SHAD. 
989 
Shads are known from the west coast of Sweden. The 
Twaite Shad is commoner, and is taken off the coast of 
Bohnslan, according to Malm, “now and then, most fre- 
quently on Haddock-lines, both in spring and autumn, 
but usually in October and November.” At the be- 
ginning of July, 1832, according to Nilsson, about a 
score of Twaite Shads were taken in Flounder-nets off 
Mahno (Bohnslan). On the Halland coast the Twaite 
Shad is fairly common, at least in Laholm Bay, where 
it is called BlanJcsill and Stafsill, and in summer it 
ascends to the lower part of the River Laga. It is found 
quite often, according to Schagerstrom, in Schelder Bay 
at the foot of the Kulla Cliffs. In the Sound it is rather 
rare, but commoner than in the Belts (Winther). On 
the Prussian coast, according to Benecke, it formerly 
entered the Haffs in great numbers, but is iioav rare, 
being taken only on few occasions among the hauls of 
Stromming. Nilsson states that in April, 1850, the 
fishermen of Abekas (Southern Scania, west of Ystad) 
caught, partly in gill-nets set for other fish, partly in 
Salmon-seines, 8 or 10 Twaite Shads. From Calmar 
Sound off Borgholm Dr. Areen sent to the Royal Mu- 
seum a male Twaite Shad about 3 dm. long that had 
been taken in a trap on the 13th of October, 1892. 
The Twaite Shad thus occurs in the Swedish part of 
the Baltic, but the specimens are probably solitary ro- 
vers; and this is, no doubt, the case with the Allice 
Shad too, which has been found still higher up. The 
Museum of Upsala contains a female Allice Shad 57 
cm. long that was taken on the 6th July, 1864, in the 
Dal Elf off Elfkarleby (Lilljeborg). 
No Shad-fishery of importance can therefore be 
carried on in Sweden, unless successful attempts be made 
to plant this fish in suitable places within Scandinavia. 
Things are different in the Shad’s true home. In the Old 
World its habitat is of about the same extent as the 
Pilchard’s, and there the Shad is one of the most im- 
portant fishes from an economical point of view, its 
manner of life reminding us strongly of the Salmons. 
The Shad commonly passes the greater part of its 
existence in the sea; and its life there is little known, 
but it probably roves in scattered companies to seek its 
food. This consists not only of small Evertebrates and 
lower algm, but also of moderate-sized fishes. In the 
stomach of a Twaite Shad 47 cm. long Collett found 
about a score of Sprats 65 — 68 mm. in length. 
When its propagative instinct begins to awake, or 
even some time beforehand — this depending seemingly 
on the temperature of the water — the Shad musters in 
shoals to commence its migration to fresh water. Ac- 
cording to McDonald the American Shad ascends the 
St. John’s River (Florida) as soon as the temperature of 
the water has fallen in autumn to about 60° Fain-., 
which happens at the end of November; but the spawn- 
ing is not in full progress till the beginning of April. 
In the Potomac, on the other hand, the Shad presses 
on with the greatest eagerness when the temperature of 
the river, at about the middle of April, is 56° Fa.hr. 
Large and small, ripe and unripe, the fish make their 
approach, but only the former continue their advance, 
until they find a temperature of 65° — 70° Fahr., where- 
upon the spawning is begun, the Shads not yet in 
breeding condition halting at a temperature of 60° Fahr. 
The further north the mouth of the river lies, the later 
is the appearance of the Shad. This seems also to be 
the case in Europe. According to Blanchere 0 Shads 
are taken in French rivers from March till July, and 
according to Valenciennes * 6 the fish appears earlier in 
the Loire than in the Seine. According to van Bem- 
melen (1. c.) the Shad ( alosa first) ascends most of the 
Dutch rivers in April and May. It is a rule too that 
the Twaite Shad arrives about a month after the Allice 
Shad. In England, according to Yarrell, the two 
varieties have a preference for different rivers: in the 
Severn the Allice Shad preponderates, in the Thames 
the Twaite Shad. In Ireland both varieties are fairly 
common, in Scotland somewhat rare. 
At the commencement of its sojourn in fresh water 
the Shad is in its best condition, and it retains its fatness 
until the spawning begins. For the purpose of spawning 
it roves, like the Salmon, but with less vigour, as far 
as it can penetrate up the rivers and their tributaries, in 
the Rhine up to Basel, in the Elbe into Bohemia, and 
in the Loire into Haute Loire, a distance of more than 
800 kilom. (Mon.). During the early part of its ascent 
it is as timid as the Herring and cautious, retreating 
at the approach of a thunderstorm or a. spring freshet ; 
but as the sexual instinct gains sway, the fish lav 
aside all fear, and “grumble and grunt, like a herd of 
swine” (Baldner, in Willughby). Meanwhile, as the 
males and females press together and thrash the sur- 
face with their tails, the eggs are deposited and im- 
" Nouv. Diet. Gen. Peches, p. 16. 
6 Guv.. Val., 1. c., p. 412. 
