OSSEOUS FISHES. 
573 
like the parr— one party contending that it is the young of the 
herring ; another, that it is a distinct species. Pennant, Yarrell, ana 
many eminent naturalists adopt the first view: its specific characters, 
according to Pennant, being “ greater depth of body than the young 
herring, gill-covers not veined ; teeth of tbe lower jaw so small as to be 
scarcely visible to the touch ; the dorsal fin placed far back, and the 
sharp edge of the abdomen more acutely serrated than in the herring. 
Like the herring, they inhabit the deep water during the summer, 
following the shoal to the sea-shore in autumn. The sprat-fishing 
commences in November and continues during the winter months, 
when they are caught in such numbers that in some localities they 
have been used as manure. 
In support of the individuality of the sprat, the serrated belly and 
relative position of the fins are dwelt upon, together with the instance 
detailed by Mr. Mitchell, the Belgian consul at Leith, who exhibited 
a pair of sprats, having the roe and milt fully developed. 
On the other hand, the abundance of the sprat has been adduced as 
a reason for its being the young herring. In addition to this, 
anatomists declare their anatomy shows no difference but size. “ As 
to the serrated belly,” says Bertram, “we may look on that as we do 
on the back of a child’s frock, namely, as a provision for growth.” If 
this is so, Dr. Bertram supplies material at once for thought and 
legislation “The slaughter of sprats,” he says, “is as decided a 
case of killing the goose with the golden eggs as the grilse slaughter 
carried on in our salmon rivers.” _ 
The Pilchard, Clupea pilchardus (Fig. 384), sometimes called the 
gipsy herring, visits our coasts all the year round. It was at one time 
thought, as the herring was, to be migratory, hut, like that fish, it is 
now found to be a native of our own seas, and a constant inhabitant of 
our shores. It has been known to spawn in 3 1 ay, but the usual time 
is October, and authorities like Mr. Couch think it breeds only once 
a year. Its visit to shallow water causes immense excitement ; persons 
watch night and day from the lofty cliffs along the Cornwall coast, 
and the Catchers (locally called “ huers ”) signal the boats at sea 
beneath them the moment they see indications of the approach of a 
shoal. Mr. Wilkie Collins gives an animated picture of the “ liner :” 
“A stranger in Cornwall, taking his first walk along the cliffs in 
August, could not advance far without witnessing what would strike 
