PISCES. 21 1 



ot time. Even at sea many are salted down, and sold in this state. This 

 is called by the French sakr en vrac. To keep them longer than is per- 

 mitted by this method, two other ways are made use of: they are called 

 white-salting and red-salting {saler en hlanc and saurer). To white-salt 

 herring, they are gutted on being caught, and packed in barrels, with a 

 thick brine poured over them. They are there retained, until it is conve- 

 nient to give them a final packing. After the bustle of the fishing is over, 

 the smacks or busses run in and discharge their cargoes, when the barrels 

 are inspected, and the fish sorted under the inspection of official authorities. 

 They are then repacked with fresh lime and salt, and the particular 

 quality marked on the barrel by the brand of an inspector. The red-salting 

 is effected by allowing fat herrings to lie for a considerable time in the 

 brine, then arranging them on hurdles, and placing them in ovens holding 

 from ten to twelve thousand, for the purpose of being dried and smoked. 

 The invention of pickling, as applied to herring, has been ascribed to Wilhelm 

 Boekelson, or Beukelson, a fisherman of Viervliet in the province of Zealand 

 (about 1440) : he, however, only improved an art known before his time. 

 The Emperor Charles V. eat a herring over his grave, in thankful acknow- 

 ledgment of his worth, and erected a monument to his honor in 1556. 



Several species of herring are caught in vast numbers on the coast and 

 in the Atlantic rivers of the United States. The principal of these is the 

 Clupea elongata, the representative of C. harengus. Besides Alosa sapi- 

 dissima, or shad, already mentioned, Alosa tyrannus and A. menhaden are 

 of economical value, the former as an article offood, the latter for manure. 

 Immense numbers are taken and spread on poor lands, to which they impart 

 a fertility not inferior to that produced by guano. 



Salmonid^e. The Salmonidce, or trout family, agree with the Clupeidce 

 in the structure of the upper jaw, and are most prominently distinguished 

 by the presence of an adipose dorsal, a small fatty fin behind the true dorsal, 

 near the tail. The intestinal canal is provided with numerous coeca. The 

 scales are more or less conspicuous. All the bones of the mouth are fur- 

 nished with teeth, as is also the tongue. The branchiostegal rays are about 

 ten in number. 



The entire family is eminent for delicacy of flesh, and for the possession 

 of those game qualities so dear to the angler. Species are spread over the 

 more northern regions of America, Europe, and Asia ; although the number 

 of such is greater in North America than anywhere else. The principal 

 genera are : Salmo, Thymallus, Osmerus, Mallotus, and Coregonus. Con- 

 spicuous among the species of Salmo, is <S. salar, or the true salmon, found 

 on the northern shores of both Europe and America. It attains to a great 

 size, an individual of 8 libs, having been taken in England. The largest 

 American specimens do not exceed 50lbs., the usual weight being consider- 

 ably less. Salmon w^ere formerly caught in large numbers in the Connec- 

 ticut river, but at the present day few are taken south of the Kennebec 

 river in Maine. PI. 82, jig. 7, represents Salmo fario, a species very 

 abundant in Europe, especially in England. Its maximum size is about 

 25lbs., although a weight of a few pounds is nearer the average standard. 



415 



