6o THE BRITISH FISH TRADE. 



eels to such an extent that he does not even catch for the 

 EngHsh market the eels with which many Scotch rivers 

 abound. The herring, the haddock, and the salmon are the 

 fish ordinarily found on Scotch tables ; and the haddock 

 in Scotland almost fills the position which is occupied in 

 England by the sole. On the other hand. Englishmen 

 neglect many excellent kinds of fish. The pilchard, perhaps 

 from the difficulty of carrying so oily a fish, rarely finds 

 a market in England outside Cornwall. So excellent a fish 

 as the halibut is not commonly eaten in London. The 

 skate and the ling are comparatively seldom seen in the 

 west end shops ; while the poorer classes, who eat cockles 

 in Lancashire, and mussels in the Midland Counties, buy 

 whelks and periwinkles in the London streets. 



Perhaps, however, the most curious distinction between 

 Scotch and English may be found in their respective pre- 

 ferences for the female and the male crab. In England 

 the female crab is hardly saleable ; and probably the roe, 

 which she carries inside her shell till it is ripe for extrusion, 

 is chiefly used as dressing for turbot. In Scotland, on the 

 contrary, the male crab is hardly ever eaten, and people 

 will not buy a whole crab which is not a female. In the 

 shops in Aberdeen the claws of the male crab are sold 

 separately ; the bodies are frequently unsold. It would 

 probably be difificult to find another instance, so marked, of 

 the different habits or tastes of two people who are united 

 in one nation by the tie of a common language and common 

 interest.* 



It has been the object of the preceding pages to describe 



* In the same way the French send their lobsters to England ; 

 while the cray fish of Cornwall find a rare market in London, and are 

 sold in Paris. The " trout " of the Tweed {salmo eriox) would be 

 rejected by any London epicure ; they command in the Paris market 

 as high a price as salmon. 



