THE SMELT. 153 



smother, will prove the most attractive means you can resort to. 

 By this mode the fishermen generally manage to collect them toge- 

 ther, and dip them out in dip nets suspended to a pole, and thus 

 numbers are frequently taken in the course of a few hours. The 

 spawning time of this fish is the latter end of May or the begin- 

 ning of June ; it is considered in best condition in the early part 

 of April, but the best time for fishing for them is during the 

 autumn months. 



The true smelt it seems will thrive and multiply in a fresh water 

 pond, as a proof of whichMr. Yarrell informs us that Colonel Meynill 

 of Yarm, in Yorkshire, kept these fish for four years in a fresh 

 water pond that had no communication whatever with the sea ; 

 where they continued to thrive and propagate abundantly, losing 

 nothing of their flavour or quality ; and that notwithstanding du- 

 ring the above period the water was several times frozen over, 

 sufficiently hard in fact to admit of seating over its surface, the 

 fish were in no way injured by it. 



The true smelt is sometimes seen as large as nine or ten inches 

 in length ; but this rarely occurs, six or seven inches being the 

 more common size, though Pennant mentions having seen one 

 that measured thirteen inches, and weighed half a pound. The 

 atherine seldom exceeds five or six inches in length. One re- 

 markable property incidental to both species of fish, is a strong 

 smell of cucumber, which is particularly remarkable when they 

 are first taken out of water ; which being much more agreeable 

 than the effluvia emitted from most other fishes, in addition to a 

 delicate flavour, causes both the smelt and atherine to be held in 

 very high estimation. 



