The Sun.
London, England, 1835-05-08 00:00:00

HISTORY OF BRITISH FISHES.

By WILLIAM Y.ARRELL, F.L. S.
The Th Van Voorst, Paternoster-row.
trd Part of this instructive work, which pro-
so
h fill up one of the largest vacuums in the na-
isad IstorY of Great Britain, has just appeared. It
tetsnlirably conducted, and there is a breadth, a soft-
Ings of outline, and a distinctness about the engrav-
Which greatly enhances its value. As a naturalist,
a
tor Y
rrel possesses every qualification requisite
e performance of a labour which, when completed,
iPlace him among the benefactors of his country.
Wili%c°ll°lcing is an extract from the history of that
fish, the Mackerel, which we offer as a
%„,refirien of the author's manner :
he hthe Mackerel spawns in June ; and, according to Bloch,
tersaittne tired and forty thousand ova have been counted in one
eUi f I have observed, by the Mackerel sent to the London
rom the shallow shores of Worthing and its vicinity,
bkt tabegea fish mature and deposit their roe earlier on that
.titc,'Y shore than those caught in the deep water off
beir,,,"44 The young Mackerel, which are called Shiners,
0. four to six inches long by the end of August. They
kilatiT.grown by November ; when they retire, says Mr.
sett , to deep water, and are seen no more that winter :
4- the
~alt fishes never wholly quit the Cornish coast; and
Ley-Tou to see some taken with lines in every month of
qh.""" Their principal food is probably the fry of other
ktlq4 tad at Hastings the Mackerel follow towards the shore
iltl_Tecies of Clupea, which is there called in consequence
kity 4ekerel mint. I have been unable hitherto to obtain
tio ecirn
114,1 ens of this small fish ; but, from various descrip-
Net think it is probably the young of the sprat. It is de-
-1/4 'll 'its being about one inch long in July.
Mackarel as feeders are voracious, and their growth
tetict:„• Their ordinary length varies from fourteen to six-
they `‘"Ties, gnd their weight is about two pounds each : but
topo;tre said to attain the length of twenty inches, with a
tonate increase in wei ht. The largost fish are not
ett considered the best for the table.
•

•
It's The
ty Most common mode of fishing for Mackerel, and the.
lets, hich the greatest numbers are taken, is by drift-
olttest, „II le drift-net is twenty feet deep, by one hundred and
the Lti n long • well corked at the top, but without lead at
Seri ,rn• They are made o_ f small fine twine, which is
'ette ° a reddish brown colour, to preserve it from the
Aof le sea-water ; and it is thereby rendered much more
e• The size of the mesh about two and a half inches,
tether larger. Twelve, fifteen, and sometimes eighteen of
n
ts,areattached lengthways, by tying along a thick
v r.ealled the drift-rope, and at the ends of each net, to each
bed When arranged for depositing in the sea, a large buoy
rd to the end of the drift rope is thrown overboard, the
lf,:lt' is put before the wind, and, as she sails along, the rope
kit: the nets thus attached is passed over the stern into the
ertill the who;e of the nets are run out. The net thus
)sited hangs suspended in the water perpendicularly twenty
Vt. deep from the drift-rope, and extending from three quarters
14, mile to a mile, or even a mile and a half, depending on
k umber of nets belonging to the party or company engaged
dpg together. When the whole of the nets are thus
44 d out, the drift-rope is shifted from the stern to the bow
tx14.2 vessel, and she rides by it as if at anchor. The benefit
Si Iby the boat's hanging at the end of the drift-rope is,
kmistat,
tilelnuepontis kept strained in a straight line, which, without
it, would not be the case. The nets are shot
ittttt evening, and sometimes hauled once during the night,
Sallowed to remain in the water all night. The fish
,b the dark through the water, hang in the meshes of
tit "el t, which are large enough to admit them beyond the
t/lie .°O ver
6_ tie s and pectoral fins, but not large enough to allow the
8` Part of the body to pass through. In the morning
Pot PreparationsA are made for hauling the nets. A capstan
orl I 11'4°4 is manned about which two turns of the drift-rope
aerk• One man 'stands forward to untie the upper edge
)74i, net from the drift-rope, which is called, casting off the
t 8; others hand in the' net with the fish caught, to
'Pie
~Zne side of the vessel is devoted ; the other side is oc-
''Kti " y the drift-rope, which is wound in by the men at the
del r• The whole of the net ii, and the fish secured, the
414 , °ls back into harbour with her fish ; or, depositing
lea 1 board some other boat in company, that carries for
to the nearest market, the fishing-vessel remains at
le next night's operation.

4Dtki (RATION.—GALWAY.—The brig Trafalgar
Cristopherson, sailed from this port on Tuesday
Nqc og la ttit for St. John's, N. 8., with 60 passengers. The
kt kestr t, Captain Siddles, sailed on Thursday morning,
e With 150 passengers. The American brig Ron-
'Qt iie aPt, tin Clough, sailed on Thursday, with 50 passengers,
A ork.— Galway Advertiser.
Attiki'lliel IST Ry .-...When the late Mr. Anson (Lord
C//3 *brother) was on his travels in the East he hired a
91'Nk 'to visit the Island of Tenedos. His pilot, an old
gtsta' wl remarked, as they were sailing along with an air of
7t2. ''ion—" There 'twas where our fleet lay." " What
OGi demanded Mr. Anson. " What fleet !" replied the
toy t'ed vei;lran; " why, our Grecian fleet at the siege of
C
0 ,
MODERN NOVELISTS.—VoIs. 1 to 5.
Zat l'iandsorne garb which Mr. Collourn has given to his
ties of the Modern Novelists, entitles them to take rank
7 of the ornamented cheap publications of the day ; and
eY the intrinsic merits of the works themselves, as far
Ott."e opening performances allow us to judge, are
suf-
to to sustain them in the popularity they have acquired,
boaensure them a permanent place in the Library of Fic-
-14 t a l'hese five volumes (for 255.) we have three complete
e
gtt kr. Bulwer's celebrated novel of " Pelham" occupies
" t ; Laklv Morgan's Irish national tale " O'Donnell,"
tE,.. tr?. in the gird ; and the fourth and fifth present us
et imirable Tremaine" of Mr. Ward.
Ittt iTIAL SIGINS.—A political soiree was given
6°t,th ~,17 on Tuesday, in honour of Captain Spiers, Member
brlrg atinr4 Ice. The Rev. Mr. Baird, after an admirable speech_
Wrterkl) f liberal principles,. concluded by alluding to the
I,„"'s signs of the times.—" The year 1835 (he said)
a memorable year in the annals of the country.
11,14, *-fe Mnet was to appear this year, which the supersti-
-1:2 'titer times always connected with some great event.
011:14:''',11 Olt to be wondered at, for it had appeared at the
*mitie:"ll itus Caesar, at the birth of Mahomet, and at the
(•• mstantinople. Now, my friends, this comet is tok
t In, and it may be said, Here is the comet to mar
'went eve nt—the downfall of Toryism.' "—Scotsman.
rapt,
li lin Whittaker, of the 28th foot, stationed at
fete teb , and Ensign Hoste, of the 45th Light Infantry,
irere :end./ fisting in Ramsey Bay, when the punt they
Aag upset, and they were precipitated into the ooze where
onto dec Vwards of I_l feet deep. Mr. Hoste fortunately got
thins P Water, and ,iwam to land, and with great presence
. seized a net-rep,- and rushed to the assistance of his
Itileolt )14 who had but jus:t time to make it fast to himself,
11041,. he Was pulled on shore in .st, very exhausted state. —Bury

. PI, v., ~,,
1110.1 u,„ 4, : LIVES LOST.—On the 22d ult., as the
4-he light )Oat belongingisland to the of 1
'l"orry, in the employ of
kai IPit house lately erected there, the
t\k n'alld th __. _ was croceeding from
of IA • the lighthouse, it was swarn:Ped in crossing the
hi em, e dlynass, and all onboard, consistiOg of a ,
eyti st, °lle ssener, and both the lighthousle keepers wives,
e prr,( 'ipitated into the deep. Mr. Robinso,:., who was an
146 I\2trie vs of the melancholy occurrence, imm,ediately re-
_Ste tl to tl 1,,1 Coast Guard station, and gave informai.
ion of !he
414;,' "10 tilt • boathaving been launched with the least possible
f
Zit 'l,' Ailfr, H • Derraugh, commissioned boatman, with two o
w.7.e-„e IN au 1 t.v., volunteers, put off, and, at imminent risk to
,9:11141;\ 141 live—, ;:: 'scued Bryan and William Doohar, brothers,
1,7 il : )r 0.- 7,1, 'o the bottom of the upset boat, from their
A‘ et lOof I Atutla nt7l,--;11 Lfi‘ -e of their unhappy companions, however,
!ilk: t al a vv; Itery grave. The bodies of Mrs. AP Culloch and
lottilf Itse Ole n, the pilot, l. ..
ave been found ; but Mrs. Kelly,
.a the er,nasseny and another
V tuna v !Oman, Denis W.L. - , , .
0.1.4., tae still missing.—Des-r,y Senttne ,