THE SARDINE-FISHERY. 183 



shore in immense shoals at the approach of the spawning- 

 season ; and the sardine-fishery on the coast of Provence 

 takes place in the months of May, June, and July. 



Sardines cured in red wine a process practised in the 

 south of France are called sardines anchoiseeSj or ancho- 

 vied sardines. Several species of Clupeidse having a 

 very close resemblance to this favourite species, are found 

 in different parts of the world. 



An important sardine-fishery exists on the coast of 

 Brittany, and employs about 13,000 boats. But young 

 herrings, young pilchards, and especially sprats, are made 

 to do duty as genuine sardines; nor, when cured and 

 served up in oil, can the difference be easily detected. 

 The real sardine, however, closely resembles a sparling, 

 though it is of fuller flavour. All along the coast from 

 Nantes to Brest, including the magnificent sweep of the 

 Bay of Douarnenez, the fishery extends, employing nearly 

 the whole of the maritime population. The type of people 

 in this part of Brittany is curiously Celtic ; and they have 

 much more in common with the Welsh in speech and 

 habits, as well as in physiognomy, than with the rest of 

 Frenchmen. The men wear a kind of jacket, with a sash 

 round the waist, and a hat with streamers to it that gives 

 them the look of newly-enlisted recruits. The women's 

 costume is picturesque in the extreme ; their tall linen 

 caps and embroidered muslin skirts rendering them pecu- 

 liarly interesting to an artist's eye. 



The Whitebait, the Anchovy, and the Shad are mem- 

 bers of the great Clupeidse family. Their fisheries are of 

 no commercial importance, and, therefore, we can devote 

 to them a few lines only. 



