69 



abundance in November, December, and January ; 

 but in other rivers not till February, spawning in 

 the months of March and April.. The Smelt is a 

 very elegant fish : its form beautifully taper : the 

 skin thin, and the whole body, but particularly 

 the head, semitransparent : the colour of the back 

 is whitish, with a cast of green ; beneath which it 

 is varied with blue ; and then succeeds the beautiful 

 silvery gloss of the abdomen : the scales are small, 

 and easily rubbed off: the eyes are silvery: the 

 under jaw longer than the upper : in front of the 

 upper are four large teeth ; those in the sides of 

 the jaws being small : the tail is forked. This fish, 

 which, as before observed, is the largest kind, is an 

 inhabitant of the European seas : it has generally 

 a peculiar odour, which in those of British growth 

 is commonly compared to that of a cucumber, but 

 by some to that of a violet. 



VAR. 



Salmo Eperlanus (minor.) 



Eperlanus. Rondel. Gesn. Aldr. Jonst. fyc, 



Eperlan. Duharnel. tr. des peckes. 2. p. 280. 



THIS, which in every thing except size and odour 

 appears to resemble the former, is said principally 

 to inhabit lakes and rivers, and is rarely taken, 

 except during the spawning-time; generally resid- 

 ing in the muddy bottom; but at that season it 

 enters rivers, and is taken in large shoals : it is a 

 very prolific fish, and is sold in vast quantities in 



