The Mackerel. 



453 



THE MACKEKEL, (Scomber Scomber,) 



Is taken and well known in all parts of the world. It is 

 usually about a foot or more in length ; the body is thick, 

 firm, and fleshy, slender towards the tail ; the snout sharp, 

 the tail forked, the back of a lovely green* beautifully 

 variegated, or, as it were, painted with black strokes ; 

 the under part of the body is of a silvery colour, reflect- 

 ing, as well as the sides, the most elegant tints of the 

 opal and the mother-of-pearl. Nothing can be more in- 

 teresting and pleasing to the eye than to see Mackerel, 

 just caught, brought on shore by the fishermen, and 

 spread, with all their radiancy, upon the pebbles of the 

 beach, at the first rays of the rising sun ; but when 

 taken out of their element, they quickly die. 



Mackerel visit our shores in vast shoals ; but, from 

 being very tender and unfit for long carriage, they are 

 found less useful than other gregarious fish. The usual 

 bait is a bit of red cloth, or a piece of the tail of the 

 Mackerel. The great fishery for them is in some parts 

 of the south and west coasts of England : this is of such 

 an extent as to employ in the whole, a capital of nearly 



