SMELT. 



Osmerus Viridescens. 



DIFFER from the Smelt of Europe in 

 several particulars. 



The name refers to their peculiar 

 " smell/' which resembles the odor of 

 cucumbers, and is strongest when the fish 

 are first captured. Dishonest dealers sell 

 "Tom-cod" for Smelt. These are low- 

 priced, inferior, and without odor or flavor. 



Smelt are plentiful in the neighborhood 

 of New York City, in such waters as the 

 Passaic, Hackensack, Raritan, and Hudson 

 Rivers, and small tidal creeks. They 

 spawn at the head of fresh-water streams. 



Emigrating from the north they appear 

 in New York Bay in November and De- 

 cember. The catch extends from Maine 

 to Maryland. 



