the gills, is a black spot on each shoulder, which resembles the mark of a man's finger and thumb; from which circumstance it is called St. Peter's fish, alluding to the fact recorded in the seventeeth chapter of St. Matthew: "Go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up, and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money; that take and give unto them for me and thee." And while St. Peter held the fish with his fore-finger and thumb, it is fabled, that the skin received, and preserved to this day, the hereditary impression.

Haddocks migrate in immense shoals, which usually arrive on the Yorkshire coasts about the middle of winter. These shoals are sometimes known to extend from the shore nearly three miles in breadth, and in length from Flamborough Head to Tynemouth Castle, a distance of fifty miles; and, perhaps, even further. An idea of the number of Haddocks may be formed from the following circumstance: three fishermen, within a mile of the harbour of Scarborough, frequently loaded their boat with these fish twice a day, taking each time a ton weight of

them.

The flesh of the Haddock is harder and thicker than that of the whiting, and not so good; but it is often brought upon the table, either broiled, boiled, or baked, and is by many much esteemed. The Haddocks caught on the Irish coast, near Dublin, are unusually large, and of a fine flavour, and unite to the firmness of the turbot much of its sweetness. They are in season from October to January.

THE WHITING (Gadus Merlangus)

Is seldom more than twelve inches in length, and of a slender and tapering form. The scales are small and fine. The back is silvery, and when just taken out of the sea, reflects the rays of light with great lustre and gloss. The flesh is light, wholesome, and nourishing; and is often recommended to sick or convalescent patients, when other food is not approved of. The Whiting is found on the coasts of England, and is in its proper season from August to February.

THE LING (Gadus molva)

Is from three to four feet in length, though some have been caught much larger. The body is long, the head flat, the teeth in the upper jaw small and numerous, with a small beard on the chin; it has five fins, namely, two dorsal, two pectoral and one ventral.

These fish abound on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, and great quantities are salted for home consumption and exportation. On the eastern coasts of England they are in their greatest perfection from the

beginning of February to the end of May. They spawn in June at this season the males separate from the females, who deposit their eggs in the soft oozy ground at the mouth of large rivers.

In a commercial point of view, the Ling may be considered a very important fish. Nine hundred thousand pounds weight are annually exported from Norway. In England these fish are caught and cured in somewhat the same manner as the cod. Those which are caught off the shores of America are by no means so much esteemed as those which frequent the coasts of Great Britain and Norway; and the Ling in the neighbourhood of Iceland are so bad, that the inhabitants are unable to find a sale for them in any country except their own. The roe and air-bladders, or sounds of the Ling, are pickled, and sold separately.

The Hake (Gadus merlucius) is a coarse fish, nearly allied to the Ling, and is caught in great abundance on the Devonshire and Cornwall coast. It is also found on

the coasts of Ireland and Scotland, where it is called stock-fish, and often confounded with cod.

THE SMELT, OR SPARLING. (Osmerus eperlanus.) THIS fish is in length about eight or nine inches, and nearly one in breadth; the body is of a light olive green, inclining to silver white. The smell, when the fish is fresh and raw, is not unlike that of ripe cucumbers, but it goes off in the frying-pan, and the Smelt then yields a tender and most delicious food. Smelts are sea-fish, and inhabit

the sea-coast and harbours; but they are often taken in the Thames, the Medway, and other large rivers, which they ascend in the spawning season. The skin of this fish is so transparent, that with the help of a microscope, its blood may be seen to circulate.

Smelts are found on the coasts of all the northern countries of Europe, and even in the Mediterranean. They vary considerably in size. Mr. Pennant states that the largest he had ever heard of measured thirteen inches in length, and weighed half a pound.

THE MACKEREL (Scomber Scomber)

Is taken and 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 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, reflecting, 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 arc 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 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 make such havock, as frequently to drive it away. Mackerel are in season from March to June.

THE GAR-FISH, (Esox belone,)

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 as the rest of the body. It is vulgarly supposed that