:J:H THE FRESII-WATEK FISIIFS OF FFKOPK. 



rivers a long time before they spawn, being taken in great abundance in 

 November, December, and January, in the Thames and Dee, but in other rivers 

 not till February. They spawn in March and April, after which they return 

 to the salt water. They never come into the Mersey as long as there is any 

 snow- water in the river. Smelts are not commonly captured in the English 

 Channel, though taken at Brighton. They ascend the Seine. They are 

 abundant in the Medvvay, plentiful at Boston in Lincolnshire, Norwich, and 

 King's Lynn, and make their way into the Bedford river, Hundred- Foot, 

 and other artificial waterways of the Bedfoi'd Level which supply Cambridge 

 with this fish. They are also abundant at Ulverstone on the West coast, and 

 other localities in Lancashire. 



Smelts are common in the interior of Jutland, and in the great lakes and 

 rivers of the middle part of Scandinavia, where the large fishes, six to eight 

 inches long, keep by themselves in schools, and go by the name of Slom, while 

 the smaller variety, two to four inches long, is found in distinct shoals, and 

 goes by the name of Nors. 



Mr. Lloyd says the Smelt is of a dull disposition, slow in its movements, 

 and prefers large lakes with sandy bottoms. It is seldom found singly, and 

 lives in deep water during the greater part of the year. 



Great prejudice exists against the fish both in Scandinavia and Prussia, 

 on account of its odour. Many believe that the odour makes it unwholesome as 

 food, and it is reputed as insipid and of disagreeable flavour, but this is in the 

 land of the Salmon. Fishermen declare that it drives away other fishes from 

 the fishing grounds. Mr. Lubbock speaks of the Roach and Dace fleeing from 

 the Smelt in Norfolk, as it ascends the rivers. Some French writers have re- 

 garded the odour as a protection from enemies, and in certain localities the 

 smell is said to be so penetrating that anything dipped in the water where 

 the fishes abound becomes impregnated with it. We cannot but think that 

 national prejudice is here somewhat unjust to the Smelt, since in France 

 Blanchard finds only a beautiful odour of violets, and the small variety called 

 Nors is largely taken in Scandinavia for bait, and is reputed the best bait for 

 other fishes. We may, perhaps, think that the fishes are more discrimina- 

 ting than the people ; though the nature and intensity of the perfume pro- 

 bably depend on the insects on which it feeds. Nevertheless, it is an important 

 article of food for the poor, and is either dried in the sun or salted down for 

 winter use in Sweden. The poorer classes along the Haffs of Prussia and 

 other parts of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea almost live upon it. In 

 the Kurische Haff, where their abundance is almost incredible, fishes sometimes 

 reach a length of a foot, and they have been used for feeding cattle, for manure, 

 and for the manufacture of oil and guano. 



