MACKEREL. 129 



fish abound, two men will take from five hundred to a thou- 

 sand in a day. It is singular that the greatest number of 

 Mackerel are caught when the boat moves most rapidly, 

 and that even then the hook is commonly gorged. It seems 

 that the Mackerel takes its food by striking across the course 

 of what it supposes to be its flying prey. A gloomy atmo- 

 sphere materially aids this kind of fishing for Mackerel." 



Mr. Couch adds, that " French fishing-boats from the 

 eastern ports of that country proceed early in the spring as 

 far west as Cape Clear, and the fish taken in their nets 

 are salted in bulk on board the boats. They even obtain 

 two or three full cargoes in the course of the summer ; which 

 proves that more use is made of salted Mackerel in France 

 than in this country." A small quantity is so preserved 

 in Cornwall, which is consumed by the poorer classes. 



The vignette, from a pen-and-ink sketch by Mr. Couch, 

 represents the apparatus as used when fishing for Mackerel. 

 The ascending line is that which hangs from the boat ; the 

 line connecting the leaden plummet and the hook is called 

 the snood or snoozing ; the bait is cut thick near the hook, 

 and thinner backwards, that it may vibrate when drawn through 

 the water. The number of fin-rays in the Mackerel are, 



D. 10 13 V. : P. 13 : V. 6 : A. 11 V. : C. 22. 



The nose is pointed ; the under jaw the longest ; the teeth 



VOL. i. 



