582 MISCELLANEOUS 



FAMILY 4. Clupeidae. 



GENUS 1. Clupea. 



SPECIES 1. Clupea elongata Common American Herring. 



As the herring of North America has been found to differ greatly 

 from the herring of Europe, (clupea harengus,) the naturalists of 

 the United States have distinguished it by the name of clupea elon- 

 gata. Fishermen designate it by the name of " blue- jack ", and some- 

 times call it the " English herring; " very often, they add the name of 

 the locality where it is taken, to distinguish particular varieties. 



The statements made by the older naturalists, as to vast armies of 

 herrings coming down annually from the Arctic Ocean, and making 

 the circuit of the seas, is now supposed to be wholly imaginary. It 

 is generally believed, at present, that the herring fattens in the depths 

 of the ocean, and approaches the shore in shoals, merely for the pur- 

 pose of depositing its spawn. In this opinion, Mr. Yarrell fully 

 coincides, and there can scarcely be a better authority. It is quite 

 certain, that the common herring is caught on the shores of New 

 Brunswick during every month of the year, which quite precludes 

 the idea of its being a migratory fish. 



It is found everywhere on the coast of Nova Scotia ; and from the 

 information obtained by the writer during his official inspection of 

 the fisheries, it appears certain, that there are several varieties of the 

 common herring, some of which spawn early in the spring, and others 

 in August and September ; also, that the quality varies very consider- 

 ably in different localities. The habits, haunts, and seasons, of this 

 fish are only beginning to be understood, and accurate observations 

 on these, would be highly useful to all who are interested in the 

 herring fishery. 



SPECIES 2. Alosa tyrannus The Gaspereau, or American Alewive. 



The alewive appears in great quantities in the Chesapeake, in 

 March; at New York, it appears with the shad. The earliest fish 

 appear in the Harbour of St. John, in April, but the main body does 

 not enter the river before the 10th of May. It would therefore ap- 

 pear, that the alewive also comes from the south, like the common 

 shad, to deposit its spawn in northern rivers. 



The usual length of this species of shad, which is best known in 

 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, by the name of gaspereau, is from 

 8 to 10 inches; the back a blue green, approaching to purple; sides, 

 silvery. The head, dark green above, and the tip of the lower jaw 

 of the same colour; opercles, yellow. 



In the Bay of Fundy, this fish is abundant; in the Gulf of Saint 

 Lawrence, it is less plentiful, and of much smaller size; in the Bay of 

 Chaleur, it has not yet been noticed, and like the shad, the Bay of 

 Miramichi would seem to be its extreme northern limit. 



The catch of the gaspereau in the Harbour of Saint John, varies 

 from 12,000 to 16,000 barrels each season, and sometimes reaches 

 20,000 barrels. It ascends the Saint John to the same localities as 

 the shad, in order to deposit its spawn. In the Miramichi, it ascends 

 to the source, and spawns in the Miramichi Lake. 



