44 DESCRIPTION OF THE HERRING, 



able beauty ; tliey afterwards appear of a silvery tinge. 

 They lie over each other in regular lines, with the con- 

 vex edges pointing from the head towards the tail, so 

 that they form small segments or concave edges to- 

 wards the head, forming fifteen rows of scales between 

 the dorsal and the ventral fin. Professor Yalenciennes, 

 in his edition of Baron Cuvier's "Natural History of 

 Fishes," vol. xx. p. 27, says, " The scales detach so easily 

 that it is very rare to find a herring which has not lost 

 them almost entirely." Now, it will be found that the 

 scales of the herring are more attached, or are less 

 deciduous, than those of any other fish of this genus, 

 as indeed may be seen in the properly cured, salted, or 

 smoked herrings. 



Bones. — The spine or back-bone consists of fifty-six 

 vertebroe ; the cavity of the belly, terminating at the anal 

 fin, has on each side thirty-five or thirty-six bones or ribs, 

 and the sides near the tail are furnished with several 

 minute bones, terminating in soft elastic branches at 

 that fin. 



Colour. — The herring, when taken out of the water, 

 is one of the most beautiful of the scaly tribe, ex- 

 hibiting on the sides and back brilliant golden and blue 

 tints, and having to a considerable extent the bright 

 pavonine lustre. After it has remained a short time out 

 of its element, it becomes of a dark -bluish and green 

 colour on the back, and of a silvery colour on the sides 

 and belly ; the termination of the body at the tail is re- 

 markable in exhibiting a beautiful dark-green colour when 

 held before the light. 



Heart. — The heart of the herring is situated at the 

 upper part of the stomach, in a cavity near the gills ; 

 it is three-sided, and consists of a single auricle and a 



