THE ANCHOVIES. 611 



The sailors' name for this fish, by wliicli same mime it is also known at Key West, Bermuda, 

 Brunswick, Georgia, and elsewhere, is "Tarpnin" or "Tarpon." In Georgia and Florida it is com- 

 monly called the "Jew-fish." a name also applied by the fishermen of South Florida to a species 

 of pcrcoid which has already been discussed. It is the "Silver-fish" of IVnsacola, the " Grande- 

 ficaille" (Large-scale fish), or " Graudykye," as it is pronounced and sometimes spelled, and the 

 "Savauilla" of Texas. 



The species can hardly be said to bo common on our Atlantic coasts, though from fifty to one 

 hundred specimens are doubtless taken every year between Florida and Cape Cod. In 1874 and 

 1875 none were caught in the Saint John's River, though several had been brought iu during the 

 previous winter. In the Indian River region these fish are sometimes harpooned. 



Mr. Stearns contributes the following notes upon the fish, as observed by him: 



" The Silver-fish, or Grande Ecaille, is common everywhere on the Gulf coast. It is an im- 

 iiii-nse and active fish, preying eagerly upon schools of young fry, or any small fish that it is able 

 to receive into its mouth, and in pursuit of which it ascends fresh-water rivers quite a long distance. 

 During September, 1879, 1 saw large numbers of Silver-fish eight or ten miles up the Apalachicola 

 Ki ver, and am told 4hat that was not an unusual occurrence. They go up the Homosassa River in 

 Florida, and several of the Texas rivers, so I have subsequently learned. The Tarpuui will take 

 a baited hook, but it is difficult to handle and seldom landed. The Pensacola seine fishermen 

 dread it while dragging their seines, for they have known of persons having been killed or severely 

 injured by its leaping against them from the seine in which it was inclosed. Even when it does 

 not jump over the cork-line of a seine, it is quite likely to break through the netting before landed. 

 I have secured several specimens, the smallest of which weighed thirty pounds and the largest 

 about seventy-five pounds." 



The Tarpum is sometimes eaten, and is said to be very palatable. 1 



183. THE BIG-EYED HERRING. 



The "Big-eyed Herring" or "Ten-pounder," Elops aaurus, was described by Linna-us from a 

 Carolina specimen sent to him by Garden. It occurs all along the coast from Martha's Vineyard 

 southward, but only in the summer in the northern part of its range. It is cosmopolitan in its 

 distribution, occurring throughout the West Indies, on the coast of South America, on both coasts 

 of Mexico, at the Cape of Good Hope, iu East Africa, Arabia, and China. At Fort Macou it is 

 known as the "Horse Mackerel." It is rarely or never eaten in the United States, its flesh being 

 said to be dry and bony. 



184. THE ANCHOVIES ENGRAULIDjE. 



A species of Anchovy, Stolepltorw Brotcni, is extremely common about Fort Macon, where it 

 is known as the " Sardine" and occurs in large schools. Specimens of this and of an allied species 

 (8. Mitchilli) are occasionally taken in the vicinity of Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, and in greater 

 abundance in New Jersey. 



The presence of a true Anchovy in America was first announced by Professor Baird in 1854. 

 A species was noticed by Mitchill, but its relations to the Anchovy of Europe were not recognized. 

 In his Keport on the Fish of the New Jersey Coast, Professor Baird remarked of 8. Browni: "The 

 Anchovy made its appearance early iu August in the shallow waters along the beach, though of 

 very small size; it subsequently became more abundant, and towards the end of the month, while 

 hauling a large net in the surf, many were taken, measuring over six inches in length ; as the 



'See statement of W. II. Hurrull, Forest and Stream, ii, 1874, p. 324. 



