488 



TUBE-B LADDERED GROUP 



teeth are present at all, they are rudiments! and deciduous. In position the dorsal 

 fin is opposite the anal, and the caudal is deeply forked. Represented by some 

 sixty species, the genus has a distribution coextensive with that of the family ; 

 but whereas the flesh of the majority of its representatives is of excellent quality, 

 that of some tropical forms may acquire poisonous properties. In the case of such 

 a well-known fish as the common herring it will be superfluous to give any descrip- 

 tion ; but it may be mentioned that this species may be distinguished from its allies 

 by the presence of a patch of small ovate teeth on the vomer. It has also the 

 dorsal fin situated exactly midway between the extremity of the muzzle, and the 

 longest ray of the caudal fin, and the pelvic fins are directly under the dorsal. 



SHAD, SPRATS, AND HERRING (the shad i, the others \ nat. size). 



Whitebait are for the most part the young of this species. Common to both sides 

 of the cooler regions of the Northern Atlantic, the herring ranges eastwards to 

 the seas on the north of Asia. Associating in shoals numbering millions of 

 individuals, the herring feeds upon crustaceans, worms, insects, and the young and 

 eggs of other fishes, as well as those of its own kind. " During the day," writes 

 Mr. J. M. Mitchell, " the shoals are sometimes observable near the surface, and may 

 be seen playing on the water, as the fishermen call it, making a ripple, a dark 

 roughness similar to what we may see at the beginning of a slight breeze, this being 

 somewhat observable without the appearance of either whales or birds. The passing 

 near or over them of a boat or ship makes them instantly dart off in every direc- 

 tion, leaving the appearance of long trails of light, if at night. We have been 



