444 



VEIITEBKATA. 



THE SCAD. 



^'"'tam^ 



THE EUHOPEAN BLACK-FISH. 



THE COMMON" MACKEREL. 



THE TUSTTT. 



the time of Aristotle. 



.■..»,/wS» 



THE BOXITO. 



thev have advanced thus far, thoy are held suspended in the net, without the power of escap- 

 ing, cither by retracing their course or 

 ]>ressing the thick part of their bodies 

 tludugh the obstacle. In the morning 

 the nets are hauled in, and the fish dc- 

 tachi'd from them, and in this manner 

 vast quantities are taken. The mackerel 

 is also captured by surrounding the 

 shoals with a large deep net or seine, 

 which is afterward closed at the bottom, 

 or hauled to the shore ; and a considerable 

 number are taken with the hook and line. 

 It is a voracious fish, feeding principally on 

 small fish and the fry of larirer species. 



The American Spring Mackerel, »S^. 

 vernalis of Mitchill, is probably the same 

 species as the preceding. The number 

 of this taken in our waters is immense ; 

 on the coasts of Massachusetts two hun- 

 dred vessels are sometimes engaged in the mackerel fisheries, and two hundred and fifty thou- 

 sand barrels are taken. 



The Fall Mackerel, S. grex, is sometimes very abundant in our seas; some authors regard 



it as the young of the preceding. 



The Spanish-Mackerel, S. colias, 

 is greatly esteemed for the table ; it 

 is smaller than the spring mackerel; 

 common in Europe ; the same, or a i 

 very similar species, is found, though 

 not abundantly, on our coasts. , 



Genus THYNXUS: TJujnnus.— 

 This includes the Common Tunny of 

 Europe, T. vulgaris, a large species, 

 four to twenty feet long, and some- 

 times weighing a thousand pounds. 

 It is found in the European seas, 

 but is most common in the Mediter- 

 ranean, where it is caught in large 

 numbers. The nets used are very 

 large and strong, and one of them 

 costs six thousand dollars. This fish 

 has been celebrated for the table since 

 It is frequently taken on our coasts, and is not uncommon in the markets 



of our principal northern cities. 



The BoNiTO, or Striped-bellied Tunny, 

 T. pelamt/s, resembles the preceding in 

 form, but is seldom more than thirty inches 

 long. It is extensively distributed, being 

 most common in the tropical seas, but is 

 still mot with on the coasts of Europe 

 and Xorth America. It is said to rival 

 the dorado in its perpetual chase of the 

 flyinof-fish. There are one or two other 



species allied to the Tunny, which are also sometimes called Bonito. 



