14G 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Sword-fish. 



the (lark through the water hane in the meshes of 

 the net, which are large enough to admit them be- 

 yond the Rill-eover» and pectoral fins, but not large 

 enough to allow the thickest part of the body to pass 

 through. In the morning early, preparations are 

 made lor haiding the nets. A capstan on the deck 

 is manned, about which two turns of the driO-rope 

 are taken. One man stands forward to untie the 

 upper edge of each net from the drift-rope, which is 

 called casling-ofi' the lashings ; others hand in the 

 net with tlie fish caught, to which one side of the 

 Tes:>el is devoted; the other side is occupied by the 

 drifl-rope, which is wound in by the men at the 

 capstan." The most active period of the fishery has 

 already been staled. The seasons fluctuate con- 

 siderably, an abundant year being succeeded by a 

 scarce one ; or several of the latter may occur 

 together, and afterwards may be compensated by 

 successive years of plenty. On some nights two 

 or three thousand fish will be caught by one 

 boat, and another not more than a mile distant 

 may not take one hundred. This uncertainty con- 

 tributes to render the fishery a precarious source 

 of subsistence to those who can only embark capital 

 in it on a small scale, and cannot stand against the 

 unforeseen reverses which may occur in a short 

 period, but are counterbalanced on an average of 

 years. 



The boats employed are generally about thirty 

 feet in the keel, built of oak or ash, and copper- 

 fastened. They possess great depth of waist and 

 breadth of beam, are noted for their durability, and 

 considered as fast and safe a class of boats as are to 

 be found in the fisheries on any coast of the United 

 Kingdom. From Hastings to Uungeness the beach 

 and coast are bold and rocky, and the strength of 

 the boats is severely attested in attempting to 

 " beach," besides the frecjuent loss of life ; but 

 latterly a different method has been adopted of 

 gaining the beach, by which this object is effected 

 in a more skilful and less dangerous manner. 



As instances of the great variations of price which 

 are experienced in this fishery, some examples, cited 

 by Mr. Yarrel, may be quoted: — In May, 1807, the 

 first Brighton boat-load of mackerel sold at Billings- 

 gate lor forty guineas per hundred — seven shillings 

 each, reckoning six score to a hundred. The next 

 boat-load produced but thirteen guineas per hundred. 

 At Dover, in 1808, mackerel were sold at sixty for a 

 shilling. In 1834they were cried through the streets 

 of London at three for a shilling. Mr. Yarrel men- 

 tions several instances of great success in this fishery. 

 The value of the catch of sixteen boats from 

 Lowesloffe, on the 30th of June, 1831, amounted to 

 52.52/. In March, 1833, on a Sunday, four Hastings 

 boats brought on shore ten thousand eight hundred 

 fish, and the next day two boats brought seven 

 thousand fish. Early in the month of February, 

 1834. one boat's crew, from Hastings, cleared 100/. 

 by the fish caught in a single night. The fish are 

 sold by auction on the beach ; and at Billingsgate 

 the dealers sell them in quantities above fifteen, 

 which is the lowest number disposed of by wholesale ; 

 some dealei« will not sell less than a hundred of six 

 score. During the season about one hundred thou- 

 sand mackerel are brought to Billingsgate in the 

 course of one week. The uncertainty with regard 

 to the commencement of the season extends to 

 prices, and to the success of each boat, and resem- 

 bles a lottery, in which there are some high prizes, 

 and many scarcely worth striving for ; but the hope 

 of obtaining the former is the great stimulus to ex- 

 ertion. It is gratifying to learn that clubs are 

 established in which the fishermen can insure their 

 boats. 



Fig. 2397 represents the crew of a French fishing- 

 boat angling for mackerel. Fig. 2398 represents 

 mackerel boats in the Bay of Hastings, with Beachy 

 Head in the distance. Fig. 2399 represents a scene 

 which may be often witnessed in a fishing town, 

 viz a Dutch market. 



The plan is to separate the fish into heaps as soon 

 as they are landed ; and the persons desirous of 

 purchasing being assembled, one of the fishermen 

 or owners of the boat acts as salesman, and names 

 a price above the real value,, at the same lime 

 elevating a large stone with which to "knock down" 

 a lot. A lot which may ultimately sell at forty 

 shillings is offered at sixty shillings, the salesman 

 rapidly naming a lower price until he gets a bid, 

 when the stone descends to the ground, and the first 

 bidder is thus the purchaser. The descending in- 

 stead of an ascending scale enables the sellers to get 

 through their work more quickly ; and it is, perhaps, 

 the fairest, for the price approaches nearer the actual 

 worth than when feelings of rivalry are allowed to 

 display themselves. 



2400 — ThkHorsi-Mackkrel, or Scad 



(Cartmx traehurus). Scomber trachurus, Linn. 

 In the genus Caranx the body is covered with small 

 scales, with the exception of the lateral line, along 

 which extends a series of broad scales, those on the 



posterior half of the body having an elevated keel 

 m the centre, whence a continuous ridge is formed 

 to the caudal fin ; dorsal fins, two ; free abdominal 

 spines; teeth minute. Branchiostegous rays 

 seven. 



This species is common in the British seas, 

 and occasionally visits the coast in countless 

 myriads, cart-loads being captured without the slight- 

 est difficulty. The flesh of the horse mackerel is 

 of very inferior quality, hence the fish is seldom 

 brought to market ; but both this and the true 

 mackerel are salted in the west of Cornwall for winter 

 consumption. The shores of that county, and also of 

 Devon, are annually visited by the present species, 

 which arrives from the deep sea, in the beginning 

 of May, or earlier; but it is not until the summer 

 has advanced that the numbers are considerable. 

 Sometimes the shoals are enormous ; and upwards 

 of ten thousand fish have been taken in a single 

 evening, Mr, Yairel adduces an instance of this 

 kind which occuied-at Mara/ion, and quotes the 

 following account detailed by Mr. Bicheno, residing 

 on the coast of Glamorganshire : '' on Tuesday the 

 29th of July, 1834, we were visited by immense shoals 

 of scad, or, as they are also called, horse mackerel. 

 They were first observed in the evening; and the 

 whole sea, as far as we could command it with the 

 eye, seemed in a state of fermentation with their 

 number. Those who stood on some projecting rock 

 had only to dip their hands into the water, and with 

 a sudden jerk they might throw up three or four. 

 The bathers felt them come against their bodies ; 

 and the sea, looked on from above, appeared one 

 dark mass offish. Every net was immediately put 

 in requisition, and those which did not give way 

 from the weight were drawn on shore laden with 

 spoil. One of the party who had a herring-seine 

 with a two-inched mesh was the most successful ; 

 every mesh held its fish, and formed a wall that 

 swept on the beach all before it. The quantity is 

 very inadequately expressed by numbers, they were 

 caught by cart-loads. Asthese shoals were passing 

 us for aweek, with their heads directed up channel, 

 we had the opportunity of noticing that their feed- 

 ing time was morning and evening ; they were 

 pursuing the fry of the herring, and I found their 

 stomachs constantly full of them." 



This species is found in the Mediterranean, and 

 occurs also on the coast of Norway and Denmark. 

 The general colour above is olive changing to a I 

 brilliant green, waved with a gloss of blue ; the sides i 

 of the head and the under parts are silvery white ; 

 with waved reflexions: a spot on the gill-covers, i 

 and the throat, black. 



2401. — ^The Dorado, or Dolphin I 



(Coj-pphana Hippw-us). In the genus Coryphaena 

 the body is elongated, compressed, and covered with ! 

 small scales, the head is trenchant above, the profile I 

 abrupt and curved ; a single dorsal fin with flexible ■ 

 rays extends along the back ; there are palatal as 

 well as maxillary teeth. Branchiostegous rays 

 seven. j 



This brilliant fish, celebrated from the earliest 

 times for its beauty and its rapidity, must not be 

 confounded with the dolphin, or delphinus, one of 

 the cetacea, though it bears the same name. It is 

 common in the Mediterranean and the warmer [ 

 latitudes of the ocean, making incessant war upon 

 the shoals of flying-fish, which, in common with ' 

 the Bonito, it chases for prey. In the water the 

 lustre of this species, and the mingling of the tints 

 which adorn it, render it very engaging; if is of a 

 silvery blue above, with markings of a deeper tint ; 

 the under parts are citron yellow, spotted with light 

 blue. After death its rich and burnished hues fade 

 and disappear. 



It is the poet's 



- Dolphin, whom each pang embues 



With a new colour as it gasps away, 



The lait still loveliest, till 'tis gone and all is ^v." 



Dtron. 



2402. — The Starred Cokyph.bna j 



(Astrodermus CoiyphcBtioides) . This fish is also a 

 native of the Mediterranean, and measures from 

 twelve to eighteen inches in length ; it is of a pale 

 rose colour, vtith five or six longitudinal rows of 

 round black spots : the pectoral and caudal fins are 

 red, the others dusky. The mouth of this species 

 is small, but the most remarkable character consists 

 in the arrrangement of the scales, which, instead of 

 lapping over each other in the usual way, are 

 scattered over the head and body: they are very 

 minute, and under a lens resemble stars ; a clus- 

 ter of four is repiesented under the tail of the 

 figure. 



2403. — TheOcellated Ptbraclis 



(Pleraclis ocellatus). This singular fish is remark- 

 able for the great expansion of the dorsal and op- 

 posite fins, while the pectoral and ventral fins are 

 small, more particularly the latter. These ex- 

 panded fins spring from between two tiers of scales 



which give strength to the base of the rays. The 

 scales are large. 



This species is about four inches long, and of a 

 silvery hue ; tfie pectoral and caudal fins are yellow. 

 ish, the others bluish grey ; the doreal fin has a round 

 dark blue spot near its anterior angle. It is said to 

 be a native of Carolina. Cuvier says, " Rose nous 

 assure I'avoir pris a la Caroline ; Pallas dit le sien 

 des Moluques; peut-8tre sont-ce deux especes." 



2404. — The Sword-fish 

 (Xip/iitu Gladius). Xiphias Imperator, Schn. In 

 the genus Xiphias the upper jaw is elongated into 

 a formidable spear, the only weapon, for the mouth 

 is without teeth. The body is fusiform, and 

 covered by minute scales, the dorsal fin is 

 single and elevated, ventral fins are wanting, the 

 tail is strongly carinated. Branchiostegous rays 

 seven. 



This formidable fish, which was well known to the 

 ancients, is a native of the Mediterranean, where it 

 is common ; it does not, however, confine itself to 

 that sea, but passing through the Straits ol Gibraltar 

 into the wide ocean, takes either a northward or a 

 southward course, seldom continuing its direction 

 westward. It has been found along the coast of 

 Europe as far as the Baltic, and along that of Africa 

 to the Cape of Good Hope. Captain Beechey met 

 with it near Easter Island in the Pacific. This 

 species was first noticed in our seas by Sibbald, and 

 subsequently many naturalists have had oppoi 

 tunities of examining specimens taken along tlu' 

 coast of Scotland. In 1834 a dead sword-fish ten 

 feet long was found on the Essex coast ; and Daniel, 

 in his ' Rural Sports,' relates that '• in the Severn 

 near Worcester a man bathing was struck and 

 absolutely received his death-wound from a sword- 

 fish ; the fish was caught immediately aftertvaids, 

 so that the fact was asceilained beyond a doubt." 

 The sword-fish attains to the length of twelve and 

 even fifteen feet, and is prodigiously active and 

 powerful ; it is said to go in pairs. Its food consists 

 of fish, cuttle-fish, &c. It is said to be a great enemy 

 to the tunny, a fish of the Medilerranean (Thynnus 

 vulgaris) celebrated for ihe excellence of its flesh. 

 Belon affirms that the shoals of tunnies are as much 

 alarmed at the appearance of a sword -fish, as a 

 flock of sheep at the sight of a wolf. It pursues 

 them with great pertinacity, and transfixes them with 

 its spear. 



In the Mediterranean the fisheiy of this formi- 

 dable species is regularly practised by the fishermen 

 of Sicily, Capri, and other places, for in many 

 places it is esteemed as an article of food, especially 

 by the Sicilians, who buy it up eagerly at any price 

 at the commencement of the season, which lasts 

 from May to August. They cut if into pieces, and 

 salt it for future use. This process was in ancient 

 times particularly performed at the town of Thuri 

 in the bay of Tarentum, whence the fish was called 

 Tomus 'Thurianu.s. A description of the ancient 

 manner of taking this fish has been left us by Sliabo, 

 from which it appears that the process was the 

 same as that now in use. A man mounts upon a cliff 

 that overhangs the sea ; and as soon as he discovers 

 the fish, gives notice to a boat in attendance of the 

 course it has taken. A man in the boat then 

 mounts the mast, and on seeing the sword-fish 

 directs the rowers towards it. As soon as they 

 think themselves within reach, the man on the 

 mast descends, and taking in his hand a harpoon, 

 to which a cord is attached, strikes it into the fish, 

 sometimes at a considerable distance. After being 

 wearied with its agitations and attempts to escape, 

 as well as exhausted by its wound, the fish is seized 

 and drawn into the boat. The operation has con- 

 siderable resemblance to the whale fishery on a 

 small scale. The superstitious Sicilian fishermen 

 have an unintelligible chant, which they regard as 

 a most essential part of their apparatus. Brydone 

 thinks it is Greek : but be that as it may, the fisher- 

 men are convinced of its efficacy as a charm, its 

 operation being to attract and detain the fish near 

 the boat. There are certainly some Italian words 

 in it, although it is said that the men believe that 

 the fish would dive into the water and be seen no 

 more if it happened to hear a word of Italian. 



The reported hostility of the sword-fish to the 

 whale, which it attacks with fury, seems to have 

 some foundation. Captain Crow, in a work pub- 

 lished lately, gives the following fact as having been 

 witnessed by himself during a voyage to Meniel. 

 "One morning, during a calm, when near the 

 Hebrides, all hands were called up at three a.m. to 

 witness a battle between several of the fish called 

 thrashers or fox-sharks (Carcharias Vulpes) and 

 som^word-fish on one side, and an enormous whale 

 on the other. It was in the middle of summer, and 

 the weather being clear, and the fish close to the 

 vessel, we had a fine opportunity of witnessing the 

 contest. As soon as the whale's back appeared 

 above the water, the thrashers springing several 

 yards into the air, descended with great violence on 



