. Fishes. Fishes. 346 The Grayling and the Smelt The best-known genus, Osmerus, includes the smelt, or spirling feperlan), of Europe, and its relatives, all excellent food- fishes, although quickly spoiling in warm weather. Osmerus eperlanus is the European species; Osmerus mordax of our eastern coast is very much like it, as is also the rainbow-smelt, Osmerus dentex of Japan and Alaska. A larger smelt, Osmerus alba- trossis, occurs on the coast of Alaska, and a small and feeble one, Osmerus thaleichtliys, mixed with other small or delicate fishes, is the whitebait of the San Francisco restaur
. Fishes. Fishes. 346 The Grayling and the Smelt The best-known genus, Osmerus, includes the smelt, or spirling feperlan), of Europe, and its relatives, all excellent food- fishes, although quickly spoiling in warm weather. Osmerus eperlanus is the European species; Osmerus mordax of our eastern coast is very much like it, as is also the rainbow-smelt, Osmerus dentex of Japan and Alaska. A larger smelt, Osmerus alba- trossis, occurs on the coast of Alaska, and a small and feeble one, Osmerus thaleichtliys, mixed with other small or delicate fishes, is the whitebait of the San Francisco restaurants. The whitebait of the London epicure is made up of the young of herrings and sprats of different species. The still more delicate whitebait of the Hong Kong hotels is the icehsh, Salanx Fig. 251.—Smelt, Osmerus mordax (Mitchill). Wood's Hole, Mass. Retropinna retropinna, so called from the backward insertion of its dorsal, is the excellent smelt of the rivers of New Zealand. All the other species belong to northern waters. Me so pus, the surf-smelt, has a smaller mouth than Osmerus and inhabits the North I^acific. The California species, Mesopus pretiosus, of Neah Bay has, according to James G. Swan, "the belly covered with a coating of yellow fat which imparts an oily appearance to the water where the fish has been cleansed or washed and makes them the very perfection of ; This species spawns in late summer along the surf-line. According to Mr. Swan the water seems to be filled with them. "They come in with the flood-tide, and when a wave breaks upon the beach they crowd up into the very foam, and as the surf re- cedes many will be seen flapping on the sand and shingle, but invariably returning with the undertow to deeper ; The Quilliute Indians of Washington believe that "the first. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration a
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