34: NATtJKAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF DUBLIN. 



the month of July. The parent fish, when brought on board, exuded 

 the young in that state on the deck. 



In soundings of thirty fathoms, among small stones, millipores, 

 and coarse sand, I took numerous specimens of rare Crustacea. I shall 

 only now allude to some beautiful specimens of Lepodogaster of a most 

 beautiful vermilion colour, it was L. himaculatus, which by their 

 suckers were firmly attached to the stones. I had formerly noticed 

 L. cornubiensis to have been taken in pools at low spring tides, at the 

 west Blasket Island. 



To obtain any knowledge of utility in our fisheries, the character 

 of soundings must form our particular research, for the habits of all 

 kinds of fish, their superiority of growth or goodness, depend so much 

 upon peculiar feeding grounds, and on animal life that afford their 

 sustenance, that on such we must depend, in the proper seasons, for the 

 more certain capture of the different kinds of our more valuable edible 

 fish. 



Fine specimens of the red mullet (Mullus surmuletus) have been 

 taken in Brandon Bay, Kerry, and off Ventry Harbour, Dingle Bay 1 

 The mention of the above localities leads me to make some remarks 

 with reference to the Clupeidse, or herring family. 



Some years since, when the fisheries of Dingle Bay were more ex- 

 tensively worked than they are at present, or rather, when fishermen 

 and boats were more numerous, herrings were taken in great quantities; 

 now the men who have good boats turn their attention almost entirely 

 to trawling and to line fishing. I was then much surprised to meet in ' 

 quantities the true sardine of commerce, and in after years constantly 

 noticed them, being the young of the pilchard. No suitable nets or 

 means of capture were ever attempted by the fishermen, although they 

 annually frequent the Bay of Dingle. My lamented and excellent 

 friend, the late "William Thompson, of Belfast, was much surprised 

 when I communicated to him the meeting in the estuary of Brandon 

 Bay of the true whitebait (Clupea alosa). It was the young of the 

 Alosa which ran up into the brackish water of the estuary to spawn, 

 and where the young fry are met. The Alosa also spawns in the Lakes 

 of Killarney, and are taken there by the fishermen when hauling for 

 salmon. I have seen the young of the Alosa and the fry of the herrings 

 in the fishmongers' shops of London on sale as whitebait, and large 

 quantities of herring fry have been taken at the entrance of the Biver 

 Liffey and sold for whitebait. There is no doubt that both the fry of 

 the herring and the fry of the shad have both been sold and described 

 as the whitebait, the latter more particularly, which is correctly figured 

 by Donovan ("British Fish," plate 98). 



I am led now to bring to notice another interesting species of the 

 Clupeidse, the true Anchovy {Engraulis encrasicholus), the first time 

 placed on record as captured on the shores of Ireland. I had heard of 

 a species of small herring that had been taken in the herring nets of a 

 peculiar silvery brightness. I was delighted to obtain a specimen last 



