Page images
PDF
EPUB

pieces, into large vats; the heat of the sun, in time, resolves a great part into oil, which is drawn off at side apertures; the refuse is boiled in coppers, and an inferior quality procured.

There is a large fishery for Seals on the Caspian Sea.

The principal part for which the Walrus is taken are the two tusks, -the ivory of which is of a superior quality, and is employed for most purposes to which that of the elephant's tusk is adapted, and is preferred by dentists for the purpose of making artificial teeth. The skin of the Walrus is used for mats, and for covering ropes or running. gear exposed to chafing; and when cut into shreds, and plaited, it forms strong and durable ropes, exceeding those of hemp for some purposes; but as the carcass does not yield so much oil in proportion, the chase of them is limited, and only constitutes a third-rate object in Whaling voyages. The Russians are most successful in this occupation.

As the animal is large, powerful, and fearless, the attack of it is not without danger, especially, since from the strength of its hide and the solidity of the skull, a musket is of little avail unless shot be employed, and the eye be hit. Sailors, when exposed to the attack of the Walrus, in boats, disperse them by throwing sand into their eyes. It is usually killed by means of spears, lances, and knives.

SHARKS.

BEFORE We left Madras, a circumstance occurred which I deem to be worth recording. Though sharks are seldom found in the surf, they are very numerous beyond it; but they sometimes do venture within the swell, in the expectation, probably, of picking up a meal from an overturned Massoolah boat.

One morning, a little boy, about eight years old, happened to be washed from a catamaran which was managed by his father, who was thus early initiating him into the hardships of that mode of life which he intended him to pursue, and, before he could be rescued from the turbulent waters, a shark drew him under, and he was seen no more. The father lost not a moment, but calmly rose, and placing between his teeth a large knife which he carried sheathed in his cummerbund, plunged beneath the lashing waves. He disappeared for some time, but after a while was occasionally seen to rise, and then dive under the billows, as if actively engaged with his formidable foe. It was a period of painful suspense to those who were anxiously watching the issue from the boats outside the surf. After a while the white foam was visibly tinged with blood, which was viewed with a sensation of horror by those who could only surmise what was going on under the water. The man was again seen to rise and disappear, so that the work of death was evidently not yet complete. After some further time had elapsed, to the astonishment of all who were assembled on the beach, for by this time a considerable crowd had collected, the body of a huge shark was seen for a few moments above the whitening spray, which it completely crimsoned, and then disappeared; an instant after, the man rose above the surf, and made for the shore. He seemed nearly exhausted, but had not a single mark upon his body, which bore no evidence whatever of the perilous conflict in which he had been so recently engaged. He had scarcely landed when an immense shark was cast upon the beach by the billows. It was quite dead, and was immediately dragged by the assembled natives beyond the reach

[ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors]

of the surge. It presented a most frightful spectacle, exhibiting fatal proofs of the terrific struggle which had ensued between this ravenous tyrant of the deep and the bereaved father. He had indeed taken a most signal revenge.

On the body of the huge creature were several deep gashes, from one of which the intestines protruded. The knife had been evidently plunged into the belly, and drawn downward with unerring precision, presenting an immense Wound nearly a yard long. There were also several deep incisions about the gills, and below the fins; in short it is impossible to describe the fearful evidences which the monster exhibited of the prowess and dexterity of its determined aggressor, who had so boldly periled his life to revenge the death, as it was afterwards ascertained, of his enly child. As soon as the shark was drawn to a place of security, it was opened, when the head and limbs of the boy were taken from its stomach. The body was completely dismembered, and the head severed from it; the different parts, however, were scarcely at all mutilated. It would seem that, after separation, they had been immefiately swallowed, without being submitted to the previous process

of mastication.

THE MACKEREL,
AND THE MACKEREL FISHERY.

the deep waters of the neighbouring seas. "The law of nature which obliges them and many others to visit the shallower water of the shores, at a particular season, appears to be one of those wise and bountiful provisions of the Creator, by which not only is the species perpetuated with the greatest certainty, but a large portion of the parent animals are thus brought within the reach of man; who, but for the action of this law, would be deprived of many of those species most valuable to him as food. For were the Mackerel dispersed over the immense surface of the deep, no effective fishery could be carried on; but, approaching the shore as they do from all directions, and roving along the coast collected in immense shoals, millions are caught, which yet form but a very small portion compared with the myriads that escape.'

For the following account of the habits and mode of taking this useful fish, we are indebted to the elegant and valuable History of British Fishes, by Mr Yarrell.

On the coast of Ireland, the Mackerel is taken from the county of Kerry in the west, along the southern shore, eastward to Cork and Waterford; from thence northward to Antrim, and north-west to Londonderry and Donegal. Dr Macculloch says it visits some of the lochs of the western islands, but is not considered very abundant. On the Cornish coast, this fish occurs appears to be pursuing a course from sometimes as early as March, and west to east. They are plentiful on the Devonshire coast, and swarm in West Bay about June. On the Hampshire and Sussex coast, particularly the latter, they arrive as early as March, and sometimes, as will be shown, even in February; and the carlier in the year the servers, that after the spawning- fishermen go to look for them, the season is over, these fish retire into further from the shore do they seek

THIS well-known fish is one of the most beautiful of the inhabitants of the British seas; it belongs to the same tribe as the Tunny. The observations which have been applied to the supposed migrations of the kerring tribe are equally applicable to the Mackerel, and it is now the opinion of the most accurate ob

for them and find them. Duhamel says the Mackerel are caught earlier at Dunkirk than at Dieppe or Havre: up our eastern coast, however, the fishing is later. The fishermen of Lowestoffe and Yarmouth, gain their great harvest from the mackerel in May and June.

The Mackerel spawns in June, and according to Bloch, five hundred and forty thousand eggs have been counted in one fish. The young Mackerel, which are called shiners, are from four to six inches long, by the end of August. They are half grown says Mr Couch, by November, when they retire to deep water, and are seen no more that winter; but the adult fishes never wholly quit the Cornish coast, and it is common to see some taken with lines in every month of the year. The Mackerel as feeders are voracious, and their growth is rapid. The ordinary length varies from fourteen to sixteen inches, and their weight is about two pounds each; but they are said to attain the length of twenty inches. The largest fish are not however, considered the best for the table.

As an article of food they are in great request, and those taken in the months of May and June are generally considered superior in flavour to those taken either carlier in the spring, or in autumn. To be eaten in perfection, this fish should be very fresh, as it soon becomes unfit for food. Mackerel were first allowed to be cried through the streets of London on a Sunday, in 1698, and the practice prevails to the present time.

At our various fishing-towns on the coast, the mackerel season is one of great bustle and activity; the high price obtained by early cargoes being the inducement to great exertions.

THE ANCHOVY. THE Anchovy is one of that valuable tribe of fishes resembling the Herring. Herrings and Pilchards are more numerous; but Anchovies, though smaller, are, weight for weight, more valuable in commerce than either of them, on account of the great quantities that are consumed in the preparation of “ Anchovy Sauce."

In

In the Mediterranean the Anchovy is chiefly taken at night; a large fire is lighted on a raft, which attracts the fish, who are then surrounded with a net, and captured in considerable numbers. The greatest portion are salted on the spot. The head is first cut off and the entrails removed; they are then washed and laid in rows in barrels, with salt between each row. Provence they think it essential to the preservation of the fish, that the salt should be of a red colour, and on that account they add Armenian bole, or some other ochreous earth. They never change the brine which is formed in the barrels, but merely supply the waste that has taken place from evaporation. In the north of France the salt is not coloured, and the brine is changed several times; the fish treated in this manner remain good for a greater length of time, but they are not considered so finely flavoured as the others. The head also is not removed.

It is commonly supposed that the bones of the Anchovy will dissolve in boiling water; but the fact is, that the bones are only separated, and, being very small, are not readily detected.

The Anchovy is caught in the months of May, June, and July, on the coasts of Catalonia, Provence, &c., but the great fishery is at Gor gona, a small island west of Leghorn, at which season these fish constantly repair up the straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean,

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors]

where they are taken in large quan- | tities. Near a century ago this fish was found at the mouth of the river Dee, by Mr Ray, but since that time it has been very rarely met with on our coasts.

The following account of the mode of preparing the Anchovy, is extracted from the splendid French work entitled the Voyage Pittoresque dans les isles des Sicille. "On the return of the fishers with the Anchovies, the fish are first thrown into large vessels of brine, to preserve them until there is leisure to salt them. When withdrawn from this brine, two men, seated on barrels, nip off the head of each fish with the thumb-nail, and place the fish in a heap by their side; a third man, seated by the side of an enormous heap of salt, amid numerous barrels, first places a layer of salt at the bottom of the barrel; he then, with both hands, takes up a quantity of the headless fish, throws them into the barrel, and arranges them with his fingers with great quickness and dexterity. In this manner they are rapidly ranged side by side, without the loss of the smallest space; and the workman continues first placing a layer of salt, and then one of fish, till the barrel is full. The board intended for the head of the barrel is then laid on the top and loaded with stone. In a few days the fish are sufficiently salted, and, the barrel being fastened down, are fit for the market."

The sauce prepared from the Anchovy is well known to all the lovers of fish; but a great portion of that brought into the market, and sold under the name of Essence of Anchovies, is made from other species of the same tribe of fish. That which most nearly resembles the real Essence, is prepared from the little fish called Whitebait, (Clupea latulus of CUVIER,) which is taken in the River Thames in

great quantities, during the summer months. The brine in which the White, or Dutch-Herrings are preserved, is also used in these spurious imitations of the genuine article. The mode of preparing the Essence of Anchovies, of course, differs according to the skill or whim of the manufacturer; we here give the recipe of the late Dr Kitchener, famous in matters of this kind, for preparing what he calls Quintessence of Anchovy.

"The goodness of this preparation depends almost entirely on having fine mellow fish, that have been in pickle long enough, that is twelve months, to dissolve easily, yet are not at all rusty. Choose those that are in the state they come over in, not such as have been put into fresh pickle mixed with red paint, which some add to improve the complexion of the fish. Put ten or twelve Anchovies into a mortar, and pound them to a pulp; put these into a very clean iron, or silver, or very well tinned saucepan, then put a large table-spoonful of cold springwater (we prefer good vinegar), into the mortar, shake it round, and pour it to the pounded anchovies, set them by the side of a slow fire, very frequently stirring them together till they are melted, which they will be in the course of five minutes; now stir in a quarter of a drachm of good Cayenne pepper, and let it remain by the side of the fire for a few minutes longer; then, while it is warm, rub it through a hair sieve with the back of a wooden spoon.-This description is concluded with the observation.-" Mem. -You cannot make Essence of Anchovy half so cheap as you can buy it."

[ocr errors]

Although the Anchovy is not consumed in England as an article of food, but merely as a sauce, the quantity imported is sufficiently large to produce, in Custom Duties, a revenue of nearly 1500%, a year.

THE DORADO (OR DOLPHIN,)

AND THE FLYING FISH.

How many and various are the proofs which we have of the wisdom and goodness of God, in the different ways in which he has provided for the welfare and security, not merely of man, but also of the

several branches of the brute creation! Amongst these, we may justly mention this, that those living creatures, which, either from the number or power of their enemies, are more peculiarly exposed to danger, are generally, in a due proportion, more abundantly supplied with the means, if not of resistance, yet of concealment, or escape. In no instance, we think, does this remark appear more applicable than in the case of the Flying-fish. "All animated nature," says Buffon, "seems combined against this little creature." Not only does it fall a victim to some of the larger inhabitants of the deep, but the Tropicbird and the Albatross are ever on the wing to seize it for their prey. Its chief and most natural enemy, however, is the fish called the Dorado, or as it is erroneously termed by sailors, the Dolphin*. And it is against this powerful foe that it seems to be especially armed.

The Dorado is described as being about six feet in length, and at once one of the most active and most beautiful of the finny tribe. The back is ornamented all over, with spots of a bluish green and silver; the tail and fins are of the colour of gold;, the eyes are remarkaby large and beautiful, and surrounded with circles of the most shining golden hue. In fact, it is from its appearance that it takes its nome Dorado, or Golden, and it is said to be so extremely brilliant and singularly beautiful whilst liv

Its name amongst naturalists is the Coryphaena hippurus, and it is different from the Dolphin, Delphinus phocana, to which sailors give the name of the Porpoise.

ing, and in active motion, that no painting or other representation, much less any description, can give any thing like a just idea of it. On the other hand, its strength and power of pursuit are represented as amazingly great.

It is furnished with a full complement of fins, and such is the power of the muscles with which it is provided, that it can not only cut its way through the water with monstrous rapidity, but can bound to a considerable height, and to the distance of eight or ten yards over the waves. It is moreover one of the most voracious of its kind. We may then easily imagine what a formidable enemy this creature must be to any of its own species which it may select for its prey. As it is the unhappy fate of the Flying-fish to be its favourite food, and to be the inhabitant of the same seas, in the tropical regions, it is, of course, in constant danger, from the eager pursuit of the Dorado.

But let us here observe, what peculiar means of security it has pleased the Creator to bestow upon this little animal. As it is but about nine inches long, and seldom grows above the size of a herring, any attempt at resistance, would, of course, be in vain. All its hope of safety must arise from its being able to escape from danger. And its first prospect of doing so, arises from the vast numbers in which they, as well as most of those creatures which are the prey of others, are usually found. They have also the same power of swimming away from their enemy as possessed by other fish of the same size as themselves. But in addition to these common qualities, they are furnished with two pair of fins, which are longer than their whole body, and are moved by a set of muscles, which are stronger than any other, and with these they are enabled, leaving their natural element, to

« PreviousContinue »