50 Ichthyology of the Firth of Forth. 
V. Contributions to the Ichthyology of the Firth of Forth. By 
R. PARNELL, M. D. 
I. The White-bait. The Sprat. The Herring. 
GEN. CHAR. Tongue and roof of the mouth with minute teeth ; 
under jaw the longest. 
Clupea alba, Yarrell. (The White-bait.) Tab. I. Fig. 1. Dor- 
sal fin placed nearer the tip of the tail than to the point of the 
nose ; ventral fins under the dorsal. 
Clupea alosa, Donovan, PI. 98 White-bait, Pennant Clupea alba, Yarrell, 
Zool. Journal, and Brit, Fishes, ii. p. 126. 
THE White-bait, which is found so plentifully in the Thames, and 
is so well known in the neighbourhood of London, as a delicate and 
well-flavoured fish, was supposed by naturalists to be the young of 
the shad, until Mr Yarrell, in the Magazine of Natural History, 
proved it to be a distinct species. 
In many respects it differs materially from all the other British 
species of Clupea, not only in specific characters, but also in its 
habits, and is one as distinctly marked as any of its congeners. From 
the beginning of April to the end of September, this fish, according 
to Mr Yarrell, may be caught in the Thames as high up as Wool- 
wich or Blackwall, every flood tide, in considerable quantity ; while 
during the first'three months of this period, neither species of the 
genus Clupea of any age or size, except occasionally a young sprat, 
can be found. 
About the end of March, or early in April, white-bait begin to 
make their appearance in the Thames, and remain till the end of 
September, when they are no longer to be found in the river. In the 
months of June, July, and August, provided the weather be fine, im- 
mense quantities are consumed by visitors to Greenwich and Black- 
wall, where epicures of all orders assemble for a white-bait feast. 
The fishery for these fish is continued in the Thames frequently so 
late as September, and specimens of young fish of the year, from four 
to five inches long, are then not uncommon, but mixed, even at this late 
period of the season, with others of very small size, as if the roe 
had continued to be deposited throughout the summer. 
The white-bait is not, as it was formerly considered to be, pe- 
culiar to the Thames, as I have found it to inhabit the Firth of 
Forth in considerable numbers during the summer months. From 
the beginning of July to the end of September they are found in 
great abundance in the neighbourhood of Queensferry, and opposite 
Hopetoun House, where I captured, on one dip of a small net, 
