C 285 ] 
examination, may be met with in a table that I fhali 
place at the end of this paper, which will give the 
particulars relating to this lort of fifh,‘ and feveral 
others, in the fhorted manner, but with fufficient 
didindnefs. 
The next that came under my infpedion was the 
fmelt. Thefe, it is well known, are a very fmall lore 
of fifh, and are frequently ufed for garni lla to thole 
that are larger. In one of thefe, which did not wewh 
quite two ounces, I found 38,272 eggs ; and in none 
fo few as 20,000; excepting one, which was ex- 
tremely fmall, not weighing above 289.1. grains, in 
which very fmall fifh I found 14,41 1 ! This was 
amazing. 
I was much more furprized, when, after this, I 
learnt what was the fecundity of mackarel. This no 
author that I met with gave an account of, 
though it is a fifh fo extremely common. In one 
large fifh of this kind, weighing fomewhat better 
than 14th, I found 454,961 eggs; in a fecond, of 
much the fame weight, 430,846 ; and in a third, 
which weighed but about itt>2oz. I found 546,681. 
I was adonifhed upon this, that Bradley fhould 
call the fuppoled fecundity of carp, which he makes 
to be but about 20,000, fo furprizing ; or that even 
Petit’s obfervation, which made it appear, that in 
fome filh of that fpecies the eggs amount to 
34 2 > J 44> fhould caufe the carp to be feleded as the 
mod: extraordinary fifh for increafe, after the cod, 
when it appears to be fo much greater in mackarel 
(which is at the lame time fo common a fifh), as to 
be not much fhort of the proportion of 5 to 3, in 
the lad I examined. 
I fhali 
