134 HERRING AND SPRAT. 



seems a consensus of opinion that the spawning-seasons 

 are two, spring and autumn. Taking all parts of the 

 British coast together, February and March would seem 

 to be the great months for the spring spawning, and 

 August and September for the autumn spawning ; but 

 gravid herrings have been caught in every month except 

 June and December. 



The spawn is deposited on the surface of the stones, 

 shingle, gravel, and old shells which make up the ocean- 

 bed, and appears to be hatched within five or six weeks 

 after deposition. The rate of growth of the young fish is 

 not exactly known, but we may assume that it reaches 

 maturity in about eighteen months, and can reproduce its 

 kind in about three years. 



Many trustworthy authorities incline to the opinion 

 that the sprat (Clupea sprattus) * is not, as some writers 

 assume, a distinct species of fish, but the young of the 

 herring. We cannot help thinking, however, that the 

 specific differences between them are fatal to this hypo- 

 thesis. For instance, the ventral fins in the sprat begin 

 immediately beneath the first ray of the dorsal fin, and 

 not, as in the herring, beneath the middle of it. Again, 

 its ventral fins have no axillary scales. Its dentition is 

 different, and it has a serrated instead of a carinated belly. 

 In truth, the only argument advanced in support of the 

 hypothesis is based on the circumstance that it is not 

 common to find sprats full of roe; but this is due to 

 the fact that they are caught before they are full-grown. 



The herring is found under four distinct conditions : 

 1st, Fry or sill ; 2nd, Matres, or fat herring; 3rd, Full 



* Also known as Harengula sprattus. 



