BONY FISHES. 



319 



Anchovies, taken principally in the Mediterranean, are 

 prepared in the same manner. 



Vast shoals of shad run up our rivers in the early 

 spring for the purpose of spawning, and large numbers 

 are taken in nets. Only at this season is their flesh a 

 palatable food. The menhaden or mossbunker is exceed- 

 ingly numerous on our Atlantic coasts, and enormous 

 numbers are taken annually for the manufacture offish- 

 oil, the refuse of the oil-factories being used in the 

 preparation of manures. 



FIG. 276. 



COMMON EEL (Anguilla vulgaris). 



Ordinary eels live alternately in fresh and in salt 

 waters, but they readily become accustomed to a perma- 

 nent life in ponds and streams. They sometimes leave 

 the water for a time, either in search of insects on 

 bushes or in order to reach a neighboring piece of 

 water, and in the latter case they can travel quite a dis- 

 tance. 



