The Smelt, 



471 



of was one caught in the Severn, and weighed five 

 pounds. 



Ancient writers strongly recommended this fish as 

 food for sick persons, as they considered it peculiarly 

 wholesome and easy of digestion. 



THE SMELT, OR SPARLING. (Osmerus eperlanus.) 



THIS fish is in length about eight or nine inches, and 

 nearly one in breadth; the body is of a light olive green, 

 inclining to silver white. The smell, when the fish is 

 fresh and raw, is not unlike that of ripe cucumbers, but 

 it goes off in the frying-pan, and the Smelt then yields a 

 tender and most delicious food. Smelts are sea-fish, and 

 inhabit the sea-coast and harbours ; but they are often 

 taken in the Thames, the Medway, and other large rivers, 

 which they ascend in the spawning season. The skin of 

 this fish is so transparent, that with the help of a micro- 

 scope, its blood may be seen to circulate. 



Smelts are found on the coasts of all the northern coun- 

 tries of Europe, and also in the Mediterranean. They 

 vary considerably in size. Mr. Pennant states that the 

 largest he had ever heard of measured thirteen inches in 

 length, and weighed half a pound. 



