TKICHIURIDiE. FISHES. ScOMBRIDffl. CCXXXVU 
Branilim, by Geo. iMiiicgi'avi, 1648, wiUi desciipLive 
account of tlie species. He calls it Guhbucu aiul 
Bicuda. It I’iiiiges from Cape Cod to tbe West 
Indies. 
Family— 'rRICHIURIDH;. 
SILVERY HAIR-TAIL ( Trichmrm Upturns, Linn ) 
— 'I’his Fish was described by Mitcliill as 'I', argen 
tens, with the under jaw jutting beyond the U[)i)er, 
and a snake-lilce tail. Its length was two feet and 
four inches. 'I'here is a specimen in Scndder’s Mu- 
seum that is alleged to have been swallowed by a 
Mackerel. This species is known among the fisher- 
men as Ribbon-fish. 
Family— SCOMBRlDiE. 
'I’his family includes very many important forms, 
and those which frequent the high seas especially. 
They are notably strong and fast swimmers. The 
'rnnnies and Mackerels go in large schools, and are 
objects of great interest to onr fishermen. The re- 
semblance is remarkably great among even those 
like the IMackerel, a small Fish, and the 'runny, 
which weighs over a thousand pounds ; the la tter 
looks like a gigantic Mackerel, though not so slender. 
Some are in the habit of wandering through distant 
seas. On one occasion a shoal of small Tunnies came 
to the coast of Massaclinsetts, and it was found that 
the species was entirely unknown there, being a 
familiar one in the Mediterranean Sea. 
THE MACKEREL [Scomber scombrus, Linn .) — 'I’his 
is the typical form, and the familiar and best es- 
teemed Fish of onr coast. 'JVninbnIl records its Nar- 
ragansett Indian name as Wawwiiunnekksoog. In 
Cuba it is called Caballa. Its habitat range is from 
Greenland to Ilatteras. A form, called Maqnerlan, 
is figured well in Rondelet, who gives as the Latin 
name. Scomber, or Scombrus. Belon figures Le Mn- 
creau, and gives the name used at Marseilles as 
Horreau. Among the products of this fish known 
to the ancients, is the peculiar sauce called gnrum, 
which is said to be still used by the Turks. Stoi'er 
remarks : ‘-The Mackerels appear from tenth of .May 
to fifteenth of June at the entrance of Massachusetts 
Bay, having been a few days previous at jS'antueket 
and Martha’s Vineyard. Nine-tenths of those which 
are first seen are males, and they are all large and 
poor, weighing one to one and a half pounds. At 
their first appearance they will not take the hook, 
and are therefore captured in nets.” 'J’hese are “gill 
nets,” which are hung in the water vertically, and 
the Fishes are caught by trying to pass through, be- 
ing entangled by the gills. During the season for 
catching Mackerel, when large schools are seen U[)on 
the surface of the sea, it is an interesting sight to 
witness their capture by the skilled fishermen. 'I’he 
bait consists of menhaden, ground in a mill' kept on 
the deck for the purpose ; this is thrown out to en- 
tice the Mackerel schools within reaching distance. 
When the school surrounds the vessel, the men use 
short lines with a single hook, the latter embedded 
in a tin “sinker.” Barrels are placed at hand, and 
the operation of capture is often so quickly per- 
formed that the men are occupied in a constant 
throwing out and jerking in of their lines, which are 
so short that they have only to reach the surface 
when the Fishes are crowding each other to reach the 
bait, and in some instances are actually scooped in 
board. 'I’he hook is readily separated from the ten- 
der mouth as the Fish is thrown into the bairel, and 
as no bait is used, the Fishes snapping at such times 
at the bright tin sinker, the operation is one of loss 
out and toss in, with as much rapidity as one can 
count one, two ; one. two. 
CHUB MACKEREL [Scomber colias, Linn .) — Called, 
also, Tiiimble-f.ye or Bull-eyed Mackerel and Fall 
IMackerel by DeKay. Storer describes this as the 
same as his Spring Mackerel (Scondier vernalis). 
DeKay says : “In the autumnal months it appears 
in great numbers on our coast, a,nd is scarcely dis- 
tinguishable from the preceding species.” Its range 
is from Nova Scotia to Cape Ilatteras. 
BONITO {Sarda pelamys [lAnn.), Guv.) — Called 
Skip-jack. Ranges from Cape Cod to Florida. 'I'he 
Bonito is described and well figured by Rondelet, 
who names it Boniton, and gives the Greek name, 
Amirt, which is used also for Ihe'l'uiiny. Its Siianish 
name is Biza. DeKay describes it as the Strijied 
Bonito, and an occasional visitor on the New York 
coast. Storer records it as the same, and adds that 
it is very rarely met with in IMassachusetts Bay. 
THE HORSE MACKEREL ( Orcynus secundo- dorsal is 
[Storer), Gill). — This is recorded as a doubtful spe- 
cies. In Rhode Island and by some of the more 
northern fishermen, it is called Albicore, and also 
xVmerican 'I’unny. Its range is from Newfoundland 
to Florida. Rondelet figures a 'runny under the 
name Thon, and another species which he calls I’el- 
amyde, or Thoji d'Aristote. 'I'he first he denomi- 
nates in Gieek as Orlcunos, which he says is the 
“grand 'I'lion.” 'I’he generic name now used is evi- 
dently from the old Greek designation, and 'runny is 
from Thynnos, the more common term in use among 
the ancients. 'I'his Fish seems to have been very 
well known to the people living on the shores of the 
Mediterranean Sea, as it is largely treated by ancient 
writers. Rondelet figures a Bize, which he calls, 
also, Sarda, and which he says is called by Bliny, 
Pelamydes. It will be seen, then, that these names, 
which are retained by modern naturalists, were used 
by the earliest writers to designate species very 
closely allied. Storer says: “'I'his species, known 
along our coast as Horse .Mackerel and Albicore, 
comes on to Massachusetts Bay about the middle of 
June, and remains until October. It is frequently 
taken for its oil, which is removed from the head and 
belly by boiling. A single specimen has furnished 
some twenty gallons of oil. They are harpooned like 
a IVliale, and I have learned from fishei inen of vera- 
city, that instances have occurred in which food has 
been taken by them from the hand when held to them 
from a boat. 'I’liey feed upon menhaden and other 
small fishes, which they frequently drive ashore.” 
DeKay says it is met with in New York market 
every season. Its length is nearly ten feet, and, in 
