DISTRIBUTION OF THE WHITINGS. 377 



remains all the year round, and although few arc taken in December and .laniiaiy. .U't ili.-y 

 are sufficient to prove themselves constant residents. Near Charleston in the spring; ami sniiu:.< ; 

 months they are very abundant; they enter the mouths of bays and rivers, and are captured ::i 

 great numbers. They take the hook readily; their favorite bait is the Drum, and being- a strong, 

 lively, and active animal, they a fiord great sport to the fishermen. They prefer deep and running 

 waters, and seldom approach so near the shore as to betaken in seines. Their ordinary food seems 

 to be various species of a small shell-fish," etc. 



Speaking of the "Surf Whiting" of Charleston, Holbrook remarks : "This species makes its 

 appearance on the coast of Carolina in the month of April, and continues with us during the 

 entire summer, though very few are taken in July or August. It is only found in shallow water 

 where the bottom is hard and sandy, often forming, when the tide is out, an extensive beach. Its 

 favorite resort is in the neighborhood of the shore where the surf can roll over it from the ocean 

 and bring with it doubtless the animals on which it feeds. In such localities many are captured 

 with the seine and are sold in the market under the name 'Surf Whiting,' in contradistinction to 

 the other species which is called the 'Deep- water Whiting.' Its food seems to be similar to that 

 of the Deep-water Whit'ng, judging from the contents of its stowach, and yet it is seldom taken 

 with the hook. Hitherto I have only seen this fish in the immediate neighborhood of Charleston. 

 This fish is very commonly supposed to be the adult male of the common Whiting, approaching the 

 shoal water to deposit its spawn. I believed it, from common report, to be such, until frequent 

 dissections proved to me that there are both males and females among them. The flesh of thi.s 

 species is good, but by no means so finely flavored as that of the Deep-water Whiting." 



At Mayport, Florida, the Whiting is abundant, and also at the mouth of the Saint John's. The 

 largest observed by me measured ten inches, and in the first -week of April was within two or 

 three weeks of spawning. A few are taken in the Saint John's as high up as Arlington. They 

 are abundant in the Indian River. About New Smyrna, Florida, according to Mr. S. C. Clarke, 

 it is called "Whiting," "King-fish," "Barb," and "Bull-head Whiting." They occur in the 

 winter and spring, though seldom in summer. The largest reached the weight of one and a half 

 pounds. They average three-quarters of a pound, the female being usually the larger. They 

 appear about the last of November, and spend the winter in bays and still rivers. They bite in 

 strong currents, not in slackwater. They prefer deep channels and sandy bottoms. They are 

 found in the deepest water and prefer cold water. Their food consists of crabs, shrimps, and small 

 crustaceans, and they feed at the bottom. Half-grown to full-grown fish contain spawn. They 

 spawn in the sea in May. They are taken with a hook by the use of mullet or clam bait at half 

 tide. They bite best in a strong current in winter and spring. In the Gulf of Mexico, according 

 to Stearns, they are abundant from Key West to the Rio Grande, and are known as the 

 " Whiting," though at Pensacola the name " Ground Mullet" is in use. He writes: 



"There are two varieties, which, if they have no specific differences, have at least difl'eient 

 habits. One variety lives exclusively in very shoal water along the sandy beaches, appearing to 

 take pleasure from the action of the surf, and swimming in small schools. The other inhabits 

 deeper waters ; is found singly, and is of much darker coloring. The former seldom leaves the 

 sea-water, while the latter are often found in brackish and fresh water. I have found ripe spawn 

 in the surf variety in April, and believe they deposit it on the sea-beach. Large specimens of (lie 

 dark variety were taken in September, 1879, in the Apalachicola River, where the water is fresh. 

 The Whiting is an excellent food-fish." 



The two varieties thus referred to by Stearns have been identified by Jordon as the two species 

 M. albnrnuH and M. littoralix, the latter being the surf-loving species first mentioned. 



