The Mackerel 
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THE MACKEREL, {Scomber Scomber,) 
Is taken aiid well known in all parts of the world. It is 
usually about -a foot or more in length ; the body is thick, 
firm, and fleshy, slender towards 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 of the 
opal and the mother-of-pearl. Nothing can be more in- 
teresting 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 
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 
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 
