49 Suborder Heterosomata 



of no great depth, and in very many localities it exists in great 

 abundance, reaching a length of 6 to 8 feet and a weight of 600 

 pounds. It sometimes ranges well out to sea and enters deeper 

 waters than the cod. The flesh is firm, white, and of good 

 quality, although none of the flatfishes have much flavor, the 

 muscles being mostly destitute of oil. Small halibut, called 

 "chicken halibut," are highly esteemed. 



Dr. Goode states that the "history of the halibut fishery has 

 been a peculiar one. At the beginning of the present century 

 these fishes were exceedingly abundant on George's Banks ; since 

 1850 they have partially disappeared from this region, and the 

 fishermen have since been following them to other banks, and 

 since 1874 out into deeper and deeper water, and the fisheries 

 are now carried on almost exclusively in the gullies between 

 the offshore banks and on the outer edges of the banks, in 

 water 100 to 350 fathoms in depth. 



"The halibut with its large mouth is naturally a voracious 

 fish, and probably would disdain few objects in the way of fresh 

 meat it would come across. It is said, however, to feed more 

 especially upon crabs and mollusks in addition to fish. These 

 fish 'they waylay lying upon the bottom, invisible by reason 

 of their flat bodies, colored to correspond to the general color 

 of the sand or mud upon which they rest. When in pursuit of 

 their prey they are active and often come quite to the surface, 

 especially when in summer they follow the capelin to the shoal 

 water near the land. They feed upon skates, cod, haddock, 

 menhaden, mackerel, herring, lobsters, flounders, sculpins, 

 grenadiers, turbot, Norway haddock, bank-clams, and anything 

 else that is eatable and can be found in the same waters.' Fre- 

 quently halibut may be seen chasing flatfish over the bottom of 

 the water. About Cape Sable their favorite food seems to be 

 haddock and cusk. A very singular mode of attacking a cod 

 has been recorded by Captain Collins, an experienced fisherman 

 and good observer. They often kill their prey by blows of the 

 tail, a fact which is quite novel and interesting. He has described 

 an instance which occurred on a voyage home from Sable Island 

 in 1877: 'The man at the wheel sang out that he saw a hali- 

 but flapping its tail about a quarter of a mile off our starboard 

 quarter. I looked through the spy-glass and his statement was 



