THE CHAR AND THE SMELT 277 



greater proportion of char which find their way to the market 

 are taken with nets. From immemorial times potted char has 

 been reckoned a delicacy peculiar to the Lake District ; but, 

 in fact, there is not much superiority in the flavour of char 

 over that of good and rather small trout. Such flavour as 

 may be peculiar to them is pretty well disguised by the pepper 

 and other condiments introduced as preservatives when the 

 fish are potted. However, the industry is a fairly profitable 

 one, the usual market price of char being \s. 6d. a pound. 

 The licence for a char-net in Windermere costs ^i 135. 4<^., 

 and the average take during the six years 1893-98 was 

 about 4,000 lb., of the gross annual value of ^250. 



The Smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) 



Fins. 

 First Dorsal : 11 rays. 

 Second Dorsal : Rayless, 



adipose. 

 Pectoral: 11 rays. 

 Ventral : 8 rays. 

 Anal : 15 or 16 rays. 



Teeth. 

 Dentition strong ; teeth on the upper jaw 

 much smaller than those on the lower jaw 

 or mandible ; those on the vomer strong 

 and fang-like, in a transverse series ; coni- 

 cal teeth on palatine and pterygoid bones. 

 Teeth on the forepart of the tongue very 

 strong and fang-like, with several longi- 

 tudinal rows of smaller teeth behind them. 



The name " smelt " is popularly understood to refer to the 

 peculiar odour emitted by this • fish when caught ; and to 

 support this explanation the Rev. W. Houghton, in his British 

 Fresh-water Fishes, cites the Greek adjective oo-fjiyjpo^j fragrant, 

 which Artedi (i 705-1 735) chose as the title of the genus. 

 Professor Skeat, however, has pointed out that, although the 

 fish in question bore the same name in Anglo-Saxon that we 

 use at this day, the verb " to smell " has not been found in 

 that language. He connects it rather with the verb " to smelt" 

 — to fuse ore — the root meaning being " to melt." The 

 Norwegian smeita and the Danish smelt signify both " a mass, a 



