HERRING. 



FEW persons are probably yet aware of 

 the extent to which the little fish Engrau- 

 lus Meletta, from the coast of Sardinia, is 

 being supplanted by the small Cnlpea so 

 numerous on the coast of Maine. The 

 New England Herring deftly put up in cot- 

 ton-seed oil may be quite as appetizing as 

 the Sardine, once embalmed in pure huile- 

 d j olive; but let not the unsophisticated pur- 

 chaser of the attractive tin box too hastily 

 conclude that its showy label, its Napo- 

 leonic head, and its French superscription 

 guarantee the genuineness of its contents. 

 Sardines imported from the Mediterranean 

 are rapidly becoming a tradition ; and the 

 coasts of Maine and New Brunswick, in 

 the vicinity of Passamaquoddy Bay, fur- 

 nish a substitute which in character is 

 similar to if not identical with the Culpea 



79 



