MACKEREL 



35(58 



MACKINAC ISLAND 



plentiful along the banks, the characteristic 

 animals being the moose, woodland caribou, 

 lynx, marten and porcupine. Farther north the 

 musk ox often appears. Among the birds are 

 the rough-legged hawk, northern shrike, pine 

 grosbeak and white-winged crossbill, all of 

 which keep well to the north ; farther south are 

 numerous warblers, the Canada jay, olive- 

 backed thrush, white-throated sparrow and sev- 

 eral varieties of woodpeckers. 



Taken as a whole, the Mackenzie basin is 

 one of the most interesting geographical units 

 of North America. For the present it is still 

 a paradise for the sportsman, or for the man 

 who craves adventure and outdoor life. It 

 includes mountains and plains, forests and bar- 

 ren lands; it has a great variety of animal 

 life, animals which tempt both the trapper and 

 the hunter. Many parts of it, especially the 

 great Peace River Valley, are suitable for 

 agriculture. In short, the Mackenzie basin is 

 the greatest part of the unexploited Canadian 

 Northwest. W.F.Z. 



MACKEREL, mak'erel, the name of a group 

 of fish found in the open seas of almost all 

 tropical and temperate zones. The common 

 mackerel is highly prized for food and easily 

 recognized by its coloring and by its perfect 



MACKEREL, 



proportions. It swims very swiftly, has great 

 power of endurance and seems to be always 

 in motion. In length this fish varies from ten 

 to eighteen inches, and in weight from one-half 

 to three pounds. It is an inhabitant of the 

 North Atlantic Ocean, ranging from Cape Hat- 

 teras to the Strait of Belle Isle, between New- 

 foundland and Labrador, on the American 

 coast, and in European waters from Norway to 

 the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas. This 

 fish is of varying blue and green, with wavy 

 black stripes on top, and of a silvery-white be- 

 low. When the clouds in the sky have a cer- 

 tain fleecy appearance, formed in zigzag paral- 

 lel rows, we call them mackerel or mackerel 

 back clouds, from their resemblance to the 

 markings on the backs of this fish. Two large 



fins are found on the dorsal side (back) of the 

 mackerel, two smaller ones on the ventral (un- 

 der) side, and five tiny finlets on both sides 

 just in front of the tail, which is large and 

 forked. The body is covered with small scales, 

 but there are none on the head. 



These fish travel near the surface of the sea 

 in schools, sometimes so large as to cover ten 

 square miles, and feed upon other small ocean 

 fish. Their spawning season on both coasts 

 extends from May to July, June being the most 



Water, 73.4 Protein, 18.3 Fat, 7.1 Ash, 12 



COMPOSITION OF THE MACKEREL 

 Its fuel value is 645 calories per pound, a little 

 greater than that of the majority of fishes. It 

 averages well with various cuts of veal as a heat 

 producer. 



important month. The deeper waters from 

 Long Island to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence are 

 the chief spawning grounds on the American 

 coast. Mackerel are caught in nets, which are 

 floated in the water hanging straight down. As 

 the fish cannot see the nets, the color of which 

 is almost that of the water, they dash head- 

 first into these traps, become entangled in the 

 meshes, and so are made captives. The catch 

 for the United States in average years is about 

 13,000,000 pounds, valued at -nearly a million 

 dollars, and that of Canada over 11,400,000 

 pounds, with a value approximating $650,000. 

 Gloucester, Mass., is the chief mackerel fishing 

 center in the former country (see FISH, sub- 

 title Deep-Sea Fisheries). The average food 

 value of one pound of fresh mackerel as a heat 

 producer is 645 calories, while that of the same 

 quantity of fresh beef loin is 615 calories 

 FOOD, subhead Chemistry of Foods) . G. 



MACKINAC, mak' i nak, or mak' i 

 ISLAND, a small island at the northwestern 

 end of Lake Huron, politically a part of Macki- 

 nac County, Michigan. It is now a popular 

 summer resort, but was formerly notable as one; 

 of the oldest white settlements in the New 

 World. About 1670 Count de Frontenac, 

 ernor of New France, caused the island to 

 settled. At that time it was called Michil 

 mackinac, an Algonquin word meaning place oj\ 

 the big lame person. Just what was the signifi-j 

 cance of this word is unknown. The J 

 missionary, Pere Marquette, established a 



