15 



naturally, as I have said, unwilling to save sea produce 

 which is worse than useless to them without a market. 

 This remark applies equally to enormous quantities of fish 

 which are captured constantly in ordinary trawling, and, 

 because they are strangers to the fishermen and will not 

 find a market, are thrown overboard as useless. It is not 

 quite germane to my subject, but if it were I could dilate 

 on scores of species of fish constantly taken in our seas, 

 excellent as food, and thrown overboard simply because, 

 being unknown, they would find no sale. If this Exhibition 

 can, as one only result, break down the arrangements which 

 keep good and cheap, but comparatively rare, fish out of 

 the public markets, and so cause the demand which can and 

 will create a supply, it will have conferred a very great 

 boon on the English public ; and I do not see why it should 

 not do it. I have never yet seen a fish that is unfit for food, 

 if in good condition at the time of its capture ; and in saying 

 this, I am saying much, for I have made it a rule to have 

 cooked the second specimen of any rare fish which I get. 

 The first is of course set up for some museum. 



There is another thing about our smaller crustaceans 

 which is worthy of notice. Some of our little crabs — and I 

 dare say more in other species than I have noticed — give 

 us notice in spring of the fish which we may expect in 

 autumn. For instance the occurrence in free numbers in 

 April of a small crab known, as the " masked " or " old 

 man " crab {Corystes cassivelannus) in particular localities 

 always assures us that about August we shall in the same 

 locality get an abundance of plaice, and soon after that 

 large red mullet. When I say large red mullet I speak of 

 fish weighing from 42 oz. (the heaviest ever recorded in 

 British seas, and taken in Mounts Bay) to 25 oz., and thence 

 to 16 oz. At this time these facts are to us coincidences, 



