454 Fishes. 



two hundred thousand pounds. The fishermen go out to 

 the distance of several leagues from the shore, and stretch 

 their nets, which are sometimes miles in extent, across 

 the tide during the night. A single boat has been known 

 to bring in, after one night's fishing, a cargo that has 

 been sold for nearly seventy pounds. The roes of the 

 Mackerel are used in the Mediterranean for caviar. In 

 Cornwall, and also in several parts of the continent, 

 Mackerel are preserved by pickling and salting ; and in 

 this state possess a flavour somewhat like that of the 

 salmon. Their voracity has scarcely any bounds ; and 

 when they get among a shoal of herrings, they will make 

 such havoc as frequently to drive it away. Mackerel 

 are in season from March to June. 



THE GAR-FISH, (Belone vulgaris,) 



OF which the figure above is an exact representation, is 

 of a very extraordinary form. The body, in shape and 

 colour, is not unlike that of a mackerel, but is much more 

 elongated, and the jaws are protracted into a kind of 

 lance, nearly half as long as the rest of the body. It is 

 vulgarly supposed that this fish leads the phalanxes of 

 mackerel through the regions of the deep ; and, like a 

 faithful and experienced pilot, traces their journey, points 

 out their dangers, and conducts them to their destina- 

 tion. A curious singularity of this creature is, that its 

 bones are of a bright green colour ; the flesh is not so 

 firm nor of so good a flavour as that of the mackerel, 

 but it sells pretty well whenever it comes to market. 



