The mackerel is another oily fish, and it disagrees with some persons accordingly; so is the red mullet, but the oil is chiefly in the liver, and gives the fish its peculiar flavour and value. The herring tribe abound in oil, as we shall see hereafter.

Another list of fish which well deserves attention is headed by the dory, a fish of the second rank, with a peculiar firm, short, flakey, and very white flesh, and not perhaps sufficiently appreciated. The plaice, the skate (usually crimped), lemon-sole, grey mullet, haddock, fresh herring, and the flounder follow, all excellent food, and wanting only proper treatment in the kitchen to make them very palatable; while in nutritive qualities some of them rank as high as the sole and whiting. Then the herring-tribe, viz. the pilchard, and smaller varieties of the family, by reason of their abundance, the facility with which they are preserved, and of the large proportion of fat which they contain, furnish a supply of useful food for the working man.

But besides all these there are fish, which may be placed if not in the first, yet certainly in the second rank, many of which are practically unknown to ninety-nine out of every hundred London housekeepers. First may be named the wolf-fish, or cat-fish, which, although unlike in appearance to the usual occupants of a fishmonger's shop, is a white fish of excellent quality. It lives almost entirely on Crustacea, a circumstance, as Yarrell long ago pointed out, always associated with excellence in the fish so fed. The superiority of the cod caught at the Dogger Bank is said to be partly due to the same cause, as their food at this spot is largely crustacean. The halibut, from the North Sea, closely related to the turbot, is good and substantial food, and when large, as it often is, is also very cheap. The sea-bream, not unlike a large fresh-water perch, and the basse, which has been sometimes styled a white salmon, are both useful varieties which have never received the attention they deserve, and which may be presented simply yet effectively at table. The gurnard is much better known, and an excellent dish may be made with it. Among cheap fish, which might be obtained in any quantity and at a small price, are the ling and hake, related closely to the cod, but chiefly used at present as salted fish and exported; the thornback, of the same family as the skate, and equal in quality; the pollack, a substantial whiting, and the coal-fish, of the same family, but second in order of quality, are both good when in season; a proviso which, it is to be remembered, applies equally to every variety.

Oil in fish.

Fish less esteemed, but excellent food.

Fish rarely seen, but Good.

Fish of the second class, but excellent in quality, not sufficiently known.

I shall but enumerate the conger - excellent for soup and stew making; the whole tribe of eels with their abounding fatty constituents, larger even than those of the herring family; and the sturgeon with a fibre approaching in quality nearer to that of meat than any other fish; besides all the fresh-water fish, such as pike, tench, perch, etc., of which the supply is, by comparison with sea fish, limited; following on which there is still a large number of minor fish which it would be tedious to particularize.

The fish for the day's consumption having been selected, a remark or two may be made on its preparation for the table. This commences in the hands of the fishmonger, as soon as it has become the property of the purchaser. Before entering into his possession, the fish has to undergo the process technically known as "cleaning." This differs considerably according to the fish to be dealt with, but in all cases it involves the loss of what is often a valuable portion of nutritive matter. The gills, liver, intestines, etc., are first removed, often some skin, then portions of the fins, sometimes the head also. The best of these are known as "cuttings," and are sold at a low price to the poor, at the close of the day, many of whom thoroughly appreciate their value and profit thereby.

Congers and the eel family.

Fresh-water fish.

Preparation of fish for the table.

"Cleaning" by the fishmonger.

Every part of fish useful.

To illustrate the result of this process for the purchaser, let us see what happens in one instance, as an example, perhaps a somewhat extreme one, but nevertheless occurring many times daily in every fishmonger's shop. A pair of soles is bought and ordered to be sent home in fillets: eight fillets accordingly arrive. The soles were first skinned, the internal parts taken out, after which a long fillet, consisting of all the flesh on either side of the central bone, both front and back, was removed, making four from each fish. The whole skeleton, with the head, fins, and tail, forming a single entire piece, remains as "cuttings" in the shop. Now this piece will be found just equal to the fillets in weight, constituting in fact one-half of the fish; and it will make excellent stock for fish-soup, a form of food greatly neglected in this country. For in utilizing fish, as far as possible, and in circumstances where a strict economy must be regarded, the soft parts of almost any fish may be cooked apart, so that the skeleton, head, and fins may be utilized for a fish-stock, or to make the foundation of the sauce intended to accompany the fish when served. It may be unnecessary to say that these parts are useless for that purpose when already cooked, as by boiling, frying, etc.

As a general observation, it may be said that in preparing fish for the table by the cook, sufficient trouble is rarely taken to remove some portion of the bones; this can be advantageously done by a clever hand, without disfiguring or injuring the fish. Sauces should be appropriately served; for example, the fat sauces, as hollandaise, and other forms of melted butter, are an appropriate complement of hot boiled fish, while mayonnaise is similarly related to cold. These and their variations, which are numerous, may also accompany both broiled and fried fish; but the latter are often more wholesome and agreeable when served with only a squeeze of lemon juice, and a few grains of the zest, if approved, when a fresh green lemon is not to be had - and it rarely can be here. But the juice of the mushroom is preferred, in the form of catchup, and no doubt justly, by some, for the grill. Endless variations and additions may be made according to taste on these principles. But there is another no less important principle, already referred to, viz. that the fish itself often furnishes a sauce from its own juices, better and more appropriate than some of the complicated and not very digestible mixtures prepared by the cook. Thus "melted butter" - which is regarded as essentially an English sauce - when intended to accompany fish, should not be, as it almost invariably is, a carelessly made compound of butter, flour, and water; but in place of the last-named ingredient there should be a concentrated liquor made from the trimmings of the fish itself, with the addition of a few drops of lemon juice, and strengthened, if necessary, from other sources, as from shell-fish of some kind. Thus an everyday sauce of wholesome and agreeable quality is easily made; and this principle finds its highest illustration in that admirable dish, the sole, with sauce au vin blanc of the French, or, as associated with shell - fish, in the sole a la normande* This is well served in Paris, of course, but it can be found in perfection on the coast of France, especially in the south, due in part probably to the abundant garnish of shell-fish, which are found in finer condition and fresher there, while the sole bears transit and keeps well, for it does not inhabit the southern waters.