FISHES. 



Mount Bay, a fishing ground for Pilchard. 



The Pilchard greatly resembles the Herring in appearance, but may be known by the position of ths 

 back fins. In the Pilchard this is so fixed in the centre of the body, that if the fish be held by it, the 

 body exactly balances, while, in the Herring, this fin lies back of the centre, so that the fish, when sus- 

 pended thereby, hangs with his head downwards. 



Unlike the Herring, which visits all parts of the British coast, the Pilchard is found only on the Devon- 

 shire and Cornwall shores. However, the immense numbers, which annually come here, compensate for 

 their limited range. The south of Ireland is occasionally visited by them, and the French and Spanish 

 coasts are their quite frequent resorts. They spawn sometimes in May, but the usual season is October. 

 It is now believed that they do not migrate to the arctic seas, but that their sole change of location is from 

 the deep sea to the shore and back again. The Pilchard is from nine to eleven inches long, thus diilering 

 little in bulk from the Herring. It differs however, from the latter in several points, two of which are its 



being more oily and having no teeth. 



The chief stations of the Pilchard 

 fishsry are St. Ives, in North Cornwall; 

 Mount's Bay, in the south ; St. Mawes, 

 and Meoagissey, on the east; and so 

 on to the coasts of Devonshire. There 



are two modes of fishing, with seines 

 and with nets. The former requires 

 considerable capital, as about eighteen 

 men and three boats are employed in 

 conducting a single establishment, while 

 (340) 



The Pilchard 



