THE HERRING AND ITS ALLIES. 387 
ing general conclusions regarding their movements are deduced from the 
statements of about two hundred observers at different points on the coasts 
from Florida to Nova Scotia. 
At the approach of settled warm weather they make their appearance in 
the inshore waters. It is manifestly impracticable to indicate the periods 
of their movements except in an approximate way. The comparison of 
two localities distant apart one or two hundred miles will indicate very 
little. When wider ranges are compared there becomes perceptible a cer- 
tain proportion in the relations of the general averages. There is always 
a balance in favor of earlier arrivals in the more southern localities ; thus 
it becomes apparent that the first schools appear in Chesapeake Bay in 
March and April; on the coast of New Jersey in April and early May; 
on the coast of New England in late April and May; off Cape Ann about 
the middle of May, and in the Gulf of Maine in the latter part of May 
and the first of June. Returning, they leave Maine late in September or 
in October; Massachusetts in October, November and December, the 
latest departures being those of fish which have been detained in the nar- 
row bays and creeks ; Long Island Sound and vicinity in November and 
December ; Chesapeake Bay in December, and Cape Hatteras in January. 
Farther to the south they appear to remain more or less constantly 
throughout the year. 
The arrival of the Menhaden schools is closely synchronous with the 
period at which the weekly average of the surface temperatures of the 
harbors rises to 51° F.; they do not enter waters in which, as about 
Eastport, Me., the midsummer surface temperatures, as indicated by 
monthly averages, fall below 51° F., and their departure in the autumn 
is closely connected with the fall of the thermometer to 51° F. and 
below. 
The arrival of the Menhaden is announced by their appearance at the 
top of the water. Theyswim in immense schools, their heads close to the 
surface, packed side by side, and often tier above tier, almost as closely 
as sardines ina box. A gentle ripple indicates their position, and this 
may be seen at a distance of nearly a mile by the lookout at the masthead 
of a fishing vessel, and is of great assistance to the seiners in setting their 
nets. At the slightest alarm the school sinks toward the bottom, often 
escaping its pursuers. Sailing over a body of Menhaden swimming at a 
short distance below the surface, one may see their glittering backs 
