i:i:PKODUCTION OF THE SPANISH MACKEREL. 315 



stormy weather, where they soon perish. When first hatched the little Mackerel is very small and 

 transparent, its length .-.carcely excecdin;j one tenth of an inch, while its diameter, eveu with the 

 comparatively large yelk-sac, is so small as to allow it to pass through wire-cloth having thirty two 

 wires to the inch. For several hours after hatching it remains comparatively quiet ut the 

 surface in an almost helpless condition, a small oil globule attached to the yelk-sac keeping it 

 from sinking and causing it to lie belly uppermost. Later the umbilical sac with its oil globule is 

 gradually absorbed, and the little fish begins to manifest greater activity, and by vigorous and spas- 

 modic efforts penetrates to the depth of an inch or so below the surface. In n few hours it finds 

 little or no difficulty in swimming at various depths, and even lies at the bottom of the vessel in 

 which it is confined, darting off with surprising rapidity when disturbed. 



" Little is known of the rate of growth. We know of but two instances where small Mackerel 

 have been caught or even seen along our shores. The first is that mentioned by Mr. Scott, in 

 the passage already quoted, of half-pound fish having been taken off the Long Island coast 

 in June. A second instance was made known to us by Mr. Robert Bosnian 1 , superintendent of 

 a fishing station at New Point, Virginia, who, in a letter dated Norfolk, Virginia, September 25, 

 1880, says: 'I have recently noticed large numbers of young Spanish Mackerel, varying from four 

 to six inches in length.' Assuming that the fish referred to were the young of the Spanish 

 Mackerel, there still remains a difficulty in determining the rate of growth. Some species grow 

 very rapidly, reaching the last-named dimensions in a few months, while others develop more 

 slowly and would not attain a weight of half a pound for several years. From our limited knowl- 

 edge of the growth of other species we would suppose that the fish mentioned by Mr. Bosmau as 

 being four to six inches long in September were the fry of the previous year, and were therefore 

 about fourteen months old, while the half pounders mentioned by Mr. Scott were probably nearly 

 two years old." 



The observations of Mr. Stearns, recorded also in 1880, are exceedingly interesting as confirming 

 and supplementing those of Mr. Earll: 



"When the Spanish Mackerel first appear, late in March and early in April, they contain 

 spawn in the half-developed state. By July this has become quite full, and it is believed by the 

 most intelligent fishermen that when they disappear from sight at that time they do so for the 

 purpose of spawning, and that the spawning-grounds are in the quiet bayous and lagoons, the 

 places where the old fish are last seen. These views of the fishermen are partly conjectural, and 

 at first I did not agree with them, but the more I observed the movements of the fish the more 

 plausible seemed the fishermen's views. The following facts have led me to adopt them: (1) 

 The Spanish Mackerel arrive in the spring with spawn and milt and go away without them. (2) 

 They disappear into out-of-the-way places with nearly ripe spawn, and in a short time reappear 

 in or about the same places without it. The operation of spawning leaves them somewhat emaci- 

 ated. They do not, of course, spawn all at one time, and it is not unfrequent that fish with spawn 

 and those which have deposited it are caught by a fishing-crew on the same day." 



The Spanish Mackerel sometimes attains the weight of eight or nine pounds, though it rarely 

 exceeds three or four pounds. A specimen taken off Block Island, July 8, 1874, the first of the 

 season, measured twenty-six and one-fourth inches and weighed three pounds and five ounces. 

 It is said to be the largest ever taken in this section, and was a female with the ovary spent. 

 Those taken on the coast of New Jersey and farther to the eastward are considered much more 

 delicately flavored than the Chesapeake fish, and command a higher price in the market. In the 

 <inlf States, according to Mr. Stearns, the Spanish Mackerel are in great demand, though but few 

 are caught in the Gulf of Mexico, on account of the absence of proper nets. 



