DISTRIBUTION OF THE BONITO. 317 



of which have been detected in our waters eince 1876, but the fish which most frequently 

 and in greatest numbers approaches our shores is the one which is named at the head of this 

 section. Almost nothing is known of its habits, and it is even impossible to define its geographical 

 range with any degree of certainty, its distribution being quite unlike that of any other fish with 

 which we are acquainted. It may be said, however, that it is found only in the Atlantic Ocean. 

 On our coast it is found in summer between Cape May and Cape Sable, though rarely north of Cape 

 Ann ; ' occasionally off Cape Hatteras and the mouth of the Chesapeake and in the Gulf of Mexico. 

 Specimens have been taken about the Canaries and Madeira, at the Cape of Good Hope and in 

 the Mediterranean. It has not been observed on the coast of Europe north of Gibraltar, nor at the 

 Bermudas. 



This fish does not appear to have been abundant in former years: it attracted but little atten- 

 tion iu our waters before 1860, although it was alluded to in 1815 by Mitchill, in 1842 by DeKay, 

 and in 1856 by Gill; none of these authors, however, seem to have regarded it as at all abundant.* 



A note from Prof. J. Hammond Trumbull states : " This fish used to be quite common, in some 

 years, in the Stonington market. 1 have a note of a considerable number in market July 22, 1842, 

 their first appearance for the season." 



Storer remarked in 1846: "This species, called by the fishermen in Boston market the 'Skip- 

 jack,' and by those at the extremity of Cape Cod the ' Bonito,' is very rarely met with in Massa- 

 chusetts Bay. It is occasionally taken at Provincetown, and even at Lynn. At some seasons it is 

 frequently caught at Martha's Vineyard with trailing bait." 



During the past ten or fifteen years they have become exceedingly abundant about Block 

 Island and the eastern end of Long Island.^ Fabulous quantities are taken in the pound-nets. 



■^ August 6, 1876, Captain Webb, of Milk Island, took seventy-three Bonitos in his weir, and August 7 twenty- 

 eight more in an eight-inch gilj-net. 



''The following extracts from the journal of one of the earliest settlers of New England may refer either to this 

 fish or to one of the smaller species of Tunny : 



"1635, July 18 [near Newfoundland]. Saturday, wind northwest, a fair, cool day. We saw this morning a 

 great many of Bonitoes leaping and playing about the ship. Bonito is a fish somewhat bigger than a cod, but less 

 than a porpoise." — Mather's Journal. Young's Chronicles of the First Planters of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Boston : 

 1846, p. 464. 



"1635, July 21 [near Newfoundland]. Tuesday morning, a great calm after a hot night. This morning our 

 seamen took a Bonito and opened him upon the deck; of which, being dressed, our master sent Mathew Michel and 

 me part, as good fish in eating as could be desired. About noon the wind became northeast, good for our purpose, 

 so that we went that afternoon nine or ten leagues a watch." — Mather's Journal. Young's Chronicles of the First 

 Planters of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Boston: 1846, p. 464. 



'BoNlTA. — We did not say half enough the other day about the new visitor in our bay, the Bonita. If it shall 

 become plentifdl in our waters, as it promises to be, it will become a most valuable article of food. A correspondent, 

 whose opinion upon matters of this kind is ultimate, writes: "Your article on the Bonita is every word true; pray, 

 haVe your attention turned to fish, the great question (economical) of the day. Last night I had a fish on my tahle 

 which they said was a kind of Spanish mackerel; the moment I tasted it I said it was a Bonita, having eaten it thirty 

 years since, on my first voyage to India, and the taste had never been forgotten. It is the salmon of the sea. Mark 

 its solidity of flesh, its great weight, its purity of taste, entire absence of the slightly decayed taste all fish has during 

 warm weather. It is as nourishing as beef." The remainder of the note is "strictly confidential," and so was the 

 basket which accompanied it with the choicest treasure of the sea covered with the greenest leaves of the land. We 

 certify from actual experiment that Bonita is the worthy rival of the Spanish mackerel, the sheepshead, and the 

 salmon. We are pleased to quote it in our household market report at the more reasonable price of twenty cents a 

 pound. — Providence Journal, July, 1871. 



The people of Bhode Island are happy in consequence of the appearance in their waters of that excellent fish, the 

 Bonita. This fish is esteemed superior to the Spanish mackerel, and nearly equal in flavor to the salmon. It has not 

 been known iu Rhode Island waters until recently; now it is so plentiful that it is sold in the Providence fish markets 

 at twenty cents per pound. — Germantown Telegraph, August 2, 1871. 



The Bonita. — Mr. John Flyon," of the Citizens' Market, yesterday received another supply of that new and 

 dainty fish, the Bonita, and those who have not yet tasted of this worthy rival of the Spanish mackerel, the sheeps- 

 head, and the salmon, will do well to call at his market to-day and obtain one of these rare visitors. — Providence 

 Journal, 1871. 



