278 BRITISH FRESH-WATER FISHES 



lump," and " various kinds of small fish." The significance of 

 the English name is, therefore, far from clear, but it may be 

 assumed with tolerable certainty to be unconnected with the 

 idea of odour, and the scientific name of the fish is only an 

 erudite pun. 



A remarkable fish, in more ways than one, is the smelt. 

 In habits it is essentially estuarine, at least in Great Britain, 

 frequenting only those rivers which enter the sea through long 

 tidal channels winding amid alluvial flats. Towards the 

 middle of March or beginning of April smelts ascend to the 

 limit of high-water mark, and deposit their ova in immense 

 quantities upon the gravel and stones just about where the 

 water ceases to be brackish. After that they descend to the 

 sea, but are believed not to go very far beyond the influence 

 of fresh water, reappearing in the estuaries in August or 

 September, and remaining there in shoals throughout the 

 winter. Smelts are abundant in suitable places on the coasts 

 both of Northern Europe and North America. Dr. Giinther 

 notes that in some districts, not in this country, this fish 

 severs itself permanently from the sea, ascending rivers into 

 lakes, and adopting an exclusively fresh-water habit. In doing 

 so, it suffers in size, owing to less abundant crustacean food ; 

 fresh-water smelts being a much smaller race than their 

 estuarine kin. The habit must be an ancient one, for smelts 

 are found in lakes which have no communication with the sea. 



In appearance the smelt is of delicate beauty ; although the 

 large mouth, strong teeth, and projecting lower jaw give the 

 head rather a rapacious expression ; which is, indeed, no mis- 

 leading guide to character, for this fairy-like fish is actively 

 predaceous, consuming enormous numbers of shrimps, eel-fry, 

 and small creatures in general. The body is covered with 

 scales of moderate size, sixty to sixty-two in a line from gill- 

 cover to caudal fin. The lateral line disappears after the first 

 eight or ten scales. The colour on the back varies from sea- 

 green to palest brown ; the sides are faintly tinged with yellow 



