with reference to this alleged 

 blindness in spring mackerel, it yet seems right that I should 

 add that several generally reliable Cornish fishermen have given 

 more positive evidence in support of their belief, and have 

 carefully described the filmy appearance of the eye at that 

 season. 



The spawning takes place, in the Channel, in the summer 

 months, and the eggs, of which a large female will contain 

 about half a million, float separately in the water, and are 

 rather larger than those of the cod. According to Holt, the 

 larva of the mackerel closely resembles that of the bull-heads, a 

 similarity which may, according to Mcintosh, indicate ancestral 

 affinities. This, however, he regards as mere conjecture. 

 The growth of young mackerel has not been very closely or 

 satisfactorily studied. Matthias Dunn used to describe year- 

 old mackerel of about 3 in. in length in the bays around 

 Mevagissey during the month of September each year, and 



