THE PILCHARD. 213 



seasons of the year, and even there their habits vary in the 

 different months. In January they keep near the bottom, and 

 are chiefly hauled up in the stomachs of ravenous fishes; in 

 March they sometimes assemble in schulls, but this union is only 

 partial and not permanent and only becomes so in July; when they 

 regularly and permanently congregate so as to invite the fisher- 

 man's pursuit. The season and situation for spawning, and the 

 choice of food, are the chief reasons which influence the motions 

 of the great bodies of these fish; and it is probable that a thorough 

 knowledge of these particulars would explain all the variations 

 which have been noticed in the doings of the pilchard, in the 

 numerous unsuccessful seasons of the fishery. 



They feed with voracity on small crustaceous animals, and 

 Mr. Yarrell frequently found their stomachs crammed with thou- 

 sands of a minute species of shrimp, not larger than a flea. It 

 is probably when they are in search of something like this, that 

 fishermen report they have seen them lying in myriads quietly 

 at the bottom, examining with their mouths the sand and small 

 stones in shallow water. The abundance of this food must be 

 enormous, to satisfy such a host. 



"When near the coast,'" says the author of the "History 

 of British Fishes," " the assemblage of pilchards assumes the 

 arrangement of a mighty army, with its wings stretching parallel 

 to the land, and the whole is composed of numberless smaller 

 bodies, which are perpetually joining together, shifting their 

 position, and separating again. There are three stations occupied 

 by this great body, that have their separate influence on the 

 success of the fishery. One is to the eastward of the Lizard, the 

 most eastern extremity, reaching to the Bay of Bigbury in De- 

 vonshire, beyond which no fishing is carried on, except that 

 it occasionally extends to Dartmouth ; a second station is included 

 between the Lizard and Land's End ; and the third is on the 

 north coast of the county, the chief station being about St. Ives. 

 The subordinate motions of the shoals are much regulated by 

 the tide, against the current of which they are rarely known to 

 go, and the whole will sometimes remain parallel to the coast 

 for several weeks, at the distance of a few leagues ; and then, as if 

 by general consent, they will advance close to the shore, sometimes 

 without being discovered till they have reached it. This usually 

 happens when the tides are strongest, and is the period when 



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