1 
160 ACANTHOPTERYGII. MUGILID^. 
“ The Mullet, when encircling seines enclose, 
The fatal threads and treach’rous bosom knows : 
Instant he rallies all his vigorous powers. 
And faithful aid of every nerve implores ; 
O’er battlements of cork up-darted flies; 
And finds from air th’ escape that sea denies.” 
The opinion expressed of the harmless appetite of 
the Grey Mullet we have already seen reason to 
qualify ; the fact of its being often the prey of 
the fly -fisher seems also inimical to such a con- 
clusion. It is said to rise freely at the flies used 
for Trout, and even at the larger and more 
gaudy flies used for Salmon. Now though these 
showy temptations from the angler’s cabinet are 
but combinations of hair, feathers, and the like, 
yet they profess to be imitations of living flies, 
and the eagerness with which the fish leaps up at 
the skilful mimicry, sufficiently proves how he 
would act if the filmy-winged insect itself were 
dancing on the smooth surface of the stream. 
The excellence of the flesh of these fishes is 
generally acknowledged, and they are in con- 
siderable request for the table; they are in the 
best condition about the end of August. In the 
south of Europe a kind of caviare is made from 
the roe of the Grey Mullet. It is prepared in 
the following manner : the fish is opened, the 
roes taken out, washed, and salted. After having 
lain in salt for a few hours, they are subjected to 
pressure between boards, that the water may be 
expressed. They are then washed in weak brine, 
and exposed to the rays of the sun. As the 
operation takes place in summer, when the roe is 
just ready for deposition, the heat of the weather 
is sufficient to dry the caviare fit for the market 
in ten or fifteen days. 
