324 



SPINY-FTNNED FISHES. 



Those which possess these last characters, and 

 have the dorsal fin continuous, form the family of 



Mackerels (Scomber), including the Tunny, the 

 Sword-fish, the Bonito, and the Common Mackerel. 



The Common Mackerel (Scomber scombrus] has a blue back marked 

 with undulating black stripes, and five false fins ; it is a migratory 

 fish, and at certain seasons abounds both on the coasts of Europe 

 and of America. On the western coast of England mackerel are 

 captured with nets by torchlight. The fishermen spread them- 



FlG. 251. THE MACKEBEL. 



selves over several miles, and cast their nets, which are sometimes 

 more than a league in extent, in the direction pursued by the shoals 

 of Mackerel. The meshes of the net are of a size to receive the 

 head of a moderate-sized fish, but arrest it by the fins, and when it 

 endeavours to extricate itself its gills become entangled, and it is 

 held prisoner. 



The mackerel is also caught by the hook and line. It bites 

 voraciously at anything that appears to have life a bright fish, a 

 piece of glittering metal, or a bit of scarlet cloth. The line is 

 short, but made heavy with lead, and in this manner a couple of 

 men can catch a thousand in a day. With swelling sails the boat 

 flies along, and a sharp wind is considered so desirable that it is 

 called a " Mackerel breeze." The more rapid the speed the greater 

 the success, for the Mackerel rushes like lightning after the boat, 

 taking it for a flying prey. " There is not," writes the author of 

 ' Wild Sports of the West,' " on sea or river, always excepting 

 angling for Salmon, any sport comparable to this delightful amuse- 

 ment, full of life and bustle, everything about it is animating and 



