THE SMELT. 155 



a curious peculiarity in the stomach, which enables 

 it to digest hard substances ; the stomach is more 

 capacious in proportion than that of other species, and 

 the coat is much thicker; but, according to the 

 anatomist Hunter, who specially examined it, and 

 Mr. Buckland, there is no true gizzard, as had been 

 alleged, and no essential difference in the formation of 

 the stomach, but the wide mouth and round form of 

 the fish give it a power of swallowing shell-fish and 

 gravel stones, which act in assisting the digestion and 

 may have given rise to the assertion that the fish had 

 a gizzard. 



THE SMELT. 



The Smelt or Sparling (Osmerus eperlanus), a 

 small fish which frequents the mouths of rivers, is of 

 a peculiar silvery appearance, and has the smell of a 

 cucumber ; it is much esteemed in Scotland. The 

 skin of this little fish, which is about 7 or 8 inches long, 

 is very transparent, so that the circulation of its blood 

 can even be perceived when examined through a 

 microscope. The tail is forked, and the scales are so 

 loosely attached that they easily drop off. The 

 Hebridal Smelt is another species mentioned by 

 writers. The Grayling (Thymallus umber ^ or Coregonus 

 thymallus) is a fish as beautiful to look upon as it is 



