Alewife; Branch Herring 



the spring, and is often sold as sliad to the unsuspecting. Very 

 soon the market for them ceases and they are then used as fer- 

 tilizer. It is also often sold with the alewife and glut herring, 

 I tailor counting as 2 herring. 



Head 4; depth 3f; D. 15; A. 21; scales so; scutes 20+16. 

 Head rather long; lower jaw considerably projecting, the upper 

 emarginate; dorsal fin inserted nearer snout than base of caudal. 

 Colour, bluish silvery; sides with rather faint longitudinal stripes; 

 peritoneum pale. 



Alewife ; Branch Herring 



Pomolobiis pseudohareiigus (Wilson) 



This is known also as wall-eyed herring, big-eyed herring, 

 spring herring, blear-eyed herring, ellwife, Gaspereau, and doubt- 

 less by many other names. It is found on our Atlantic coast 

 from the Carolinas northward and is very abundant. It enters 

 fresh-water streams to spawn and the run usually precedes that 

 of the shad by 2 or 3 weeks. It is found also in certain small 

 lakes in New York tributary to the St. Lawrence and in Lake 

 Ontario where it is exceedingly abundant. It seems to be land- 

 locked in these lakes and is greatly dwarfed in size. In Lake 

 Ontario myriads die every year in early summer. 



Head 4f; depth }^\ eye }h; D. 16; A. 19; scales 50; scutes 

 21 + 14; gillrakers 30 to 40 below the angle. Body rather deep 

 and compressed; head short, nearly as deep as long; maxillary 



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