90 THE OCEAN. 
Next in importance to the members of the above 
valuable family is the Mackerel, the most elegantly 
beautiful of the finny tribes that throng our shores. 
It is in season earlier than the Herring, usually 
appearing in spring, and the fishery is prosecuted in 
May and June, as in the latter month it spawns. It 
occurs in most abundance in the southern part of the 
kingdom, the coasts of Kent and Sussex being the 
chief stations of the fishery. The Mackerel is taken 
principally by nets, which are so set as to arrest 
the fish while roving about during the night; many, 
however, are taken by means of the hook, the fa- 
vourite bait being a strip of flesh cut from the tail of 
a fresh Mackerel, or, in default thereof, a bit of red 
cloth: the fish bite most readily when the boat is 
sailing rapidly before the wind. The value of this 
fish depends, in a more than common degree, on its 
freshness; and hence it is important that no time be 
lost in conveying it to market. Fast-sailing boats 
are therefore kept in readiness to convey the cargoes 
to London as soon as caught, which usually find it 
advantageous to secure the aid of steam in ascending 
the river, as the loss of a single tide may diminish 
the value of the cargo one half, or even render it 
utterly unsaleable. During the season, not less than 
one hundred thousand are thus brought to Billings- 
gate per week. 
The preceding species, coming in swarming shoals 
into the shallow waters, are usually taken by nets; 
but the Cod, another very valuable fish having dif- 
ferent habits, is taken singly, by hook and line. It 
does not appear that the Cod is gregarious from 
