ECONOMICAL BREAKFAST DELICACY. 325 



in America it is double that weight. The Alosafinta visits 

 some of the waters in France and Spain, and it is but recent- 

 ly that it has been duly classified in France. The superiority 

 of American shad in both size and quality over those of Eu- 

 rope is probably caused by the purity of our rivers, and the 

 greater amount of the kinds of food relished by this tooth- 

 less spring delicacy of the breakfast-table. It feeds on ani- 

 malculse, and is exclusively caught with nets. 



The shad season is comparatively short, but the principal 

 Northern markets are supplied with them from Southern riv- 

 ers in March, and sometimes as early as February. They do 

 not enter the rivers of New York and Connecticut before the 

 early part of April; and one of the most peculiar features in 

 this family of fishes was discovered by Seth Green, while 

 hatching them by artificial means at Holyoke, on the Connec- 

 ticut River, where he hatched nearly one hundred millions 

 of shad in less than six weeks. From the time when he strip- 

 ped the shad, and the ova and milt settled in the hatching- 

 boxes, not more than thirty-six hours elapsed before nineteen 

 twentieths of the eggs hatched, and the remainder within 

 twelve hours later. 



THE SHAD FISHERIES. 



Sixty days include the shad season in New York Bay and the Hud- 

 son River, during which time the usual catch is 1,100,000 fish, 



averaging each 25 cts. as price, or $275,000 



The catch in Delaware about 750,000, 25 cts 187,500 



" Connecticut, 400,000, 30 cts 120,000 



" Kennebec, 140,000, 15 cts. 22,500 



" Penobscot, 20,000, 20 cts 4,000 



" North Carolina, 500,000, 40 cts 200,000 



" Potomac and Chesapeake, 300,000, 20 cts 60,000 



" Norfolk and vicinity, 200,000, 30 cts 60,000 



$949,000 



Although the shad of Southern waters are inferior to those 

 of the Northern, yet, as the earliest in market, they command 

 the price of a rarity. The foregoing wholesale prices are 

 copied from the books of the most extensive dealers in Ful- 

 ton Market, New York. 



