THE PILCHARD. 



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Atlantic coast of Europe, and extends into the Baltic and western half of the Mediterranean. It 

 does not appear to take the hook, and is usually captured with the stow-net, the meshes of which 

 must not be less than half an inch from knot to knot. The quantity caught far exceeds the demand, 

 and in many localities they are used for manure. The Sprat, when full grown, is six inches long, but 

 its ordinary length is three inches. The scales are smooth, and are easily shed. The lower jaw is 

 prominent. There is an oval patch of small teeth on the tongue. The abdomen is serrated in front of 

 the ventral fin, as well as behind. The tail is deeply forked. 



In the Baltic it is preserved with spices, and eaten as a relish for lunch. There are from forty- 

 seven to forty-nine vertebrae in the Sprat. In. the Herring there are fifty-six. Other species occur in 

 the Mediterranean, West Indies, United States, Indian Archipelago, China, and Australia. 



The Shad (Cluvea alosa) is commonly called the Allice Shad. It is especially distinguished by 

 having from sixty to eighty long, very fine gill-rakers on the horizontal part of the outer branchial arch. 



It is frequently met with on the European coasts, and occurs in the Mediterranean. The flavour 

 improves after they have been some time in a river. Excellent Shad are found in the Severn, where 

 they are caught in April and May. It occasionally is taken as high up as Worcester. At sea it is 

 often caught 011 lines with a Mackerel bait. It sometimes reaches as great a length as four feet ; 

 two feet is a commoner size. It is a fish deeper in the body than the Herring. The back is blue and 

 the belly silvery, becoming more or less reddish. The closely allied Clupea finta has about five-and- 

 twenty stout osseous gill-rakers on the horizontal part of the outer branchial arch. In Great Britain 

 it is usually known as the Twaite Shad. It enters the rivers in May, and returns to the sea by the 

 cad of July. Its ordinary length is from twelve to sixteen inches. It is found in the Nile. 



The Pilchards (Clupea pilchardus), distinguished by radiating ridges on the opercultim, especially 

 frequent the Mediterranean, and adjacent parts of the Atlantic, and extend northward to England 

 and Sweden, but rarely wander into the Bristol Channel, or as far east as the Straits of Dover. 

 They are never absent from the coast of Cornwall, though in winter the fish keep near to the bottom. 

 In spring they begin to congregate, and in July the great shoals are met with. The fishery, with 

 the seine-net, begins in August, and lasts till the rough weather of the equinoctial gales puts an end to it. 

 Some Pilchards spawn in May, others in October ; but there is no reason for suspecting that they 

 spawn twice in the year. Yarrell found that their stomachs are often crammed with a small 

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