THE CONSCIENCE OF MACKEREL. 321 



were supplied with bait, and manned in quick time for even 

 Yankees, and the take that day was almost miraculous. The 

 catch that season had been short, but that day made up the 

 deficiency of the year. The next morning indicated that the 

 shoal had stacked arms and was prepare^ to march. But 

 few were taken that day, and less numbers each day for a 

 week that the fleet followed them, when the shoals all sank, 

 as by one general order, off the coast of New Jersey. 



It was matter of great surprise to the fishermen that the 

 mackerel voluntarily yielded themselves to appease the fish- 

 ermen and supply the fish-casks of human need ; but, having 

 done so, the shoals seemed to have retired with a glow of sat- 

 isfaction at having done their duty, even at the loss of some 

 of their favorites. 



In vain is the intimation to the pious fisherman that mack- 

 erel are as liable to mistakes in their calculations as men, and 

 so settled, before the regular fishing season was over, in too 

 cold a latitude, and rose during a warm term to take a lunar, 

 and lay their course for more genial winter quarters. No ! 

 The fishermen believe that, smitten by conscience for not fur- 

 nishing the usual supply, the fish voluntarily yielded them- 

 selves to the sacrifice for conscience' sake. 



Mackerel, to be fully appreciated, should leap as it were 

 from the water into the hands of the cook, and be made ready 

 for the gridiron, broiled, and on the table in half an hour aft- 

 er it has left its native element. Or a salted October mack- 

 erel can not be depreciated by a person of nice taste ; though, 

 of course, a fresh fish is better than a cured one, and the soon- 

 er it is cooked after its last shuddering flutter, and its ultra- 

 marine tints die away, the better. 



The mackerel frequents the Atlantic coast from Belle Isle 

 to Long Island. It spawns in spring in the bays, bayous, and 

 estuaries, and comes into season for the table in August. 



"Whether from the abundance of suitable food found at such times, or 

 from some other causes which influence the migrations of fish, it is hard to 

 say r but experience shows us that on the coasts of Ireland mackerel are 

 taken nearly all the year round. They are rarely very abundant on the coast 



X 



