SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 211 



pieces of old stakes thickly covered with Mussels, of all 

 sizes, were removed from the scars and fixed in the struc- 

 ture, but in a very short time all had disappeared. A 

 further trial will, however, be given it during the present 

 year, and, as soon as possible, it is intended to re-stock it." 



Notes on the Shad. 

 (By Mr. E. L. As croft.) 



This fish, whose scientific name is " Clupea alosa,'* 

 belongs (as that appelation imports) to the Herring tribe. 

 It is found in the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic 

 and North Sea coasts of Europe, as far as Jutland. In 

 this country it is plentiful in the Severn, and I have 

 taken several on the Lancashire coast in a mackerel baulk 

 at Formby. The Shad must have been numerous on the 

 Lancashire coast, for in a lease of lands lying between the 

 Ribble and the Mersey, one of the conditions of the lease 

 was that one thousand Shad be delivered to the lessor by 

 the lessee during the Shad season (Sceadda dagen), and, 

 at the present time, all bright, silvery small fish caught in 

 the Shrimp nets in the Lancashire district are called Shad 

 by the fishermen. 



Like the Herring, it is a migratory fish, but it continues 

 its migration up the rivers for a short distance above the 

 tidal waters to spawn. It enters the rivers in Holland 

 from the middle of March to the middle of June, and 

 proceeds up the rivers. In the Severn it is rarely seen 

 above Worcester. The eggs, which are heavier than 

 water, are laid by the female when in company of a male. 

 The pair swim at night at or near the surface of the 



