WHITEBAIT. 115 



the ministers of the Cabinet go down the river in state to 

 indulge in this relaxation. 



The Whitebait has not been recognised as an inhabitant of 

 the open sea, although for about half the year it is there only 

 it could be found; and it cannot live even for a short time in 

 fresh water. Yet it seems to delight in what is brackish, and 

 in it a fishery is carried on with a small net, somewhat on the 

 principle of the stow-net for sprats, being suspended from the 

 side of a boat in the tideway in a small depth of water. This 

 net is kept open against the current with rods, and is not 

 lifted out of the water when the fish are to be taken on board; 

 but as it tapers and is only shut at the end with a cord, this 

 portion is opened and the fish removed from time to time, after 

 which the net is again left to float on the current. These fish 

 usually begin to come up on the tide at the end of March, 

 or early in April; but in the year 1864, they were caught 

 at the very beginning of March, and the fishery does not end 

 before the conclusion of September. 



It was formerly supposed that the Whitebait was the early 

 stage of the growth of the Allis Shad, which then was also 

 confounded with the Twait; and Donovan has represented this 

 latter for the former. It was also believed that it was to be 

 found only in the Thames, which last supposition could be 

 regarded in no other light than as inconsistent with the former, 

 since the Shad was known to shed its spawn in several of 

 the other rivers of England. But the belief of its being only 

 met with in the Thames is now also known to be an error; 

 and Dr. Parnell discovered it to be not rare in the Firth of 

 Forth, while in the south and west it has been obtained in 

 Devonshire and Cornwall. I have been favoured with examples 

 from the Exe, by Dr. Scott, of Exeter, and have also obtained 

 them from the Fowey, in Cornwall; and there is scarcely a 

 doubt that if looked for they might be found in every important 

 river in the British Islands. Cuvicr says they also exist in 

 Germany, but we conclude that they are limited to districts 

 where the climate does not extend beyond the borders of moderate 

 heat and cold. 



The time of spawning is supposed to be in and through the 

 summer; and the very young are mingled with the more fully 

 grown, so long as they continue to be caught in the river, a 



