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ABOUT THE ANCHOVY. 



THE WHITEBAIT. 



Of the WHITEBAIT (Clupea alba), it seems to be by no 

 means safe to say that it is either a distinct species or the 



young of the herring. 

 Learned doctors have 

 been found to argue 

 on both sides. But 

 this is clear that it 

 is a white-sided, green- 

 backed fish, found in the Thames, the Forth, the Humber, 

 and other localities, and forced by fashion into a notoriety 

 which, as an article of food, it does not deserve. 



About the ANCHOVY (Engraulis encrasicolus), however, 

 there can be no mistake. It is distinguished from the 

 clupea by its more deeply cloven mouth, the greater width 



of its gill-openings, 

 and its more numer- 

 ous gill-rays. It is a 

 fish of a rich and 

 peculiar flavour, about 

 as long as one's middle 

 finger, with a sharp-pointed head, a deeply -forked tail, 

 and large silvery scales which are readily removed. 

 Though found in the British seas, or, at least, on the 

 coast of Cornwall, and even ascending as far north as 

 the Baltic and the shores of Greenland, it prefers the 

 warmer waters of the Mediterranean, and the genial 

 coasts of Spain, Portugal, and France. Here, in the 

 months of May, June, and July, when this fish leaves the 

 deeps and seeks the shallower waters, an extensive and 

 profitable fishery is conducted. Night is the time for 

 anchovy-fishing, and the fishes are drawn near the boats 



THE ANCHCTVY. 



