Part 18

227. _The BONITO_ (Scomber pelamis) _is a large species of mackrel, of thick form, with seven small distinct fins betwixt the dorsal fin and the tail, and several large scales below the pectoral fin._

_This fish measures eighteen inches or two feet in length, and is ten pounds and upwards in weight._

_It is principally found in the seas of tropical climates._

Sometimes these fish approach the European shores; and one of them was caught a few years ago at Christchurch, in Hampshire. To mariners in hot climates they often afford an important supply of food. Their flesh is fat and white, but inferior in excellence to that of the thunny, except when salted. A very lucrative fishery of bonitos is carried on at Cadiz. The fishing commences about the end of April, and continues until the beginning of July; and, in general, affords occupation for about a hundred persons.

228. _The RED SURMULLET_ (Mullus barbatus) _is a fish known by its large and loose scales, the general red colour of its body, and its having two fleshy beards on the under jaw._

_It frequents the European seas, and seldom exceeds the length of eight or ten inches._

229. _The STRIPED SURMULLET_ (Mullus surmuletus, Fig. 67.) _has large and long scales, is of red colour, with four yellowish stripes along its sides, and two beards on the under jaw._

_This fish inhabits both the European and the American seas, and is from ten or twelve inches to two feet in length._

The prices at which the surmullet was sometimes purchased by the Romans were enormously great. We read of a Roman consul having given at the rate of more than 64l. of our money for one of them; and of one of the Roman emperors having paid upwards of 240l. for another--to such an absurdity of extravagance did this people arrive before the dissolution of their empire. But it went further:--they are said to have considered even the surmullet of little value unless it died in the very hands of their guests. Some of the most luxurious of the Romans had stews formed even in their eating-rooms, so that the fish could at once be brought from under the table and placed upon it. Here they were put into transparent vases, that the guests might be entertained with their various changes of colour, from red to violet and blue, as they expired. The parts chiefly admired for the table were the head and the liver.

Both the above species of surmullet occasionally visit our coasts during the summer season. Their flesh is white, firm, and well-tasted; but they cannot long be kept without becoming putrid.

230. _GURNARDS_ (Trigla, Fig. 62.) _are fish with a large angular and bony head; and two or more distinct appendages near the pectoral fins._

Of about fifteen known species of gurnards, five are caught near the British coasts. These are the GREY GURNARD, RED GURNARD, PIPER, TUB-FISH, and STREAKED GURNARD, of which the two former are considered best for the table. Their flesh is white, firm, and good, though somewhat insipid; and they are thought to be in greatest perfection from about the beginning of May to the end of July.

ORDER. IV.--ABDOMINAL FISH.

231. _The COMMON SALMON_ (Salmo salar, Fig. 68) _is a fish known by its forked tail, the upper jaw being somewhat longer than the lower, and by the extremity of the under jaw, in the male, being hooked and bent upward._

_All the fish of the salmon tribe have their hindmost dorsal fin fleshy._

At an early season of the year salmon begin to leave their winter haunts in the ocean, and to pass up the fresh water rivers, sometimes to vast distances, to deposit their spawn. And it is in these peregrinations that they are chiefly caught. The British rivers that are most celebrated for salmon are the Tweed, the Tyne, the Trent, the Severn, and the Thames. Sometimes they are taken in nets, sometimes in traps or engines, and sometimes by harpoons. They have been known to ascend the rivers to the distance of more than 200 miles.

Vast numbers of salmon are annually pickled at Berwick for the London markets, and for sale on the Continent. These are packed in small tubs, and are usually sold under the name of Newcastle salmon.

The season for catching salmon commences towards the end of the year, but the principal capture is in the month of July; and instances have occurred in which more than 1000 fish have been caught at one haul of a net. Fresh salmon are frequently sent to London from the northern rivers packed in ice. The Severn salmon are earlier in season than those of any other river in England, though not so early as what are caught in some parts of Scotland and Ireland. The Thames salmon are principally taken near Isleworth, and are sold at a most extravagant rate in London. In Ireland the most considerable salmon fishery is as Cranna, on the river Ban, about a mile and a half from Coleraine. At a single haul of one of the nets, about the year 1776, there were taken as many as 1356 fish; this circumstance was so extraordinary as to be recorded in the town books of Coleraine.

In the Severn, Trent, and some other northern rivers of England, no salmon measuring less than eighteen inches from the eye to the middle of the tail is allowed to be caught; nor any whatever betwixt the eighth of September and the eleventh of November (except in the Ribble, where they may be caught betwixt the first of January and fifteenth of September), under the penalty of 5l. and forfeiture of the fish. And no salmon of less weight than six pounds are permitted to be sent by fishmongers to their agents in London, under a similar penalty.

When these fish, about the beginning of May, are five or six inches in length, they are called _salmon smelts_, and, when they have attained the weight of from about six to nine pounds, they have the name of _gilse_.

Salmon are a very general and favourite article of food. When eaten fresh, they are tender, flaky, and nutritive; but are thought to be difficult of digestion. The flesh of the salmon is of red colour, and the beauty of its appearance is increased by soaking slices of it in fresh water before they are cooked. Immediately after the salmon have deposited their spawn they become so flabby and bad as to be unfit for food. Raw salmon is a favourite dish with even the first nobility of Stockholm, insomuch that they seldom give a great dinner in which this food is not presented on the table. It is prepared by merely cutting the fish into slices, putting these into salt, and, when salted, leaving them for three days in a wooden dish, with a little water. In this state it is said to be very delicious eating.

The modes of curing salmon are various, but these are chiefly by _drying_, _smoking_, _salting_, and _pickling_. Near the bay of Castries (in the Strait of Saghalier) the Tartars tan the _skins_ of large salmon, and convert them into a very supple kind of clothing.

232. In South Wales, and in the rivers of the north of England which fall into the sea, a kind of salmon, called _SEWEN_ (_Salmo esiox_), is frequently found. It is known by having nearly an even tail, and being marked with ash-coloured spots. These salmon are chiefly caught from July to September, and seldom weigh more than ten or twelve pounds. They are much inferior to the common salmon in delicacy of flavour.

233. _SALMON TROUT, SEA TROUT, or BUDGE_ (Salmo trutta), _is a species of salmon chiefly characterized by the tail being hollowed, by having seven rays to the anal fin, black spots encircled with ash-colour on the head, back, and sides; and the jaws of equal length._

_It inhabits the sea, and rivers adjacent to the sea; and sometimes weighs eight or ten pounds, or more._

The flesh of the salmon trout is red and good, but not so highly flavoured as that of the salmon; and it varies much, according to the quality of the water in which the fish are taken. Salmon trout are caught chiefly with nets; and the fishing for them generally commences about the beginning of May, and continues till after Michaelmas.

In some of the northern countries of Europe, where these fish are very numerous, they are cured by _salting_, _pickling_, and _smoking_; and in these different states they are articles of some commercial importance. The smoking of these and other fish is performed in a tub without bottom, which is pierced at the top and round the sides with holes. This tub is raised on three stones; and the fish being suspended within it, they are exposed, for three days, to the smoke of burning oak-branches and juniper berries, which are lighted beneath.

234. _The FRESH-WATER TROUT_ (Salmo trutta) _is a species of salmon which has its tail somewhat hollowed, eleven rays to the anal fin, the upper parts of the body and the sides marked with red spots encircled with brown, and the lower jaw somewhat longer than the upper._

_These fish inhabit fresh-water rivers, streams, and lakes, but particularly those of mountainous countries; and their weight is seldom more than four or five pounds._

In clear and cold streams the fresh-water trout multiplies very fast, and chiefly because such streams do not contain any voracious fish of greater power than themselves. Such is the excellence of these fish that it has frequently been considered desirable to keep them in ponds or preserves. These should have the water clear and cold, a gravelly or sandy bottom, and be constantly supplied by a stream. The ponds should, if possible, be shaded with trees; and should have, at the bottom, roots of trees or large stones, amongst which the fish may find shelter, and deposit their spawn. They should also be supplied with gudgeons, loaches, roach, minnows, and other small fish. To stock these ponds it is recommended to place in them the spawn of the trout, and not the fish themselves, as the former will bear carriage much better than the latter.

Trout are chiefly caught with lines. Their flesh is red, tender, and of excellent flavour; and the colder and more pure the water is the better they are. The best season for trout is from April to June: and, during the winter, their flesh is white and ill-tasted. In many countries the nobility reserve these fish for their own use, and the capture of them is forbidden under very severe penalties.

So numerous are trout in some of the mountainous parts of the Continent, that, having little or no sale for them, the inhabitants _salt_ and _dry_ them for their winter's food.

In certain lakes of the province of Galway, and other districts of Ireland, there is a kind of trout called _Gillaroo trout_, which are remarkable for the great thickness of their _stomachs_. These, from their resemblance to the organs of digestion in birds, are sometimes called gizzards; and, in the largest fish, they are equal in bulk to the gizzard of a turkey. The trout themselves are bad eating; but the stomachs are much esteemed for their fine flavour, and are in frequent request for the table.

235. _CHARR_ (Salmo alpinus?) _are a species of salmon which inhabit the lakes of mountainous countries: there are three kinds or varieties of them, called_ gilt charr, red charr, _and_ case charr. _Their bodies are spotted; and those of the first are of a golden colour, of the second full red, and of the case charr pale red. Their tails are forked. When full grown these fish are about ten inches in length._

_They are found in Ullswater, Winandermere, and some other lakes in the north of England, in a lake near Snowdon in North Wales, and in lakes of several parts of the Continent._

There are no fish of the salmon tribe more esteemed for the table than these. The _gilt charr_ are considered in highest perfection, and are caught in greatest numbers, from the end of September until the end of November, and the _case charr_ about the month of May. During the summer-time all the kinds of charr sink to the bottoms of the lakes far out of the reach of the fishermen. They are usually caught with nets called breast-nets, which are about twenty-five fathoms long and five in depth.

Their flesh is of red colour, and their flavour peculiarly delicate. Great numbers of charr are potted every year, and sent to London. But of the fish which are sold under the name of potted charr many are trout; and, even in the pots which contain charr, trout are frequently to be found. In the river Petteril, which runs near Carlisle, there is a kind of trout which, both in size and colour, are so like charr that they can scarcely be distinguished from that fish.

236. _The SMELT, or SPARLING_ (Salmo eperlanus), _is a small fish of the salmon tribe, known by its silvery and semi-transparent appearance, the first dorsal fin being further from the head than the ventral fins, the under jaw being longer than the upper and curved, and the tail being forked._

_Its length seldom exceeds seven or eight inches._

_These fish abound on the shores of most of the countries of Europe; and, during their spawning season, they ascend the rivers sometimes in immense shoals._

About the month of November smelts begin to leave the deep water, and approach the coasts, for the purpose of depositing their spawn in the rivers. This they do in the ensuing months of March and April; and they are caught, in vast abundance, in the Thames, during this time. When in perfection, they are not only a delicious, but are considered as nutritious fish, and easy of digestion. Their name is derived from their very singular smell, and is nothing more than a contraction of "smell it." These fish are sometimes split, salted, and dried; and sold under the name of _dried sparlings_.

237. _UMBER, or GRAYLING_ (Salmo thymallus), _is a fish of the salmon tribe, distinguished by having several longitudinal streaks upon its body, the first dorsal fin nearer the head than the ventral fins, the upper jaw longer than the lower one, the side line nearly straight, and the tail forked._

_A fish of this species, which, weighed five pounds, was caught some years ago in the river Severn._

_The umber inhabits clear and rapid streams of Europe and Siberia._

These fish are so much esteemed in some parts of the Continent, that they are exclusively reserved for the tables of the nobility. They are fattest in the autumn, but are best in season during the winter, particularly when the weather is cold; and they cannot be dressed too soon after they are caught. Many of the old medical writers strongly recommended umber as a wholesome fish for sick persons: they also stated that an oil prepared from its fat would obliterate freckles and other spots on the skin. By the Laplanders the intestines are frequently employed as a substitute for rennet, to coagulate the milk of the rein-deer, when used for the making of cheese.

These fish are in great esteem by anglers on account of their vivacity, the eagerness with which they rise at a bait, and their rapid motions in the water. They lurk close all the winter, and begin to be very active in April and May, about which time they deposit their spawn.

238. _The PIKE, or JACK_ (Esox lucius), _is a voracious fresh-water fish, with large teeth, a compressed head and muzzle, the part of the head betwixt the nape and the eyes elevated and rounded; and the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins marked with black spots._

_These fish sometimes attain so large a size as to weigh upwards of thirty pounds._

_They are found in deep rivers, and in lakes of nearly all parts of Europe, in some of the northern districts of Persia, and in North America._

Common as pike now are in our fresh-water rivers, it has been asserted that they were originally introduced from the Continent in the reign of Henry the Eighth. This, however, cannot be the fact, as they were known in England long before that period. Mr. Pennant speaks of these fish being formerly so rare in this country, that a pike, in the month of February, was sold for double the price of a house-lamb. If caught in clear and tolerably rapid waters, these fish, though bony and dry, are not bad eating. In some parts of Germany they are salted, smoked, and barrelled for exportation to other countries.

The modes of catching pike are very various, by nets, with lines, and snares of different kinds. Their voracity is so great that they not only eagerly seize a bait, but one pike has been known to choke itself by swallowing another of its own species, which proved too large a morsel.

These fish are chiefly partial to still and shady waters, where the bottom is of sand, clay, or chalk. They spawn in March or April. When in high season, their colours are green spotted with yellow; but, when out of season, the green changes to grey, and the yellow spots turn pale. The age to which they live has not been ascertained, though there appears sufficient evidence of their existing for more than a century. As to their size, we are informed that, in the river Shannon, in Ireland, they have been found of nearly seventy pounds in weight; and, in some of the continental lakes, they are said to be more than eight feet long, and from eighty to a hundred pounds in weight.

239. _The SEA-PIKE, or GAR-FISH_ (Esox belone, Fig. 69), _is a fish of the pike tribe, of green colour on the upper part, serpentine shape, with long and narrow jaws, the lower one considerably shorter than the upper. The bones are of green colour when they have been exposed to strong heat._

_These fish generally are about a foot and a half in length, and weigh from one to three pounds. The late Sir William Hamilton, however, mentioned one caught near Naples which weighed fourteen pounds, and was sent to the King as a great curiosity._

_They are found in the ocean in nearly all parts of Europe._

The gar-fish begin to approach our coasts, in considerable shoals, about the month of March, shortly after which they deposit their eggs in smooth and shallow water. Their flavour is not much unlike that of mackrel, though many persons have a great antipathy to them, in consequence of the green colour of the bones.

240. _The WHITE, or COMMON MULLET_ (Mugil cephalus) _is a fish distinguished by having the lower jaw angular upwards, several narrow and dark-coloured stripes on each side of the body, a toothed process betwixt the eye and the opening of the mouth, and the gill-covers angular behind and covered with scales._

_The weight of these fish is four or five pounds and upward._

_They inhabit the seas of nearly all the southern parts of Europe, and annually enter the mouths of almost all the great rivers._

Vast shoals of mullets are frequently observed, about the months of May, June, and July, swimming, near the surface of the water, in harbours, and in rivers adjacent to the sea. They are caught with nets, but are so cunning, that, even when entirely surrounded, they will sometimes nearly all escape, either by leaping over or by diving under the nets.

These fish are in considerable request for the table, and are in best season about the month of August. Their flesh, however, is, in many instances, woolly and bad; and the great quantity of oil which is found beneath the skin renders them, to some persons, very unpleasant. In several places on the coast of the Mediterranean mullets are dried and smoked for exportation.

Of the roes of mullets is sometimes made the kind of caviar called _botargue_ or _botargo_. For this purpose they are taken out and covered with salt, for four or five hours. Afterwards they are gently pressed between two boards or stones, to squeeze the water out of them. They are then washed in a weak brine, and lastly exposed to the sun for twelve or fifteen days to be dried. This substance is said to quicken a decayed appetite, and to give a relish to wine. It is much in request, in Greece, as food on the numerous fast-days of the Greek church.

241. _The HERRING_ (Clupæa harengus) _is a small fish distinguished by its sharp and serrated belly, the body being without spots, the lower jaw longer than the upper, and the dorsal fins so exactly situated above the centre of gravity that, when taken up by it, the fish will hang in equilibrio._

_These fish, which are in general from eight to ten inches in length, are migratory, and found, at particular periods, in immense shoals, in nearly all parts of the Northern Ocean._

So great is the supply of herrings, and such is the general esteem in which they are held, that they have almost equal admission to the tables of the poor and the rich. They have been known and admired from the remotest periods of antiquity; but, as our ancestors were ignorant of the means by which they could be preserved from corruption, they were not so profitable to them as they are to us.

The herring fishery, in different parts of the world, affords occupation and support to a great number of people. In Holland it has been calculated that formerly more than 150,000 persons were employed in catching, pickling, drying, and trading in herrings; and, on the different coasts of our own country, many thousands of families are entirely supported by this fishery. The principal of the British herring fisheries are off the coasts of Scotland and Norfolk; and the implements that are used in catching the fish are nets stretched in the water, one side of which is kept from sinking by buoys fixed to them at proper distances, and the other hangs down, by the weight of lead which is placed along its bottom. The herrings are caught in the meshes of the nets, as they endeavour to pass through, and, unable to liberate themselves, they continue there until the nets are hauled in and they are taken out.

Herrings are in full roe about the month of June, and continue in perfection until the commencement of winter, when they begin to deposit their spawn.

The art of pickling these fish is said to have been first discovered towards the end of the fourteenth century, by Guilliaume Beuchel, a native of Brabant. The Emperor Charles the Fifth, about 150 years afterwards, honoured this benefactor of the human race by visiting the place of his interment, and eating a herring on his grave.

Yarmouth, in Norfolk, is the great and ancient mart of herrings in this country. The season for catching them commences about Michaelmas, and lasts during the whole month of October; and generally more than 60,000 barrels are every year cured in the neighbourhood of that town. Some of these are _pickled_, and others are dried. In the preparation of the latter (which have the name of _red herrings_) the fish are soaked for twenty-four hours in brine, and then taken out, strung by the head on little wooden spits, and hung in a chimney formed to receive them. After this a fire of brush-wood, which yields much smoke but no flame, is kindled beneath, and they are suffered to remain until they are sufficiently dried, when they are packed in barrels for exportation and sale.

It will afford some idea of the astonishing supply of these invaluable fish, when it is stated that, about seventy years ago, near 400,000 barrels of herrings were annually exported from different parts of the coast of Norway; that, previously to the late war, about 300,000 barrels were annually cured by the Dutch fishermen; and that a considerably greater quantity than this is every year obtained on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland.

There is, in some countries, a considerable trade in the _oil_ that is obtained from herrings during the process of curing them. The average annual quantity of this oil exported from Sweden is about 60,000 barrels.