BONITO FROM THE SOLWAY. 273 



and other marine forms life of some kind or other, which 

 must surely be worth notice. 



Amongst surface fish certainly must be included the 

 bonito. I have (thanks to numerous friends and cor- 

 respondents) now casts in my Museum at South Ken- 

 sington of two tunnys and two pelamids, but hitherto 

 no bonito. I was therefore highly delighted when Mr. 

 Searle appeared in my room (August 12, 1880) with a 

 bundle containing a true bonito. 



This rare fish w^as caught at Hawgill, on the Solway, 

 in the estuary of the Eden, in a haaf-net, and sent me 



BONITO (TJujnnuspelamis, Scomber lonito). 



by Mr. E. Aitchinson, of Annan. The fish is very 

 tunny-like in appearance ; total length, 2ft. ; weight, 

 6flbs. 



The peculiarity of the colouring is that it has four 

 dark blue stripes on either side. 



Scomber bonito {Thynnus pelamis) is abundant in the 

 Mediterranean and Atlantic. They catch large num- 

 bers of them when fishing for tunny ; they also fish for 

 them trailing as for mackerel. 



The best time for bonito fishing is from May to the 

 end of September, and the best bait the tail of an eel. 

 Bonitos are great enemies of sardines and flying-fish, 



19 



