ON THE ECONOMICAL USES OF FISHES. 197 



uncommon for a boat, with five men, to bring on 

 shore from five hundred-weight to two tons of this 

 fish, all taken in the course of a single night. It is 

 taken by lines, and the bait most successful is a 

 small fish. The llesh is not held in much esteem, 

 except by the lower classes, who make a virtue of 

 necessity, but this is probably in a great measure 

 owing to the unprepossessing appearance of the fish 

 itself. It is sometimes dried, and large quantities 

 are said to liave been exported to Spain and other 

 catholic coi^ntries. When dried in a particular raan- 

 nev, tlie flesh used formerly to be ground or grated 

 to powder, and in this state was em.ployed to thicken 

 soup. 



The sand-eel, Animodi/tes tohianiis^ and the sand- 

 launce, A. lancea^ which are both very abundant on 

 our sandy shores, are objects of great importance to 

 the fishermen, as furnishing a bait much in request 

 for taking many of the larger fishes. From their 

 habit of burrowing in the sand, they can easily be 

 procured at low- water by means of a rake of a pe- 

 culiar construction. We have seen the strong sickles 

 with teeth, that are used for cutting sea-weed, 

 employed with great success in scratching xvc) sand- 

 eels, which are also caught, according to Montagu, 

 in nets with remarkably small ir.eshes, when a shoal 

 is discovered at sea, and seven bushels have been 

 taken at a single haul. Though of such small size, 

 yet they are very delicate eating, and vast numbers 

 are consumed in summer by the natives of the 

 Hebrides 



