NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Good eating How preserved. 



oast at the beginning of summer. During this 

 time they are said to be nearly blind. 



The mackrel is very good eating ; but as it i$ 

 fat, and consequently difficult of digestion, it is 

 ' not fit for weakly persons or valetudinarians. In 

 Italy it is preserved by pickling, and in Norway 

 and England by salting. In this country it is 

 salted in two ways : after the intestines are taken. 

 out, the vacancy is filled with salt, and the fish 

 are then packed in casks with a layer of salt and 

 a layer offish alternately; or they are immersed 

 in brine, and left till sufficiently impregnated 

 with it, when they are packed in barrels, in the 

 manner already described. A passage in Colu- 

 mella and Pliny prove that this method of pre- 

 serving mackrel is of great antiquity, and was 

 known to the Romans. In Scotland they are 

 prepared like herrings, and for this purpose the 

 largest and best fish are selected. It was with 

 this fish that the Romans composed their cele- 

 brated pickle, called garum. That from Cartha r 

 e;ena was held in particular estimation, and Strabo 

 asserts that great numbers of mackrel were caught 

 at that place. According to Pliny this garum 

 was a very important article of commerce in that 

 country, being not only an excellent sauce, but 

 likewise employed in me'dicine in diseases of the 

 liver and other complaints. 



In the Mediterranean the roes of this fish are 

 used for cavier: the blood and slime are first 

 washed off with vinegar, and the sinews an4 



