21 8 The Bonito 



is an elegant little fish, never growing heavier than 

 about five pounds, and exceedingly succulent as to 

 its flesh, which is much superior to either that of 

 bonito or albacore. It is not at all unlike the blue- 

 fish of the American coast, and I think its flesh is 

 superior to that, highly as the latter seems to be 

 esteemed in American restaurants. 



Its usual range of habitat is, I should say, co- 

 extensive with that of the bonito, but being somewhat 

 capricious in its appearance it is not nearly so often 

 seen. It has earned its trivial name by its peculiar 

 habit of doing continually what the bonito only does 

 occasionally, that is, making short vertical leaps into 

 the air for no apparent reason, except perhaps joie 

 de vivre. It is a pretty and at the same time a peculiar 

 sight to see a large school of Skip-jack aU busily 

 springing out of water, as if their very existence 

 depended upon their doing it rapidly and regularly. 

 They feed on the same food as do the bonito, but I 

 have no doubt that now and then some of their smaller 

 members fall victims to the hunger of the larger 

 bonito. The Skip-jack and the bonito do not associate, 

 they keep well clear of each other, as do all the different 

 varieties I have hitherto named, unless one is chasing 

 the other for a meal. 



They are by no means beloved by sailors, for the 

 simple reason that unconsciously they are very tan- 

 talising. Few things are more annoying to a half- 

 famished crew than to see, on some delightfully quiet 

 afternoon, the smiling surface of the sea dotted all 

 over with circles caused by the upspringing of thousands 

 of succulent fish, not one of whom wUl come near 

 enough to the ship to be tempted, or if he did would 

 be persuaded into the belief that a bit of white rag 

 was a flying-fish or squid. 



