OSSEOUS FISHES. 



585 



In support of the individuality of the sprat, the serrated belly and 

 relative position of the fins are dwelt upon, together with the instance 

 detailed hy Mr. Mitchell, the Belgian consul at Leith, who exhibited 

 a pair of sprats, having the roe and milt fully developed. 



On the other hand, the abundance of the sprat has been adduced 

 as a reason for its being the t young herring. In addition to this, 

 anatomists declare their anatomy shows no difference but size. " As 

 to the serrated belly," says Bertram, " we may look on that as we do 

 on the back of a child's frock, namely, as a provision for growth." 

 If this is so, Dr. Bertram supplies material at once for thought and 

 legislation. " The slaughter of sprats," he says, " is as decided a 

 case of killing the goose with the golden eggs as the grilse slaughter 

 carried on in our salmon rivers." But Mr. Bertram here overlooks 

 a fact of which any one may convince himself, namely, that young 

 herrings are caught without the serrated belly ; nay, the curer's 

 purchase is regulated by the sprat's rough, and the herring's smooth 

 belly. 



The Pilchard, Clupea pilehardus (Fig. 385), sometimes called the 



Fig. 385. The Pilchard (Clupea pilchard us). 



gipsy herring, visits our coasts all the year round. It was at one time 

 thought, as the herring was, to be migratory, but, like that fish, it is 

 now found to be a native of our own seas, and a constant inhabitant 

 of our shores. It has been known to spawn in May, but the usual 

 time is October, and authorities like Mr. Couch think it breeds only 

 once a year. Its visit to shallow water causes immense excitement ; 



