XV 



THE AMERICAN SHAD 



(^Alosa sapidissima) 



MANY epicures believe that an American 

 shad, freshly taken from a nearby river 

 and "planked," is the best of all American 

 fishes. 



There was a time in early Colonial days 

 when the shad was not esteemed as a food- 

 fish, owing to the fact that a similar fish was 

 found in the waters of Great Britain, France, 

 and Spain where it was considered a poor 

 man's fish of inferior quality. 



This fish, the allis shad, Clupea alosa, is 

 still found in those waters. It spawns in 

 the Severn and used to do so in the Thames. 



It is also found in many rivers that empty 

 into the Mediterranean and the Baltic, as 

 well as into the Black and Caspian seas. 



It was not long before the quality of the 

 American fish was appreciated, for we are 

 [159] 



