VI.] 



THE HERRING FAMILY. 



245 



however, considered to be so utterly repugnant to their privi- 

 leges and feelings, that not a single herring had ever since 

 visited that part of the shore ! 



The most prominent members of the Clupedice are the 

 common herring (Clupea harengus) ; the sprat, or garvie (Clnpca 

 sprattus) ; and the pilchard, or gipsy herring (Clupea pUchardus). 



MEMBERS OF THE HERRING FAMILY. 

 1. Herring. 2. Sprat. 3. Pilchard. 



The other members of this family are the whitebait, the an- 

 chovy, and the Alice and Twaite shad ; but these, although 

 affording material for speculation to naturalists (see chapter on 

 " Fish Growth"), are not of any commercial importance. 



The fisheries for the common herring, the pilchard, and the 

 sprat, are carried on, with a brief interval, all the year round ; 

 but the great herring season is during the autumn- from 

 August to October when the sea is covered with boats in 

 pursuit of that fine fish, and in some of its phases the herring- 

 fishery assumes an aspect that is decidedly picturesque. Every 

 little bay all round the island has its tiny fleet ; the mountain- 



