SPRATS AND WHITE BAIT.
Mr. Yarrell has recently shown that the sprat is not the young of the herring and pilchard, as has been generally supposed. One of the most material differences is, that the vertebrae in the sprat are forty-eight in number, while in the herring there are fifty-six. The same gentleman has also proved that white bait are not the young of the shad, or mother of herrings; but that they are a well-marked and distinct species.