450 



THE ANCHOVY. 



ALICE SHAD. 



It has been asserted that Shads delight in music, and that they am 

 afraid of storms. They are so little tenacious of life, that, like the Her- 

 ring, they always die as soon as they are taken out of the water. 



When these fish are taken ont of the sea, they are thin and ill- 

 flavored ; but the longer they continue in the rivers, the fatter and 

 more eatable they become. In the Severn they are considered very 

 delicate fish, especially in that part of the river which flows bj 

 Gloucester; here they are usually sold at a price higher than that of 

 Salmon. The Thames Shad is esteemed a very coarse and insipid fish. 

 In most countries the males are considered less delicate food than the 

 females. 



THE ANCHOVY. 



Like the Herring and the Sprats, these fish leave the deeps of the 

 open sea inorder to frequent the smooth and shallow places of the 

 coasts, for the purpose of spawning. Between the mouths of December 

 and March, immense numbers are caught on the shores of Provence, 

 Brabant, and Catalonia: during June and July, in the English 

 Channel and in the environs of Venice, Genoa, Rome, and Bayonne. 



The fishermen generally light a fire on the shore, for the purpose 

 of attracting the Anchovies, when they fish for them in the night 

 After the Anchovies are cleansed and their heads are cut ofl^ they are 

 cured in a certain way, and packed in small barrels for sale and expor 

 tation. The ancient Greeks and Romans prepared from these fish a 

 liquid, which they denominated garum, and which was highly esteemed 

 by most of the epicures of that day. 



Anchovies are occasionally found both in the North Sea and in the 

 Baltic ; but it is supposed that they are in much greater number in the 

 Mediterranean, than in any other part of the world. 



