FISHES. 371 
found less useful than other gregarious fish. The usual 
bait is a bit of red cloth, or a piece of the tail of the 
Mackerel. The great fishery for them is in some parts of 
the south and west coasts of England. This is of such an 
extent as to employ, in the whole, a capital of nearly two 
hundred thousand pounds. The fishermen go out to the 
distance of several leagues from the shore, and stretch 
their nets, which are sometimes miles in extent, across the 
tide during the night. A single boat has been known to 
bring in, after one night's fishing, a cargo that has been 
sold for nearly seventy pounds. The roes of the Mackerel 
are used in the Mediterranean for caviar. In Cornwall, 
and also in several parts of the continent, Mackerel are 
preserved by pickling and salting ; and in this state they 
have a little the flavour of salmon. Their voracity has 
scarcely any bounds ; and when they get among a shoal 
of herrings, they make such havock, as frequently to 
drive it away. Mackerel are in season from March to 
June. 
THE GAR-FISH, (Belone vulgaris,) 
Of which the figure above is an exact representation, is 
of a very extraordinary form. The body, in shape and 
colour, is not unlike that of a mackerel ; but the nose, or 
upper jaw, is protracted into a kind of lance, nearly as 
long, in itself, as the rest of the body. It is vulgarly 
supposed that this fish leads the phalanxes of mackerel 
through the regions of the deep ; and, as a faithful and 
well-informed pilot, traces to them the way; points out 
