102 SUNSHINE AND SPORT IN 



rudder in the rapid twists and turns that the fish 

 must make in the water to elude its persistent foes, 

 the sharks, but this remains pure conjecture and 

 can scarcely claim the support of mechanical 

 theory. 



The large and beautiful scales which cover the 

 body and head like greaves of silver armour are 

 familiar as souvenirs, and made interesting objects 

 for engraving on. Some of the largest measure 

 four or five inches in their greatest diameter, and 

 all have at one end a very decorative patch of 

 silvering, which, when they are in position on the 

 fish, alone shows, while delicately pencilled lines 

 radiate over the surface from a point near the 

 centre of the scale. The lower edge is scalloped, 

 but the rest of the outline is unbroken. With care 

 these scales keep well, but the edges show a 

 tendency to curl, which makes them none too easy 

 to write upon. 



As in all herrings the tail is deeply forked, the 

 lobes differing slightly in length as a rule, though 

 not so conspicuously as in the sharks. In life, the 

 gills are of that bright crimson which perhaps in- 

 dicates rapid circulation of the blood, and they are 

 particularly conspicuous as a tarpon leaps close to 

 your boat and endeavours to shake out the hook. 

 The roof of the mouth is exceedingly hard, and, as 

 I have proved to my own satisfaction on dead fish, 

 it is in some parts literally impossible to force the 

 large hook in up to the barb. 



The greatest length and weight attained by 

 tarpon is even more a matter of guesswork than in 

 the case of fishes that are the object of a regular 

 net fishery. Those who follow Mr Ffennel's 



