SEYMOUR SHAD. 



481 



of tlie American Oriental Society. Some of his last 

 labors were concerned with the interpretation of the 

 hieroglyphs on the obelisk in Central Park, New 

 York, erected there in 1881 by Commodore Gorringe 

 through the munificence of Mr. Wm. H. Vander- 

 bilt, 



In the winter of 1881-82 Seyffarth, then in his 

 86th year, delivered a lecture on this subject in a 

 public hall, speaking for nearly three hours. This 

 excessive exertion, nndertaken against the advice of 

 his friends, caused tlie bursting of a blood-vessel in 

 his brain. This misfortune incapacitated the aged 

 scholar for all work and soon deprived him of many 

 of the normal faculties. To this was added rapid 

 deterioration of his eyesight, so that during the last 

 three years of his life he was a physical wreck. He 

 died in New York, Nov. 17, 1885, and was buried in 

 the Lutheran cemetery on Long Island. The words 

 chosen by himself for his epitaph from Horace are 

 characteristic : 



MuUa fecit tulitqua puer, sudarit el alsit. 



(E. o. 8.) 



SEYMOUR, HORATIO (1810-1886), twice governor 

 of New York, was born, May 31, 1810, in Pompry 

 township, Onondaga Co., N. Y. His father, Henry 

 Seymour, had moved thither from Litchfield, Conn., 

 as one of the earliest settlers. His childhood was 

 spent in Utica, and he was educated at Geneva Col- 

 lege and at Capt. Partridge's military school. In 

 1832 he was admitted to the bar, and, as his father 

 had belonged to the "Albany 

 Regency," he was soon active as 

 a Democratic politician. Besides 

 the estate he inherited, he ob- 

 tained a large fortune by his 

 marriage to Miss Mary Bleecker. 

 He was elected to the State As- 

 sembly in 1841, and in the next 

 year was mayor of Utica. Re- 

 turning to the legislature, he 

 was elected speaker in 1845 as 

 candidate of the " Hunker " fac- 

 tion. In 1850 he was Democratic^ 

 candidate for governor, but was 

 defeated by Washington Hunt, 

 the Whig competitor. In 1852, 

 however, he overcame Hunt for 

 the same position, but having 

 during his term vetoed a prohib- 

 itory liquor law, he was in 1854 

 defeated by the Whig candidate, 

 M. H. Clark, -whom the Prohibi- 

 tionists hail indorsed. Seymour 

 was influential in the councils of the Democratic 

 party during the years preceding the civil war, al- 

 ways urging a policy of overtures and concessions to 

 the South. When war was begun he was active in 

 sending New York troops to the conflict, and soon 

 after he was elected governor, in 1862, was thanked 

 by Secretary Stanton for his services. But soon the 

 more vigorous war measures of the national adminis- 

 tration encountered his opposition. In New York 

 City, when troops were drafted in July, 1863, a riot 

 broke out, and the mob drove off the Federal offi- 

 cers, overpowered the city authorities, killed some 

 negroes, and destroyed much valuable property. 

 Gov. Seymour endeavored to allay the passion of the 

 mob, and made some effort to enforce order, but the 

 riot was only quelled by the arrival of veteran troops 

 from Washington. In 1864 Seymour was president 

 of the Democratic National Convention at Chicago, 

 which declared the war a failure, but he was defeat- 

 ed for re-election as governor in November of that 

 year. He presided also in the next Democratic con- 

 vention in New York City in 1868, and was eventually 

 nominated by it for the presidency ; but though his 



\ ticket obtained over 2,709,000 popular votes, in the 

 electoral college he received but 80 votes, and Gen. 

 : Grant was elected by 214. He declined thereafter 

 | to be a candidate for office, but. owing to his wealth, 

 culture, and genial manners, still exerted powerful 

 I political influence. He was also active in the pro- 

 | motion of agriculture, education, and philanthropy. 

 He was president of the National Dairymen's Asso- 

 ciation, and delivered many valuable historical ad- 

 dresses. He died at Utica, Feb. 12, 1886. 



His uncle, HOBATIO SEYMOUR (1778-1857), was 

 born at Litchfield, Conn., May 31, 1778, being son 

 of a Revolutionary soldier. After graduating at 

 Yale College and studying law, he removed to Ver- 

 mont and settled at Middlebury in 1799. He was a 

 member of the council, 1809-17, U. S. senator, 1821- 

 33, and in 1847 was made judge of probate. He 

 died at Middlebury, Nov. 21, 1857. 



SHAD. The fish commonly known by this name 



is a member of the Chipeid(p, or herring 



^ e6 '-o V X ^-c3 f anj ily> an d is classed by the more re- 



Am'~Rep ) ' cen ' 1 wl 'iters in Clvpea, the herring 



genus, though for many years past it 



has been separated as a distinct genus, Alusa, on ac- 



1 count of certain peculiarities of form. The herrings 



have the body scaled, the head naked, are destitute 



; of barbels, and of the adipose fin of the Sulmonida*, 



though they have many points of analogy to tho lat- 



! ter. The shad is distinguished from the herrings by 



i having a deep notch in the middle of the upper jaw, 



1 and by the lack of teeth on the tongue and roof of 



The American Shad. 



the mouth. The teeth are sir all and deciduous, 

 occurring in the jaws only ; the air-bladder is sim- 

 ple, oj>ening from the stomnch. There are, in all, 

 over 20 species, of which the only ones of much 

 commercial importance are Clnpea (Alofa) scipitlis- 

 sima, the American shad, and C. Reerfsii, the Chi- 

 nese shad, a highly esteemed food-fish of China. 

 Them are two common European species, C. vulgaris, 

 which is found in all the principal rivers, but is lit- 

 tle esteemed as food, and C. fita, with which the 

 American shad was formerly thought identical, but 

 which has little commercial value. 



The American shad, on the contrary, is one of the 

 choicest and most esteemed of food-fishes, and 

 ranks highest, in the estimation of many, among 

 American fish. It is about 20 inches in extreme 

 length, and averages about 4 Ibs. weight, ranging 

 from 2 to 6 Ibs. The maximum weight at present is 

 about 8 Ibs., though shad were formerly caught of 

 from 12 to 14 Ibs. weight. Overfishing has caused 

 a steady reduction in size and numbers. Thisspeciea 

 is of a bluish hue on the back, shading into a cop- 

 pery color on the upper and a silvery hue on the 



