Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/178

Rh 160 M A C M A C wards for the purpose of spawning, actually take the lead in the migration, and are followed later on by the older and mature fishes. Finally, according to the observations made by Sars, vicinity of land or shallow water are not necessary conditions for the ovipo- sition of mackerel ; they spawn at the spot which they happen to have readied during their wanderings at the time when the ova have attained their full development, independently of the distance of the laud or of the depth of water below them, as the ova float and the embryo is developed on the surface of the water. In the month of February, or in some years as early as the end of January, the first large schools appear at the entrance of the English Channel, and are met by the more adventurous of the drift- net fishers many miles west of the Scilly Islands. These early schools, which, as we mentioned above, consist chiefly of one-year and two-year-old fishes, yield sometimes enormous catches, whilst in other years they escape the drift-nets altogether, passing them, for some hitherto unexplained reason, at a greater depth than that to which the nets reach, viz., 20 feet. As the season advances, the schools penetrate farther northwards into St George s Channel or eastwards into the English Channel. The fishery then assumes proportions which render it next in importance to the herring and cod fisheries. In Plymouth alone a fleet of some two hundred boats assembles ; and on the French side of the Channel no less capital and labour are invested in it, the vessels employed being, though less in number, larger in size than on the English side. Simultaneously with the drift-net the deep-sea-seine and shore-seine arc used, which towards June almost entirely supersede the drift-net. Towards the end of May the old fish become heavy with spawn, and are in the highest condition for the table ; and the latter half of June or be ginning of July may be regarded as the time at which the greater part of mackerel spawn. Mackerel are scarcely less abundant in the German Ocean ; prob ably some of the schools never leave it, and this resident stock (if we are allowed to apply this term to a fish which is ever shifting its quarters) is increased by the schools coming from the Atlantic through the English Channel or round the north coast of Scotland. The schools approach the coasts of the German Ocean somewhat later in the season, partly owing to the greater severity of the weather, which detains the resident fishes in the open sea, and partly owing to the greater distance which the Atlantic shoals have to travel. On the Norwegian coast mackerel fishing does not begin before May, whilst on the English coasts large catches are frequently made in March. Large cargoes are now annually im ported in ice from Norway to the English market. After the spawning the schools break up into smaller companies which are much scattered, and offer for two or three months employment to the hand-line fishermen. They now begin to dis appear from the coasts and return to the open sea. Single indi viduals or small companies are found, however, on the coast all the year round ; they may have become detached from the main bodies, and be seeking for the larger schools which have long left on their return migration. Although, on the whole, the course and time of the annual migration of mackerel are marked with great regularity, their appearance and abundance at certain localities are subject to great variations. They may pass a spot at such a depth as to evade the nets, and reappear at the surface some days after farther eastwards ; they may deviate from their direct line of migration, and even temporarily return westwards. In some years between 1852 and 1867 the old mackerel disappeared off Guernsey from the surface, and were accidentally discovered feeding at the bottom. Many were taken at 10 fathoms and deeper with the line, and all were of exceptionally large size, several measuring 18 inches, and weigh ing nearly 3 ft&amp;gt; ; these are the largest mackerel on record. The mackerel most esteemed as_ food is the common species, and individuals from 10 to 12 inches in length are considered the best flavoured. In more southern latitudes, however, this species seems to deteriorate, specimens from the coast of Portugal, and from the Mediterranean and Black Sea, being stated to be dry and resembling in flavour the Spanish mackerel (S. colias), which is not esteemed for the table. See also FISHERIES. (A. C. G.) ^ MACKINTOSH, SIR JAMES (1765-1832), publicist, historian, statesman, and philosopher, was born at Aldourie, 7 miles from Inverness, in 1765. He came of old Highland families both through his father and his mother. Of the former, who was an officer in the army, and was mostly on duty abroad, he saw but little, and he spent his early years under the care of his mother and her relatives. At a very early age young James bore the reputation of a prodigy for multifarious reading and learning. His schooling he received at Fortrose, whence he went in 1780 to college at Aberdeen. As a student in the arts faculty there his reading extended far beyond the bounds of the curriculum ; but the influence that most powerfully formed his mind was the companionship of Hubert .Hall, afterwards so famous as a pulpit orator, with whom he ardently beat the usual round of vexed questions. In 1784 he proceeded for the study of medicine to Edinburgh, where he found a still more congenial field for his opening mind, at a time when Hume had been dead just eight years, while Adam Smith, Dr Black the father of chemistry, Dr Cullen, Robertson, Ferguson, and other eminent men, were resident there. Mackintosh participated to the full in the intel lectual ferment, but did not quite neglect his medical studies, and took his degree, though with characteristic unpunctuality he kept the professors waiting for a con siderable time on the examination morning. In 1788 Mackintosh removed to London, then agitated by the trial of Hastings and the king s first lapse into insanity. He was much more interested in these and other political events than in his professional prospects ; and his attention was specially directed to the events and tendencies which caused or preceded the Revolution in France. In the year of his removal to London his father died, and he succeeded to the family estate, which, being small and burdened, brought very little income ; and, as he made no headway in his profession, his financial outlook was not very bright. It was under these circumstances that he wedded his first wife Catherine Stuart. Yet his marriage was a happy event for him. His wife s prudence was a corrective to his own unpractical temperament, and his efforts in journalism soon became fairly profitable. Mackintosh was soon absorbed in the question of the time ; and in April 1791, after long meditation, he published his Vindicix Gallicx, a reply to Burke s Reflections on the French Revolution. It was the only worthy answer to Burke that appeared. It placed the author in the front rank of European publicists at the age of twenty-five, and won him the friendship of some of the most distinguished men of the time, including Burke himself. About the same time he became honorary secretary of the association of the Friends of the People. The success of the Vindicix finally decided him to give up the medical for the legal profession. He was called to the bar in 1795, and gained a considerable reputation there as well as a tolerable practice. During this period his greatest public efforts were his lectures (1799) at Lincoln s Inn on the law of nature and nations, of which the introductory discourse was published, and his eloquent defence (1803) of Jean Peltier, a French refugee, tried at the instance of the French Government for a libel against the first consul. In 1804 he was created knight, and received the post of recorder at Bombay, where he spent the next seven years of his life. The spoilt child of London society was not at home in Bombay. He did seek to interest himself in India, and in imitation of Sir William Jones founded the Literary Society of Bombay; but the current literature of Europe was far more engross ing than the old Indian life, and the packet with the latest tidings from Europe and the newest development of the Napoleonic drama was infinitely more interesting than either. In spite of his scholarly and historic sympathies, his heart always was with the new era, and he was glad to return to England, where he arrived in 1812. True to his old faith, he courteously declined the offer of Perceval to resume political life under the auspices of the dominant Tory party, though tempting prospects of office in connexion with India were opened up. He entered parliament in the Whig interest as member for Nairn. He sat for that county, and afterwards for Knaresborough, till his death. In London society, and in Paris during his occasional visits, he was a recognized favourite for his genial wisdom and his great conversational power. On Madame de Stael s visit to London he was the only Englishman capable of