These delicious little seafish come principally from the Mediterranean; those esteemed most highly come from Gorgona. These fish are also found in small shoals along the coast of Great Britain, but there are no specific fisheries for them. They are caught at night by nets, the fish being attracted by lights attached to the boats.

To preserve them for exportation, the heads are cut off and the bodies cleaned. They are then placed in brine, packed in barrels and afterwards put up in bottles for the market. Dutch anchovies may be known by their having the scales removed; and the French anchovies by their larger size; and both by the pale tint of their flesh. This peculiar coloring is sometimes counterfeited by artificial means in sprats or sardines. It would be well to note that the color of the pickle of the best fish on being filtered, is of a clear pink, without sediment; whereas the inferior sorts are generally turbid and red only when stirred, with also a heavy red sediment.

To Serve Anchovies

They must be thoroughly cleaned, boned and trimmed. To open, they should be soaked in cold water for a couple of hours, taken out and dried on a cloth, and the backs divided by the points of the two thumbs, rather than with a knife, which should never touch them unless it is electro-plated or of silver. Lay the halves neatly on a dish, and garnish with finely chopped white of egg and parsley; pour salad oil over all.

Stuffed Anchovies

Split open some anchovies, wash them well in white wine and bone them. Mince a little cooked fish of any kind, place in a basin with very fine breadcrumbs, and make it into a paste by adding yolk of eggs. Stuff the anchovies with this mixture, dip into frying batter, plunge into a fryingpan of boiling fat and fry to a light color. Take out when done, drain and arrange on the dish, and serve with a garnish of fried parsley.

Anchovies With Olives

Thoroughly wash and cut off the fillets of some anchovies, and chop them up very fine with a little parsley and onion; put the whole into a mortar and pound it well, adding a little cayenne for seasoning. Cut a number of Spanish olives in halves, take out the stones, and fill them with the pounded anchovy mixture. In the meantime cut some small rounds of bread about an inch in thickness and an inch and a half in diameter, scrape out a little from the center of each, put them into a frying-pan with butter, and fry to a nice light golden color; then take out and drain, and arrange on a napkin spread over a dish; put an olive in each, serve with a little mayonnaise sauce poured over and around the foot of the croutons of fried bread.