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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
occur in the rivers of Ireland. Regan (1911) gives its range as southward on the 
British coasts as far as Hampshire and North Wales, and says that it probably occurs 
also on the northern coasts of Ireland. Meek (1916) regards the Baltic as evidently 
a self-contained area, as no smelt are obtained in the sound, and says that like the 
grayling the smelt is absent from Ireland. 
According to Gaimard (1851) the smelt occurs on the coasts of Iceland, but 
Faber (1829) does not mention it and Ssemundsson (1908) says that its occurrence 
in Iceland is very doubtful. 
On the Atlantic coast of North America the range of the common smelt has been 
said to extend as far south as Virginia (Goode, 1884). Norris (1862) records it from 
below Fairmount Dam in the Schuylkill, and in 1868 from the Brandywine below 
the dam at the head of tidewater as well as at the foot of rapid water at Trenton in 
March, “appearing for a short time before spawning and apparently only for that 
purpose” ; but it is not now known south of New Jersey. From there it becomes 
progressively more common as far north as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but there 
appears to be no definite record of it from Labrador and northward, although Goode 
(1884, p. 543) gives the general distribution of the American form as from Virginia 
to Labrador. However, he says again: 
The smelt is found along our Atlantic coast from the Raritan River, latitude 40° 30' , to the 
Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The northern limit of its range has not been precisely defined, although it 
is known to be extremely abundant along the northern shores of New Brunswick. 
VERNACULAR NAMES 
Pennant (1776, p. 314) says “they have a very particular scent, from whence 
is derived one of its English names 'smelt,’ i. e., smell it.” Sparling, he says, which 
is used in Wales and the north of England, is taken from the French eperlan, and 
he said that the Germans called it “Stinkfisch.” Day (1884, p. 122) remarks that 
“smelt” is said to be derived from a peculiar odor, resembling cucumbers, violets, or 
rushes, but that Jonston imagined that the term was used in the sense of smelting 
metals and was derived from the transparent appearance of the fish, as if it were 
going to melt away. However, according to Regan (1911), -it has been wrongly said 
to take its name from its odor, which is commonly stated to resemble that of cu- 
cumbers and is sometimes quite strong, but there can be little doubt that the word 
“smelt” is from the Anglo-Saxon “smeolt,” signifying smooth and shining. Regan 
also says that the name “sparling” is the equivalent of the German “Spierling” and 
the French “eperlan,” the old French being “esperlan.” 
On our Atlantic coast the fish is known everywhere as smelt. There are other 
fishes, however, not at all closely related, that are known locally as smelts. Thus, 
a minnow in the Potomac is called smelt. Usually, however, there is some prefix or 
nominal attribute to distinguish such fishes from the true smelt. For instance, the 
common silverside (Menidia) is sometimes called “sand smelt.” The name “frostfish” 
has been applied to it locally, and the smelt of Lake Champlain is referred to com- 
monly as “icefish.” 
In Europe each country, naturally, has its peculiar names for the fish. In 
“Fauna Svecica,” Linnaeus (1746) stated that there were two varieties, the larger being 
known as “slom,” which has no bad odor, and the smaller, of bad smell, being called 
