myD. OS THE FOOD OF tttt: mackeeel. 293 



eoast. In tbe same maimer Ihey meet and fidlov the eaplin, ^-ie-i no dooM hj the peenliar odor 

 devda^ed by each ^ecies at tlie appioaeh of the spawning season. 



-Bnt it is tbe babit of the sand-eel of bmying itsdf in tbe sand between tiie tides, c^ in snb- 

 moged sand beadiea, that kads tbe Maetrerd so dose inshore. 



'^There can be little donbt that a gimilar izLii-d^i^Lr and uai-iratigiit of Maek@d and odier 

 fi^h oeeor in onr waters when the lannce leaTe tbe deep sea to approadi the land, or wfaoB tbev 

 zetom to tiie deep sesk again. Unlike many of tbe shrimps and larval forms om wbidi tbe Mack- 

 exd jGeed. vbicb are drifted to and firo hj winds and eorrents, tbe lannee is independent of tbe 

 wind; bat it is oaij in certain favorable localities fieqnented by tfai- fish that the buiTliig process 

 bdween tide-maiks, £rom wbieb it derives its name, can be eaaly eSected : hence, these resorts are 

 not cmly valoable as bait groonds, bat graieraDy noted mackerel groands, st::L a-s Seven Isliijds, 

 md smne parts of Bay of Cbalenr, and part <rf tbe gnlf cijast of ^Tew Bmnswick. 



~This bait-fi:^ a^roadies tbe sandy beaches frhigiiig the shores of the gulf in the early som- 

 mec months to ^pawn: and here the 3Iackerel are foond porsning them while engaged in d^oait- 

 ing thdr eomparatiTely larse reddi^-color^ ova on the sands between faigfa and low wat^. 

 Hraice. during flood tide, and in the laonce sea^-n. llackerel are ctHnmonly taken close in^ore on 

 these coasts, in porsait of the lannce; and rue best catches are said to be made during the peziod 

 of hi^ tide, Sar the following reason : In doll, cloudy weather the lannce buries itsdf in the sands 

 Jeft bare by the ebbing tides; bat in bright, hot weather it rarely seeks the shelter of the sand, 

 except near low-watei' mark, probably becaose the beat of the son would be oppres^e. Thfi 

 toeadlh of sandy ground in ^iiicri the launee buries itself fi» the brief period between liigh and 

 low water marks is thus dependent upon the cleamess of the sky. 



"A continnanoe of cloudy weather i^ eondmave to this kind of close inshore fi^iery: whereas 

 a bci|^t sky, and a day with a drying wind, leads ibe lannce to selet^ the narrow bands of sandy 

 beach near tbe margin c£ d>b4ide, which always remain moist. In dondy weather with a moist 

 wind, the area in which the lannce bury themsdres and emerge during the ineoming tide is ibns 

 very much greater than in bri^t. hot weather; and it is not unfirequoilly fimnd 1^ experience 

 that the Ma^erd eateh in sodi localities is modi greater in cloudy weatha than in brig^ weaths*, 

 because ti^ bait grotmd is then &r more extensive dose insIuRe. 



"As Ihe summer advances and the lannce rdire to deep water the Mackoel &ed upon the 

 fiee^wimming and floating emlnycmie forms of cmstaeeans : among the latter the zoea of differ- 

 ent £mns of exabs are the most common. Adult shrimpe of many spedes form also a la^e portion 

 of thdr food, and the infinite numbers of these forms of ]i& which exist in the sea, ftom the coast 

 hue to a thousand miles fiom land, may be inferred ftom the &et that, together with fish, they 

 form the great staple of flood of seals in northem seas. 



"Dr. Sobert Brown states that, during tiie sealing season in Spitzbergen seas, be has taken 

 out of tiie stomachs of seals various spedes of Gammanu {6. Sabhtij G. lorioatmg; G. pimffitig; 6. 

 demiat*»; G. mutatus, etc.;. colleetivdy known to whates nnd^ the name 'mountebank shrimps,' 

 deriving the designation ftom thdr peenliar agility in water.* 



''These small t^nstaceans are fiimnd in countless numbers on the great outiying banks cff the 

 Xortii American coast, and in the Labrador seas tiiey are alj^j in great profudtm. 



"^ It is of fecial importance to notice that very many if not all of these free-swimming crea- 

 tures in the sea, from invisiMe mieroscopie forms to the largest shrimp, sink to different zones of 

 water or rise to the surface witih the variations in temi)eratnre and changes in the direction and 

 force of the wind. In fine weather, when the food is at the surface, the Mackerel, the hexzing, and 



>])e.B.Bkows: OtttheSeahof fewwland. 



