270 THE TUNNY. 



as it becomes unfit for consumption in a very short time after being taken out of the 

 water ; and in consequence of this property, the London costermongers are permitted to 

 hawk it about the streets on Sundays, much to the discomfort of peaceable householders 

 who long for repose and do not want Mackarel. 



This fish is taken both by nets and lines, the nets being of two kinds, one called the 

 drift-net, and the other the seine. The drift-net is, as its name implies, allowed to be drifted 

 out by the tide, and is suspended along a cord called the drift-rope. The whole length of 

 one of these nets when shot is sometimes a mile and a half, these enormous dimensions 

 being attained by attaching a number of nets together at the ends. Each of these nets 

 is one hundred and twenty feet long and twenty feet deep, and along the upper edge are 

 fastened a series of cork floats. When the net is to be shot, a large buoy is attached to 

 the end of the drift-rope, the buoy is thrown overboard and the sails set. As the boat 

 dashes away from the spot, the nets, which have already been attached to the drift-rope, 

 are thrown successively overboard, until all the nets are paid out and hang in the water 

 like a net wall. The strain of the buoy at one end of the drift-rope and the boat at the 

 other keeps the rope straight and the net upright. 



As the Mackarel come swimming along, they are arrested by the net, which they 

 cannot see, on account of the thin twine of which it is made, and the large meshes, which 

 are about two and a half inches in diameter. The head slips through the meshes, but the 

 middle of the body is too large and cannot pass. When the fish attempts to recede, the 

 open gill-covers become hitched in the meshes, and so retain it in that uncomfortable 

 position until the net is hauled in. 



This is a delicate and difficult operation, especially when the take of fish is heavy. 

 Mr. Yarrel mentions that in June, 1808, the nets were so heavily loaded that the fisher- 

 men could not haul them in or even keep them afloat, so that they were forced to cut the 

 drift-ropes, and let the nets sink and be lost. The nets on this occasion were worth 

 nearly sixty pounds, not including the value of the fish. 



In the seine-net, the fish are taken by surrounding a shoal with the net, which is made 

 with very small meshes, and either gently hauled to the surface, so that the inclosed fish 

 can be dipped out, or even drawn ashore and then emptied. 



Fishing for Mackarel with a line is also a profitable mode of taking these fish, although 

 they cannot be caught in such multitudes as with the net. The Mackarel is a very 

 voracious fish, and will bite at almost any glittering substance drawn quickly through the 

 water, a strip of scarlet cloth being a very favourite bait A tapering strip of flesh cut 

 from the side of a Mackarel is found to be the most successful of any bait, and the method 

 of angling is simply to pass the hook through the thicker end of the strip technically 

 called a " lask " and to throw it overboard a boat in full sail, so that it is towed along 

 without trouble. The hook is kept below the surface of the water by means of a leaden 

 plummet fixed to the line a short distance above the hook, and the Mackarel on seizing 

 the flying bait is immediately caught. On a favourable day, when the sky is not too bright, 

 and the wind is tolerably brisk, two or three men can take the fish as fast as they can bait 

 and throw overboard. 



The colour of the Mackarel is rich green upon the back, variegated with deep blue 

 and traversed with cross bands of black, straight in the males; but undulating in the 

 females. The abdomen and sides are silvery white, with golden reflections. These colours 

 are most brilliant during the life of the fish, and as they fade soon after it has left the 

 water, their brilliancy affords a good test of its freshness. 



THE celebrated TUNNY belongs to this family, and is closely allied to the mackarel. 



This magnificent and most important fish does not visit our coasts in sufficient numbers 

 to be of any commercial importance ; but on the shores of the Mediterranean, where it is 

 found in very great abundance, it forms one of the chief sources of wealth of the sea-side 

 population. 



In May and June, the Tunnies move in vast shoals along the shores, seeking for 

 suitable spots wherein to deposit their spawn. As soon as they are seen on the move, 

 notice is given by a sentinel, who is constantly watching from some lofty eminence, and 



