454 Fishes. 
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 possess a flavour somewhat like that of the 
salmon. Their voracity has scarcely any bounds ; and 
when they get among a shoal of herrings, they will make 
such havoc as frequently to drive it away. Mackerel 
are in season from March to June. 
THE GAK-FISH, (Bebne 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 is much more 
elongated, and the jaws are protracted into a kind of 
lance, nearly half as long 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, like a 
faithful and experienced pilot, traces their journey, points 
out their dangers, and conducts them to their destina- 
tion. A. curious singularity of this creature is, that its 
bones are of a bright green colour ; the flesh is not so 
firm nor of so good a flavour as that of the mackerel, 
but it sells pretty well whenever it comes to market. 
