226 ACANTHOPTERTGII. 



cMchen, -aarth. of Ireland (Thompson). L'Atherine pretre, "pretre,"as tlie silvery 

 lateral band is considered to resrmble a priest's stole ; or abusseau or rosere on the 

 Atlantic shores of France. De Knornar-visch, Holland. 



Habits. — This appears to be rather a local species generally living in small 

 communities along the shores, or in harbours or bays where the ground is rough 

 and sandy, and the water smooth, retiring in winter to deeper water. Couch 

 remarks that he had been informed of instances in the shallow waters of a harbour 

 where numbers which had been surprised by a sudden frost had been left dead on 

 the shore. It eats small Crustacea and vegetable matter. 



Means of capture. — Nets of about 30 yards long and 18 feet deep, made of fine 

 twine and having a small mesh. One end is held by a person on shore, while 

 another in a boat has the other end. The net is thus dragged at the surface of 

 the water parallel with the shore, or encircling a portion of a bay or of the shore. 

 At Portsmouth Tarrell describes another mode of capture. A concave circular net 

 is suspended from an iron ring of four feet in diameter, kept horizontal by a three- 

 slip bridle. The net is lowered steadily in eight feet of water, among the timber 

 floating on the side of the harbour nearest the dockyard. Pounded crabs sprinkled 

 over the net is the attraction ; and the net is occasionally raised to the surface. A 

 nearly similar plan is employed, according to Buckland, at Lymington in 

 Hampshire, where a man dips a circular net suspended from a pole into the water ; 

 he then baits it, and finally raises it by using the side of the boat as the lever for 

 the pole. They readily take a bait when assembled at the end of piers. 



Bait. — Ogilby states that at Portrush it is only caught by fishing with a small 

 hook, baited with a piece of the flesh of the Galeus cariis, that of every other 

 dog-fish being refused (Zool. 1876, p. 4764). In Cornwall it is found to take a bait 

 readily : in fact along the south coast they are taken by anglers from projecting 

 points in several localities, and observed by Tarrell to be so even when they are 

 heaviest with roe. 



Breeding. — July. "June, July, and early in August " (E.. Couch). In spring 

 they approach the shore at Dingle Harbour, to spawn (Andrew's). 



Uses. — Said to be a good bait, especially for haddocks. 



As food. — Some have deemed it a well-flavoured fish, but rather dry and 

 inferior to the true smelt, and best when in full roe. Others consider them 

 worthless as food and full of bones. 



For cooMng. — They should not be disembowelled, as the liver and roe improve 

 their taste. 



Habitat. — This species extends from the north-east coast of Scotland ; very 

 sparingly along the east shores of Great Britain, but abundant on the south. It 

 is also found on the Atlantic coasts of France and the Iberian peninsula, and has 

 been reported from the Mediterranean. 



This fish has been recorded at Aberdeen (Sim) ; St. Andrew's, where it is rare, 

 but one local specimen exists in the museum (Mcintosh) ; in the Firth of Forth it 

 is sometimes washed ashore after easterly winds (Neill), but is usually rare 

 (Pamell). It is recorded from Bridlington Bay, Yorkshire, where it is not 

 uncommon (Hardw. Sc. Gossip, p. 254) : this remark of Meynell appears to be 

 doubted in the Fauna of Yorkshire, p. 113. In the Norfolk estuary it is said to be 

 frequent during the summer months (Lowe), and found at Lowestoft (J. Gumey). 

 Montagu observes that the atherine is as plentiful on some parts of the southern 

 coast of England as the smelt is on the eastern coast, and each seems to have its 

 limits. In Kent the atherine appears to be unknown, but is extremely plentiful 

 in Hampshire, especially about Southampton. On the south coast of Devonshire 

 it is caught in great abundance in the creeks and estuaries, but never in rivers 

 above the flow of the tide. It appears to continue near the shore through the 

 months from autumn to spring. It is found ofl: Dungeness in Kent (Yarrell), 

 along the coast of Sussex (Jenyns) ; throughout the year, except during 

 frosts, at Southampton (Pennant) ; at Weymouth it is common in the harbour 

 (P. Gosse) ; also along the Devonshire coast (Donovan) ; Exmouth (Ross) ; and 

 a frequent visitor during autumn to Cornwall, where it arrives in large shoals 

 and is considered to be excellent eating. 



