CliUPEDOa!. FISHES. SlLDRIDffl. 
ecxlix 
Tlie word Alewife is thought to have been derived 
from tlie Indian word aZof?/’— signifying a bony Pish. 
DeKay records it as tlie American Alewife (Alosa 
tyrannus). 'I’his Pisli appears in great quantities in 
Chesapeake Bay from March until May, and in New 
York waters about the 1st of April. In Massachu- 
setts the Taunton lliver is a notable place for the 
Alewife, from April to June. Here, as well as in 
other streams, a great falling off is noticed in the 
numbers on account of the erection of dams. 
TAILOE HERRING [Pomolohus mediocris {Mitch.), 
Oill). — Known by this name in the Potomac River, 
and as Fall Shad in other localities. Its range of 
habitat is from Newfoundland to Florida. Mitchill 
described it as the Staten Island Herring (Olupea 
mediocris), and remarks that it “grows very large for 
a Herring, being frequently eighteen inches long.” 
He also describes the same Fish as another species, 
which he calls Long Island Herring (0. inattowaca). 
Of the latter he says : “ It is caught mostly in au- 
tumn, and brought to market with the fall running 
of Striped Perch or Rock-fish. In October and No- 
vember the present Fish is taken in seines off the 
surf side of the beaches fronting Long Island. Some 
call it Shad Herring and some Fall Shad.” DeKay 
figures and describes it as the Autumnal Herring. 
ENGLISH HERRING {Olupea harengus, Linn.) — 
Range from the Polar regions to Cape Cod. DeKay 
and other writers distinctly claim that the American 
Herring is a different species from the English. In 
Gill’s Fishes of the Fast Coast, the present one only 
is named, and it is to be presumed that the more 
careful study of the family and its species has re- 
sulted not only in finding the English and American 
identical, but also several smaller forms which were 
de.scribed as separate species by DeKay and Storer. 
DeKay describes the species as the Common Ameri- 
can Herring (Clupea elongata). He says it rarely 
descends to the New York coast, but is occasionally 
taken in the waters at the south of Cape Cod. 'I'lie 
seeming capriciousness of this and other species in 
visiting or deserting the coast or particular localities, 
is the subject of much absurd writing. 'I'his species, 
according to DeKay, first made its appearance in 
Long Island Sound in 1817. At the time of the at- 
tack on Stonington, in 1814, these Fishes were sup- 
posed to have followed the squadron from England ! 
Storer records as follows : “The Common American 
Herring (C. elongata, Leseur), incorrectly called by 
our fishermen ‘English Herring,’ is taken in great 
numbers on some parts of our coast. At Edgartown 
it is abundant from March to May.” It is sold 
mostly for bait. “Until within the last twenty 
years,” says Dr. Storer, writing in 1857, “ this spe- 
cies was exceedingly abundant at Cape Cod. It 
came into Massachusetts Bay and Provincetown 
Harbor in myriads, from about the 20th of March 
to the 1st of April, and continued there until 
June, and would then leave the coast and not be 
seen again until the autumn. Now it has become so 
rare that at some seasons it is scarcely seen at all. 
Within the last few years it is perhaps slightly in- 
creasing.” 'I'he young are called Spirling, and serve 
VoL. I. — i* 
as excellent bait for Cod-fish, being taken in nets 
which are about forty yards long and fifteen feet 
deep, with meshes an inch and a half across. In 
different parts of Massachusetts Bay the Herring are 
taken by “torching.” Several varieties of this genus 
are well-known luxuries in England. 'I'he celebrated 
Whitebait, long the subject of controversy, is now 
definitely proved to be the young of Herring. Mr. 
Eugene Blackford, of Fulton Market, New York, im- 
ported a lot of the English Whitebait, and, after close 
comparison with the young of our Herring by Prof. 
Baird, the identity of the two was made certain. In 
the spring of 1878, Whitebait were taken off Bay 
Ridge, New York Harbor, which were also deter 
mined to be the same species. Young Whitebait 
were kept in Brighton Aquarium until they were 
grown to be twelve inches in length. 
Family — DOROSOMIDJE. 
One genus only is embraced in this family, having 
one species known to our waters. 
TOOTHED HERRING {Dorosoma eepedianum {Lac.), 
Gill). — Ranges from Cape Cod to Hatteras. DeKay 
records species Chatessus cepedianus as inhabiting 
Chesapeake Bay. 
Family— ENGRAULIDAE. 
ANCHOVY {Engraulus mttatus {Mitch.), Baird 
and Girard). — Has a range from Cape Cod south- 
wards. Mitchill recorded it as “ Satin-striped Her- 
ring (Clupea vittata). Length about three inches 
and a half; depth, a little over half an inch. In- 
habits the salt-water and resembles an Atherine.” 
'I’he English Anchovy (E. vulgaris, Cuvier) was well 
known to the Greeks and Romans, by whom the 
liquor prepared from it, called garum, was in great 
estimation. 'I'he fisheiy of the Anchovy is referred to 
by AJlian, who says that on one occasion so large a 
school was taken that fifty fishing boats were loaded 
with the produce. Oppian adopts the poetical exag- 
gerations of the time, and refers the great numbers 
of these Fishes as originating from the froth of the 
sea. Engraulus browni (Gmelin), Val., is another 
species, with the same range as the preceding. 
Family— SILURIDJE. 
'I'his family derives its name from the European 
Cat-fish (Silurus). 'I'he body of these Fishes is mod- 
erately elongated and tapers backwards from behind 
the shoulders. 'I’he skin is naked. 'I’he dorsal fin 
is near the head; the anal fin is rather large. 'I’his 
is a very large family, embracing quite an hundred 
genera, and nearly seven hundred si)ecies. “Most 
species are found in the fresh-water lakes and rivers. 
'I’he species, so far as is known, take care of their 
young, and peculiar provision is made for the protec- 
tion of the eggs in the mouth of several genera found 
in tropical waters.” — Gill. 
FORK-TAILED CAT-FISH {jFluricththys marinus 
{Mitch.), Baird and Girard). — Ranges from Cape 
Cod southwards. Mitchill described this Fish as the 
“Salt-water Cat-fish (Silurus marinus); a splen- 
