S M E L T. Class IV. 



Magellan^^ and of a mofl furprifing fize, fome 

 meafuring twenty inches in length, and eight in cir- 

 cumterence. 



They inhabit the feas that vvafh thefe iflands the 

 whole year, and nev^er go very remote from fhore, 

 except when they afcend the rivers. It is remark- 

 ed in certain rivers that they appear a lon^ time 

 before they.fpawn, being taken in great abundance 

 in Novemher^ Decemher^ and January^ in the 'Thames 

 and Dee^ but in others not till February^ and iri 

 March and April they fpawn \ after which-f they all 

 return to the fait water, and are not feen in the 

 rivers till the next feafon. It has been obferved, 

 that they never come into the Merfey as long as 

 there is any fnow water in the river. 



Thefe filh vary greatly in fize, but the largefl 

 we ever heard of was thirteen inches long, and 

 weighed half a pound. 



They have a very particular fcent, from whence 

 is derived one of their EngliJJj namies Smeh^ i. e. 

 fmell it. That of Sparlings which is ufed in Wales 

 and the north of EnglanJ^ is taken from the French 

 Eperlan. There is a wonderful difagreement in the 

 opinion of people in refpedl to the fcent of this 

 fiih-, fome aflert it flavors of the violet; the Ger- 



* NarhorougFs Voy. 123. 



f In the river Con-May ^ near Llanr-i-J}, and in the Mcr/ey 

 they never continue above three or four weeks. 



mans 



