250 



this depends much en die water, and on the state of the 

 \veather. 



They are in high season when full of roe, but become 

 remarkably flabby and woolly when they have spawned ; 

 nor do they probably recover until they get into the tide's 

 way again. 



Of the Smelt. 



This is a very voracious fish ; and if we consider the 

 form of its mouth, as well as the many teeth with which 

 both its tongue and its jaws are furnished, we might, in 

 all probability, be correct in classing it among the preda- 

 tory tribe. 



I believe it is not a settled point, whether the smelt is 

 a separate species of the salmon, as Linnaeus states it to 

 be, giving it the name of Salmo eperlanus -, or whether 

 it is the young of some other kind : I am disposed to the 

 former opinion, from our never seeing any fish of a size 

 larger than the smelt, such as we should suppose it to 

 appear after the growth of another season j and because 

 this fish, when it arrives at a moderate size, is frequently 

 found full of roe. 



Smelts rarely exceed eight or ten inches in length ; 

 though I have seen a few at table, that could not have 

 measured less than a foot. 



The smelt is in high season twice in the year, viz. 

 during Christmas, and again about July : they are best 

 during the winter months. They spawn in March ^and 

 April, and immediately go to the salt water, leaving their 

 young fry in the rivers ; they return in about six weeks, 

 or two months, very firm and well flavoured : in taste 

 they much resemble a fine cucumber, though some think 



they 



