Chap. 5. 



FISHES OF VERMONT. 



14^ 



THE WHITE FISH. 



THE HERRING FAMILr. 



in fresh. Though not a constant visitant 

 in our waters, he occasionally makes his 

 appearance, and is sometimes taken in 

 lake Champlain in very considerable num- 

 bers. The form of this fish is long and 

 slender, and its bris'lit silvery hue ren- 

 ders it very beautiful. It is sometimes 

 taken with the iiook, but more commonly 

 with the net, and is very hiirlily esteemed 

 as an article of fond. In Massachusetts, 

 according to Dr. Storer's Report, 750,000 

 dozen of these fishes are taken annually 

 in Watertown alone, and sent to Boston 



market. 



Genus Coregonus. 

 Generic Characters. — Head small ; moutli 

 small and edenialf, nr furnished wiUi very small 

 teelh ; scales larse ; lenoih of the first dorsal fin 

 less than die heij'ht of its anterior portiim , second 

 dorsal adipose and without rays ; branchial rays 

 seven or eiylit. 



WHITE FISH, OR LAKE SHAD, 



Curegonii.s alius. — Le Sueur. 



Journal Aciidemy Nat. Pci., Phil., 1-332. 



Fauna Boreali .Amer , Fishes, page 195, fig. 



Boston Journal iNalural History, 111—477, pi. 28. 



Description. — Form ovate, slightly 

 taperinir towards the tail ; body deep and 

 thick ; head pointed, and with the mouth, 

 very small ; teeth in the-jaws few, and so 

 minute as scarcely to be perceptible to 

 the sight or touch in the recent specimen ; 

 color silvery, bluish gray on the back, 

 lighter on the sides, and pearly white on 

 the belly, with a delicate iridescent play 

 of colors throughout. Scales large, thin, 

 pearly and very deciduous, arranged in 

 about ;20 longitudinal rows, giving the 

 fish a slightly striped appearance; lateral 

 line very nearly straight ; fins small, 

 brownish, often tinged with red ; the dor- 

 sal mid-way between the snout and the 

 extremity of the tail ; the posterior rays 

 of the dorsal and anal fins much shorter 

 than the anterior, giving those fins a tri- 

 angular appearance ; adipose fin rather 

 large; caudal forked and spreading; a 

 long, slender bract above and partly be- 

 liind the ventral fins. Length of the 

 specimen before me, which is considerably 

 larger than the average size and very fat, 

 22 inches, depth 6, thickness 2j, and 

 weight 5..^ pounds. 



Rays, Br. 8, P. 15, V. 11, D. 14,— 0, A. 

 14, C. 19. 



History. — This fish, though the same 

 as the celebrated White Fish of the west- 

 ern and northwestern lakes, is generally 

 known in Vermont by the name of Lake 

 Shad. Its Indian name at the northwest 

 is Attihaimvcir. This fish is quite com- 

 mon in lake Champlain, and, in some 

 years, is taken in the months of May and 

 June in considerable quantities with the 

 seine. It is also found in many of the 

 small lakes, in Lower Canada, connected 

 with the St. Lawrence on the south side, 

 notwithstanding the assertion of Dr, Rich- 

 ardson * that it does not exist in the St. 

 Lawrence below the falls of Niagara. 

 This is universally considered a most ex- 

 cellent fish, and nearly all are disposed to 

 acquiesce in the opinion of Charlevoix, 

 that, " whether fresh, or salted, nothing 

 of the fisii kind can excel it ;" but ii;\\^ I 

 think, will agree with the Baron Lallon- 

 tau, who says that it should be eaten 

 without any kind of seasoning, because 

 " it has the singular property that all 

 kinds of sauce spoil it." In warm weath- 

 er this fish should be either cooked, or 

 salted, soon after it is taken, as it quickly 

 becomes soft and is spoiled. It is e,\cel- 

 lent either boiled or fried. The mode of 

 boiling at the northwest, according to Dr. 

 Richardson, is as follows: "After the fish 

 is cleansed, and the scales scraped off, it 

 is cut into several pieces, which are put 

 into a thin copper kettle, with water 

 enough to cover them, and placed over a 

 slow fire. As soon as the water is on the 

 point of boiling the kettle is taken off, 

 shook by a semi-circular motion of the 

 hand backwards and forwards, and re- 

 placed on the fire for a short time. If the 

 shaking be not attended tq exactly at the 

 proper moment, or be unskilfully per- 

 form(>d, the fish, coagulating too sudden- 

 ly, becomes comparatively dry to the 

 taste, and the soup is poor.'" The stom- 

 ach of this fish is remarkably thick, and 

 when cleansed and cooked is esteemed a 

 great luxury. Th'> White Fish is very 

 thick and fleshy, and on account of the 

 smallncss of the head, fins and intestines^ 

 the waste in dressing is less than in any 

 other fish. The greater part of those ta- 

 ken in lake Champlain are from 15 to 20- 

 inches in length, and weigh from 1 to 3 

 pounds, though smaller ones are often ta- 

 ken, and occasionally larger ones, weigh- 

 ing from 3 to (j pounds. They are usually 

 sold fresh as taken from the water, and' 

 the price varies from 6 to 10 cents a 

 pound. The White Fish seeius to subsist 

 principally upon small molluscous ani- 

 mals. I have sometiiues found more 



* Fnuna Boieali Americana, vol. Ill, page 196. 



