THE FISHES OF NEW JERSEY. 97 
whitish. Dorsal inserted nearer tip of snout than base of caudal. 
Anal low, well behind dorsal. Caudal forked, and lower lobe a 
little longer. Pectoral about 34 of space to ventral. Ventral 
behind dorsal, and reaching a little over % of space to anal. 
Color bluish-silvery, becoming white below. Indistinct darker 
stripes along rows of scales. A blackish blotch behind opercle. 
Fins pale, dorsal and caudal tinted with dusky. <A breeding 
male 12 inches long. Great Egg Harbor River at May’s Land- 
ing. A little larger females with same data show depth 3, oper- 
cular emargination deeper, and longer pectoral. 
Abundant and ascending the fresh-water.streams in the spring. 
Rarely if ever taken on the hook about Cape May. I found 
small examples at Cape May early in May. Other species may 
occur there, but as yet I have not noted them. In the tide-water 
of the Great Egg Harbor they are abundant, during the spring 
run, to May’s Landing. They do not begin to run much before 
April. They are retailed for about 15 cents a dozen, and when 
fresh are good eating, and of fine flavor. The males are smaller 
and less deeper than the females, though equally numerous. The 
rounded or deep belly of the female seems to have suggested the 
name alewife for this species. 
They were formerly exceedingly abundant in the Delaware 
during the spring run. Wagon-loads have been hauled ashore, 
and on account of not having been disposed of otherwise, have 
been used as fertilizers. As a fertilizer, after a year’s decomposi- 
tion they prove excellent, especially for the vine, etc. The usual 
process in this conversion was burial, though if they were dug 
out of the ground too soon sometimes certain larve or worms 
would appear, which were very disastrous to the trucker or 
lettuce-grower. ‘These fish are not now taken in such numbers, 
and as the demand for them does not appear to be so great, a 
number of the old seines do not run any more. They have been 
taken as early as February by dip-net fishermen, and frequently 
occur in the river during March. 
Clupea pseudoharengus Wilson, Cyclop. Art. S. L. Rees, Am. 
Ed., IX, 1802-19, no pagination.—Moore, Bull. U. S. F. Com., 
XII, 1892, p. 359.—Smith, Bull. U. S.-F. Com., XII, 1892, p. 
368. 
7 MU 
