THE PILCHARD. 251 



A better proof could scarcely be adduced, as the same 

 nets are used in many instances for both purposes. 

 The southern range of this species is confirmed by the 

 fact that the pilchard is found at Brest, Rochelle, 

 Bordeaux, Malaga, and along the coasts of Spain and 

 Portugal ; it is found also on the northern shore of 

 the Mediterranean Sea, about some of its many islands, 

 and also at Algeria. 



The natural history of the pilchard in Cornwall, 

 has been very fully detailed by Mr. Jonathan Couch, 

 in an Essay written by him for the Royal Cornwall 

 Polytechnic Society ; and to this Essay our pages, on 

 this subject, will be indebted for various particulars. 



" On the coast of Cornwall the pilchards are found 

 through all the seasons of the year, although their 

 habits undergo variation in different months. In 

 January, they keep near the bottom, and would 

 scarcely be seen, were they not found in the stomachs 

 of fishes taken with a line. In February, they have 

 been known to assemble in considerable shoals. In 

 March they are frequently more abundant ; but this 

 union in the spring is partial, and not permanent, 

 so that they are not taken in considerable numbers 

 until July, when the ordinary fishing with drift-nets 

 begins. 



" In the season of the fishery," Mr. Couch observes, 

 " the Cornish coasts manifest extraordinary activity 

 and with reason for no other employment diffuses its 



Fishing with seans begins in August ; and from 

 that time to the end of the year, pilchards are found 



