72 PISH. 



cording to Block, five hundred and forty thousand 

 ova have been found in a single female. It is a 

 curious fact, that the mackerel which come to the 

 London market from the shallow part of the coast 

 off Worthing and its vicinity, mature and deposit 

 their roe earlier on that flat sandy shore than 

 those caught in the deep water off Brighton. The 

 young mackerel, which are called " shiners" are 

 from four to six inches long by the end of August. 

 They are half-grown by November, when they 

 retire to deep water, and are not met with any 

 more that winter; but the adult fishes never 

 wholly quit the Cornish coast ; and it is common to 

 see some taken with lines in every month of the 

 year. Their principal food is probably the fry of 

 other fish ; and on many parts of the coast the 

 mackerel follow towards the shore a small species 

 of " clupea," which is known by the name of mac- 

 kerel "mint" at Hastings, and "brett" on the 

 Devon coast. This little fish is said by some to 

 be the young of the sprat, by others the young 

 of the pilchard : it is about an inch in length. 



The mackerel, as feeders, are voracious in the 

 extreme, and their growth is very rapid ; the usual 

 length is from fourteen to sixteen inches, and 



