THE HERRING FAMILY. 399 



at Bournemouth 1 and Ventnor; and I believe it occurs 

 at irregular intervals in the herring-nets of the North Sea. 

 It spawns in July and August. 



Connected by many honest fishmongers with the salmon, 

 a parallel case with those of the atherine and lemon-dab, 

 the Shad certainly resembles that fish in its 

 ' anadromous tendencies, as it invariably enters 

 some rivers, the Thames and Severn among them, to 

 spawn. It grows to a weight of at least 8 Ibs. ; and its 

 colour is pale-green, shading to silver on the belly, and 

 having a dark-green spot at the shoulder, as well as some 

 smaller dark spots on the sides. The edge of the belly 

 is serrated like that of the sprat. There is a transparent 

 eyelid ; the teeth are small and the gill-rakers very numer- 

 ous. The shad feeds on small fishes, crustaceans (Cunning- 

 ham), and vegetable substances (Seeley), and is occasion- 

 ally hooked off Deal. It spawns in May and June. 



The Twaite Shad is a smaller fish of similar habits. Its 



tTwaite weight has not been known to exceed 2 Ibs. 



Shad. This species has the gill -rakers shorter and 



fewer than in the last. The spots on the body are also as 



a rule more numerous. 



Chiefly known in this country in the preserved state, 

 the delicate little Anchovy is thought to occur in autumn, 

 sometimes in considerable numbers, on most 

 parts of our coast, particularly down in the 

 west. Whether its abundance is at any time sufficient to 

 warrant a regular fishery has not yet been determined. 

 Custom rules strong in these matters, and it is not prob- 

 able that the fishermen would turn their attention to a 

 hitherto neglected fish without very good reasons. This 

 is the smallest member of the family, and in colour it is, 



1 The fish commonly known at Bournemouth as the pilchard is the 

 scad! 



