50 Ichthyology of the Firth of Forth. 



V. — Contributions to the Ichthyology of the Firth of Forth. By 

 R. Parnell, M. D. 



I. — The White-bait. — The Sprat. — The Herring. 



Gen. Char. Tongue and roof of the mouth with minute teeth ; 

 under jaw the longest. 



Clupea alba, Yarrell. (The White-bait.) Tab. I. Fig. 1. Dor- 

 sal fin placed nearer the tip of the tail than to the point of the 

 nose; ventral fins under the dorsal. 



Clupea alosa, Donovan, PI. 98 — 'White-bait, Pennant Clupea alba, Yarrell, 



Zool. Journal, and Brit. Fishes, ii. p. 126. 



The White-bait, which is found so plentifully in the Thames, and 

 is so well known in the neighbourhood of London, as a delicate and 

 well-flavoured fish, was supposed by naturalists to be the young of 

 the shad, until Mr Yarrell, in the Magazine of Natural History, 

 proved it to be a distinct species. 



In many respects it differs materially from all the other British 

 species of Clupea, not only in specific characters, but also in its 

 habits, and is one as distinctly marked as any of its congeners. From 

 the beginning of April to the end of September, this fish, according 

 to Mr Yarrell, may be caught in the Thames as high up as Wool- 

 wich or Blackwall, every flood tide, in considerable quantity ; while 

 during the first three months of this period, neither species of the 

 genus Clupea of any age or size, except occasionally a young sprat, 

 can be found. 



About the end of March, or early in April, white-bait begin to 

 make their appearance in the Thames, and remain till the end of 

 September, when they are no longer to be found in the river. In the 

 months of June, July, and August, provided the weather be fine, im- 

 mense quantities are consumed by visitors to Greenwich and Black- 

 wall, where epicures of all orders assemble for a white-bait feast. 



The fishery for these fish is continued in the Thames frequently so 

 late as September, and specimens of young fish of the year, from four 

 to five inches long, are then not uncommon, but mixed, even at this late 

 period of the season, with others of very small size, as if the roe 

 had continued to be deposited throughout the summer. 



The white-bait is not, as it was formerly considered to be, pe- 

 culiar to the Thames, as I have found it to inhabit the Firth of 

 Forth in considerable numbers during the summer months. From 

 the beginning of July to the end of September they are found in 

 great abundance in the neighbourhood of Queensferry, and opposite 

 Hopetoun House, where I captured, on one dip of a small net, 

 4 



