Mackerel.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



143 



I 



oreweed, doins which it assumed every posture 

 iroin the liorizontal and perpendicular, with its 

 head downward or upward, thrusting its snout into 

 the crevices of the stems, and seizing its prey witti 

 a spring. Having taken this fish with a net, and 

 transferred it to a vessel of water in company with 

 an eel three inches in length, it was not long before 

 the latter was attacked, and devoured head fore- 

 most ; not indeed altogether, for the eel was too 

 large a morsel to be managed, so that the tail re- 

 mained hanging out of the mouth ; and it was 

 obliged at last to disgorge the eel partly digested. 

 It also seized from the surface a moth that fell on 

 the water, but threw up the wings. The effect of 

 the passions on the colour of the skin of this species 

 is remarkable ; and the specimen now spoken of, 

 under the influence of terror, from a dark olive with 

 golden sides, changed to pale for eighteen hours, 

 when it as suddenly regained its (ormer tints. It 

 spawns in spring, and the young, not half an inch in 

 length, are seen in considerable numbers at the 

 margin of the sea in summer." 



Family SCJyENID^ (THE MAIGRES). 



2390. — C.\rmich.^el's Cheilodactyle 



{Chetlodacfylus monodacbjlvs). The genus Cheilo- 

 dactylus, one of the genera of the family Sciaenidip, 

 has the body oblong, the mouth small ; the spiny 

 rays of the dorsal fin, and also of the pectoral, are 

 simple, and prolonsed beyond the membrane. 



Carmichael's Cheilodactyle is very common on 

 the coast of the island of Tristan d'Acunha, where 

 it feeds upon a species of seaweed, fucus pyrif'erus. 

 It is about eighteen inches in length ; the teeth are 

 small and crowded ; the pectoral tin is large, with 

 fifteen rays, the si.x lower of which are simple, and 

 project beyond the membrane, the sixth from the 

 lowermost being greatly elongated. The general 

 colour is olive or bronze, with six dark stripes on 

 the back ; pectoral tins amber; the rest blackish. 



Family SPARID^ (SEA BREAMS). 

 2391. — Thk Braize, or Becker 



{Pn/jnis vulgaris) ; Sparus pagras, Linn. 



In the genus Pagrus there are four or six conical 

 teeth in front, with a number of smaller conical 

 teeth behind them, and two rows of rounded molar 

 teeth on each side of both jaws. The body is deep 

 and compressed ; dorsal fin single ; cheeks and 

 operculum covered with scales; branchiostegous 

 rays six. 



This fish, with the Gilt-head, the Maigre, the 

 Umbrina, and other allied species, is found in the 

 Mediterranean, along the coasts of France, Spain, 

 and Ilaly. It appears on the Cornish coast in mo- 

 derately deep water in summer and autumn, mi- 

 grating on the approach of winter. 



The general colour ofthe Braize is silvery, tinged 

 with red; the tins are tinged with rose-colour; the 

 pectorals red. Formula of fin-rays as follows: — 

 D. 12-f 10, P. 15. V. 1-1-5, A. 3-h8, C. 17. 



Family SQUAMIPINNATI (CHiETODONS, &c., 

 with the spiny parts of the dorsal fin encrusted 

 with scales). 



2392. — The Wandering ChjEtodoh 



(CiiBtodon vagabtindus). The Chaetodons are beau- 

 tifully-coloured fishes of singular figure, abounding 

 in the seas ofthe hotter climates. Their most com- 

 mon tints are black and yellow, but metallic blues 

 and greens are not unfrequent. Sometimes the 

 colours are disposed in spots ; mostly, however, in 

 stripes or bands. The body is deep, often almost 

 circular, and compressed : the tail short ; the mouth 

 small, with several closely set rows of long slender 

 bristle-like teeth. The air-bladder is large, and the 

 alimentary canal long and ample. They generally 

 haunt rocky shores ; their flesh is accounted ex- 

 cellent. 



In the restricted genus Chaetodon the scales ex- 

 tend on to the dorsal and anal fins, so as to cover 

 their base. The rays ofthe dorsal fin form a tole- 

 rably uniform curve, and the snout is produced. 



The Wandering Chaetodon is a native of the 

 coasts of Ceylon ; the ground colour of the body is 

 yellow, with numerous oblique brownish purple 

 lines ; a broad black vertical band extends through 

 the eye. The dorsal fin is blackish, and has thirteen 

 spinous rays: the Iftil is yellow with black bands, 

 and the adjacent fin is black with a bent yellow 

 stripe, and a yellow margin. Length ten or twelve 

 inches. 



Oije species, the Chsetodon rostratus, with a long- 

 . snoui, is remarkable lor the manner in which it 

 takes ii. sects, by shooting drops of water at them as 

 they rest on the rocks or plants al)Out the shore, so 

 as to bring them down, when it seizes and devours 

 them. The ('hmese in .Java, it is said, are in the 

 habit of amusing themselves with its feats. 



Another fish of the same family, the Archer 



(Toxotesjaculator), takes ijisects in the same man- 

 ner, and will throw the drops of water to the dis- 

 tance of three or four feet, rarely missing its aim. 

 It is also a native of the sea round .Java. 



There is a group of fishes commonly termed 

 " doctors," in consequence of being provided with 

 two very sharp and movable spines, like lancets, 

 one on each side of the tail, and with which they 

 inflict a very severe wound on the hands of those 

 who touch them incautiously ; hence they are well 

 known to the sailors visiting the tropical seas. 

 The mouth is small, the muzzle rather prominent ; 

 the teeth are trenchant and denticulated, like a very 

 fine comb. They are among the comparatively 

 limited number of fishes which subsist on vegetable 

 aliment, algi, fuci, and other marine plants con- 

 stituting their food. Peaceful and inoffensive, they 

 wander about the submerged rocks clothed with 

 luxuriant vegetation, and never voluntarily make 

 an attack, but content themselves with repelling 

 the assaults of their enemies, using their weapons 

 with great energy. The species are found about 

 the shores both of the East and West Indies, and 

 their flesh is said to have a peculiar flavour. 



2393. — The Surgical Ch«todon 

 (Acanihurus chirurgiuij. This species, which was 

 first described by Bloch, is a native of the Indian 

 seas. It was regarded by him as a chaetodon, but 

 the genus Acanthurus of Lacepede, of which it 

 forms one of the examples, is separated from the 

 chselodons by Cuvier into a distinct family, "Les 

 Theutyes," all the groups of which are herbivorous. 

 To this family it of right belongs, hvX we here 

 allude to it, as it is the chaetodon chirurgius of 

 Bloch. 



2394. — The Bat Ch.etodov 

 {Platux vesperlilio). The genus Platax is remarkable 

 for the extremely compressed form of the body, the 

 wing-like elevation ofthe dorsal fin, and the length 

 of the ventral fins, and of that adjacent to the fail. 

 The jaws are furnished with a row of trenchant teeth 

 divided into three points, and behind fheiii is a 

 number of thickly set fine teeth, (dents en brosse). 

 The recent species are restricted to the Indian seas. 

 One has been found in a fossil state at Mount 

 Bolca. 



The Platax vespertilio is a native of the coast 

 of Ceylon, inhabiting deep water, often among 

 rocks ; it attains to a large size. Its general colour 

 is yellowish, mottled with dark brown; a blackish 

 stripe extends downwards through the eye ; the fins 

 are brown. 



Family SCOMBRID.^ (SCOMBERS, MACKE- 

 REL, TUNNIES, SWORDFISH, &c.). 

 This family is composed of a number of fishes 

 with small scales and a smooth body; having the 

 tail and caudal fin very vigorous. 



" It is," says Cuvier, '■ one of the families the 

 most useful to man, from the agreeable flavour and 

 size of the species, while their inexhaustible re- 

 production leads them back periodically to the same 

 localities, and thus renders them the objects of 

 fisheries on the most extensive plan." 



2395, 2396.— The Mackerel or Mackerel 



(Scomber scombrus). In the genus Scomber there 

 are two dorsal fins widely separated, and some por- 

 tions of the posterior dorsal fin and its opposite 

 beneath, form detached, or as they are called, false 

 fins ; the sides of the tail are slightly carinated ; 

 there is one row of small conical teeth in each jaw ; 

 branchiostegous rays seven. 



We need not describe this beautiful fish resplen- 

 dent in green and silver barred with a dusky tint, 

 nor insist upon its excellence as an article of food, 

 prized alike at the table of the wealthy and of the 

 humble. 



The mackerel approaches the coast in large 

 shoals, and it was formerly considered that its an- 

 nual movements were from northern to southern 

 latitudes, and from southern to northern ; but this 

 fish is to be met with in our own seas at all seasons 

 of the year, though in the winterthey are not found 

 in great numbers ; and the situation of those parts 

 of the coast where they make their first appearance 

 disproves the fact of their migrating only in a 

 southern direction when the season has become 

 more genial, as they frequently appear on a south- 

 ern part of the coast before they have visited its 

 northern limits. On the Cornish coast, wnich the 

 fish often visit so early as the month of March, the 

 course of the shoals seems to be from west to east. 

 This year the fishing season on the Sussex coast 

 commenced early in February, and some were taken 

 in January, but the number wai small, and they 

 were sold in London at from one to two shillings 

 each. When the fishermen commence very early 

 in the year, they have to proceed a considerable 

 distance out to sea, as the fish do not approach the 

 coast until a more advanceii pariod. May and 



June are the busiest months lor mackerel fishing. 

 In the latter month they spawn, the female roe con- 

 taining above half a million ova. The process of de- 

 positing spawn takes place earlier on a sandy and 

 shallow shore than on a rugged coast, the former 

 being also more favourable to vivjficalion. Pre- 

 vious to winter, the young retire to deep wafer. 

 The mackerel may be considered as frequenting- 

 nearly every part ofthe coasts otthe United Kingdom, 

 but it is most abundant on the southern portion of 

 Great Britain, on the coasts of Sussex, Kent, Hamp- 

 shire, and the western counties, and on those of 

 Suflfolk and Norfolk. They do not make their ap- 

 pearance on the Scotch coast until late in the sum- 

 mer. Whatever may be the fact as to their migra- 

 tion to the Arctic seas, the tbilowing statement, 

 taken from the ' Edinburgh Journal of Science,' 

 shows that they are found in those latitudes under 

 singular circumstances :— " Admiral Pleville-l^pley, 

 who had had his home on the ocean Jor half a cen- 

 tury, assured M. Lacep<!de, that in Greenland, in 

 the smaller bays surrounded with rock, so common 

 on this coast, where the water is always calm, and 

 the bottom generally soft mud and juice, he had 

 seen, in the beginning of spring, myriads of macke- 

 rel, with their heads sunk some inches in the mud, 

 their tails elevated vertically above its level ; and 

 that this mass of fish was such, that at a distance it 

 might be taken for a reef of rocks. The admiral 

 supposed that the mackerel had passed the winter 

 torpid under the ice and snow ; and added, that lor 

 fifteen or twenty days after their arrival, these fishes 

 were affected with a kind of blindness, and that then 

 many were taken with the net ; but as they recovered 

 their sight, the nets would not answer, and hooks 

 and lines were used." 



The mackerel fishery is, perhaps, the liveliest, if 

 not the most interesting, of any which are carried 

 on in the British Islands. The flesh of the mackerel 

 being very tender, the greatest despatch is used in 

 conveying it to market, another incentive to ex- 

 ertion being the high price obtained for those fish 

 which first arrive. The boats are frequently putting 

 off and returning to the shore, the cargoes being 

 conveyed by land-carriage to the metropolis; or, 

 from some parts of the coast, by vessels towed by a 

 steam-tug. A light gale, which gently ripples the 

 surface of the water, and is called a mackerel gale, 

 is most favourable to the fisherman, who chiefly 

 follows his employment during the night. There 

 are three modes of fishing,— with drift-nets, with 

 scans, and with the line. By the latter mode a couple 

 of men will take from five hundred to one thousand 

 fish in one day, if the weather be favourable. The 

 French boats frequently go out with six oi eight 

 people on board, all of whom fish with the line; 

 and some of them are sufficiently adroit to pay 

 attention to a couple of lines at the same time. The 

 fish bite voraciously, and are taken with great rapidity 

 by a bait cut from its own kind, and made to re- 

 semble a living fish. They will seize, and may be 

 taken by, a piece of scarlet cloth or leather. The 

 scan fishing requires two boats, and resembles 

 in some respects the same mode applied to the 

 taking of pilchards, though on a smaller scale. 

 The scan, however, is sometimes hauled on shore. 

 The drift-net fishing is the most common, and by 

 this mode a larger number of fish can be taken than 

 in any other way. The drill-nets are worth from 

 twenty to thirty shillings each. Mr. Yarrell's work 

 contains the following minute account of the drift- 

 net fishing: — "The drift-net is twenty feet deep by 

 one hundred and twenty feet long, well corked at 

 the top, but without lead at the bottom. They are 

 made of small fine twine, which is tanned of a red- 

 dish brown colour, to preserve it from the action ot 

 the sea-water ; and it is thereby rendered much more 

 durable. The size of the mesh about two inches 

 and a half, or rather larger. Twelve, fifteen, and 

 sometimes eighteen of these nets are attached 

 lengthways, by tying along a thick rope, called the 

 drilt-rope, and, at the ends of each net, to each 

 other. Vvhen arranged for depositing in the sea, a 

 large buoy attached to the end of the drift-rope is 

 thrown overboard, the vessel is put before the wind, 

 and, as she sails along, the rope with the nets thus 

 attached is passed over the stern into the water till 

 the whole of the nets are run out. The net thus 

 deposited hangs su.spended in the water perpen- 

 dicularly twenty feet deep from the drift-rope, and 

 extending from three-quarters of a mile to a mile, 

 or even a mile and a half, depending on the num- 

 ber of nets belonging to the party or company en- 

 gaged in fishing together. When the whole ofthe 

 nets are thus handed out, the drift-rope is shifted 

 from the stern to the bow of the vessel, and she 

 rides by it as if at anchor. The benefit gained by 

 the boat's hanging at the end of the drilt-rope is, 

 that the net is kept strained in astraight line, which 

 without this pull upon it would not be the ca-se. 

 The nets are shot in the evening, and sometimes 

 hauled once during the night ; at others allowed to 

 remain in the wahir all night. The fish roving ia 



