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A DESCRIPTION OF 
THE MACKEREL (Scomber Scombrus,) 
Is taken and well known in all parts of the world. It is 
usually about a foot in length or more ; the body is thick, 
firm, and fleshy, slender toward the tail ; the snout sharp, 
the tail forked, the back of a lovely green, beautifully 
variegated, or, as it were, painted with black strokes ; 
the under part of the body is of a silvery colour, reflect- 
ing, as well as the sides, the most elegant tints, imitating 
the opal and the mother-of-pearl. Nothing can be more 
interesting and pleasing to the eye than to see Mackerel, 
just caught, brought on shore by the fishermen, and 
spread, with all their radiancy, upon the pebbles of the 
beach, at the first rays of the rising sun ; but when they 
are taken out of their element, they quickly die. 
Mackerel visit our shores in vast shoals ; but, from 
being very tender and unfit for long carriage, they are 
