THE HERRING AND ITS KINDRED 



263 



and rocks, it is improbable that even the trawl troubles the eggs to any appreciable extent, 

 as the stony ground on which the herrings generally spawn is not suited to the operations 

 of the trawler. The spawning and life-history of the herring are, in fact, the converse 

 of those of the plaice. The former deposits its eggs on the ground close inshore, and the 

 young herrings, almost as soon as they are hatched, steer for the open sea and live near 

 the surface of the water. The flat-fishes, on the other hand, deposit eggs that float at the 

 surface some distance from the shore; and the young plaice and soles, when hatched, come 

 inshore and take up their residence close to the bed of the sea. 



It would be improper to conclude this account of the Herring Family without a passing 

 reference to the commercial mixture known as " WHITEBAIT." Until comparatively late in the. 



AUSTRALIAN PILCHARDS 



Distinct from the British spirits 



last century whitebait was regarded, even by scientific men, as a distinct species, and there 

 were even some who declared that they had identified peculiar characters. It is now, however, 

 common knowledge that the so-called " whitebait" is neither more nor less than a mixture 

 of young herrings and sprats, the former predominating in summer, the latter in winter. 

 Other fishes are also found in the dish, and, appropriately enough, at a recent banquet 

 given by the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, at which the writer had the pleasure 

 of " assisting," a plate of whitebait was found to include no sprats, but the fry of 

 herrings, gurnards, and sand-eels: this was in the month of July. Whitebait are caught 

 in special fine-meshed nets in river-estuaries; and although they make a capital dish for 

 the epicure, the large supplies needed for the restaurants probably entail a most regrettable 

 sacrifice of valuable food-fishes, which, if left a year or two, would provide food for ten 

 times the number of consumers. It would, however, be too much to expect that epicures 

 should give up such an unrivalled dish for this cause. Moreover, if these little fishes were 

 not captured by man, it is. highly probable that a large proportion would fall victims to birds 

 or other fishes. 



