In the Thames and Severn these fish are generally found in the months of April, May, and June. Those that are caught in the Thames are coarse and insipid; whilst such as are caught in the Severn, especially that part of it which flows by Gloucester, are generally sold at a higher price than salmon. Shad that are taken in the sea are thin and of bad flavour, and the longer they continue in the rivers the fatter and more eatable they become. They are generally caught in nets, but sometimes with lines having an earth-worm for a bait. The London fishmongers are frequently supplied with shads from the Severn. These are distinguished by the name of allis, or alose, the French name for shad.
244. The SPRAT (Clupæa sprattus) is a very small fish of the herring tribe, distinguished by its belly being strongly serrated, the dorsal fin having seventeen rays, the anal fin nineteen, and the ventral fins each six.
It seldom exceeds the length of about five inches, and is generally much smaller.
These fish are caught on most of the British shores, and they ascend the river Thames nearly as high as London Bridge, in the beginning of November, and leave it in the month of March.
To the lower classes of inhabitants in London, during the winter, sprat a afford a cheap and very acceptable supply of food. They are caught in nets, and, in some instances, as many have been taken at a single haul as would have filled thirty barrels. Sprats are generally eaten fresh, though, both at Gravesend and Yarmouth, they are cured in the manner of red herrings. In some countries they are pickled, and, in this state, they are little inferior to anchovies, though the bones will not dissolve like those of anchovies.
Immense numbers of sprats, larger in size than ours, are every year caught on the coast of Sardinia. These are salted, packed in barrels, and exported to various parts of the world under the name of Sardines.
245. The ANCHOVY (Clupæa encrasicolus) is a small fish of the herring tribe, known from all the others by its upper jaw being considerably longer than the under jaw.
These fish seldom exceed the length of four or five inches.
They are chiefly caught in the Mediterranean, and the principal fishery for them is on the shores of Gorgona, a small island west of Leghorn. They are also caught off the coast if France, and occasionally off our own shores.
There are few persons fond of good eating to whom the anchovy, either in the form of sauce or as an article of food, is unknown. With us, however, it is seldom eaten in a recent state, the greater proportion of the anchovies consumed in this country being brought in pickle from the Mediterranean.