THE PILCHARD. 32] 



of the base of the fin ; these first three rays articulated, but simple ; 

 all the other rays branched ; pectoral and ventral fins small, the lat- 

 ter commencing in a line under the middle of the dorsal fin ; the 

 axillary scales very long ; anal fin commencing half-way between 

 the origin of the ventral fins and the end of the flesh portion of the 

 tail ; the first ray short, the second and the last two rays the longest ; 

 tail deeply forked; the scales at the end of the fleshy portion of the 

 body extending far over the bases of the caudal rays, particularly 

 two elongated scales above and below the middle line. Mouth small, 

 without teeth, under jaw the longest ; the breadth of the eye one- 

 fourth of the length of the head, and placed at rather more than its 

 own breadth from the point of the nose ; irides yellowish- white ; 

 cheeks and all the parts of the gill-covers tinged with golden-yellow, 

 and marked with various radiating striae ; posterior edge of the oper- 

 culum nearly vertical and straight ; upper part of the body bluish- 

 green ; sides and belly silvery-white ; dorsal fin and tail dusky. The 

 fin rays in number are — 



D*. 18; P. 16; V. 8; A. 18; C. 19; Vert, 55." (Yarrell.) 



The Pilchard is become of late a very rare fish in the 

 Firth of Forth, as well as along the whole eastern line of 

 the Scottish shores ; yet, about thirty years ago, it was 

 found in equal abundance in certain localities as the com- 

 mon herring. A few are taken occasionally in the summer 

 months on the Berwick and Dunbar coasts, but since the 

 year 1816, no appearance of a Pilchard has been observed 

 in the Firth of Forth. 



" The older naturalists considered the Pilchard, like the 

 herring, as a visitor from a distant region ; and they as- 

 signed to it also the same place of resort as that fish, with 

 which, indeed, the Pilchard has been sometimes confounded. 

 To this it will be a sufficient reply, that the Pilchard is 

 never seen in the Northern Ocean, and the few that some- 

 times wander through the Straits of Dover, or the British 

 Channel, have evidently suffered from passing so far out of 

 their accustomed limits. They frequent the French coasts, 

 and are seen on those of Spain ; but on neither in consider- 

 able numbers, or with much regularity, so that few fishes 



VOL. VII. x 



