316 THE OCEAN. 
of the Mackerel family. They are of considerable 
size, but the Albacore (Scober Germo) is the larger, 
sometimes being found six feet in length. Like its 
relative, our own Mackerel, it is a fish of much 
elegance, and its colours are beautiful. The back 
is bright azure, with a golden tint; the belly and 
sides silvery, with rainbow reflections, like mother- 
of-pearl, and the same notched fins near the tail 
are bright yellow. In slight winds, when the mo- 
tion of a ship is slow, these fishes are usually to 
be seen around her; if she be becalmed, and con- 
sequently motionless, they remain at some little 
distance, when the most tempting bait is ineffec- 
tual; but if she be sailing rapidly before a brisk 
breeze, they pertinaciously keep her company, keep- 
ing close alongside, and seizing the hook with avi- 
dity. The Albacore, as already hinted, is one of 
the hunters of the little Flying-fish. It is said to 
be highly interesting to watch one of these fishes 
keenly engaged in pursuit of its volatile prey: to 
mark the precision with which it keeps exactly be- 
neath during the aerial leaps of the victim, keeping 
it steadily in sight, prepared to snap it up, on the 
instant of its submersion. The Flying-fish, how- 
ever, by its exceeding agility, darting again into 
the air in a moment, sometimes contrives to escape 
the fearful jaws of its adversary. 
The Albacore, in its turn, has occasion to exer- 
cise cunning and contrivance, to evade the attacks 
of a still mightier foe. Mr. F. D. Bennett mentions 
that, on one occasion, “The Albacore around the 
ship afforded us an extraordinary spectacle; they 
