THE KING-FISH. MENTICIKRUS NEBULOSUS. 



THE KING AND OUEEN FISHES. 



These be the hills, (quoth he) the surges hij, 

 On which faire Cynthia her heards doth feed ; 

 Her heards be thousand fishes with their frie, 

 Which in the bosome of the billowes breed. 

 Of them the shepheard, which hath charge in chief, 

 Is Triton, blowing loud his wreathed horn 

 At sound whereof, they all, for their relief, 

 Wend too and fro at evening and at morne. 



Spenser. Colin Clouts Come Home Again. 1591. 



' I ^HE King-fish, Menticirrus nebulosus, also known as the "Hake" 

 on the coast of New Jersey and Delaware, and as the " Tom-cod " on 

 the coast of Connecticut, the " Barb " about Barnegat, the "Black Mullet ' 

 in the Chesapeake, the "Sea Mink" in North Carolina, and sometimes 

 also in the South as the "Whiting," ranges from Cape Ann south at least 

 as far as the mouth of the St. John's River, Fla., although in the southern 

 part of its range it is frequently confused with the Whiting. It has been 

 obtained by Jordan and Stearns at Pensacola ; though it is rare in the 

 Gulf. Its great gaminess, its beauty of color and form, and its excellent 

 flavor, Mr. Cheney assures us, caused the loyal citizens of New York in 

 colonial days to call this species the "King-fish" and in former times, 

 when it was abundant in New York bay, the King-fish and the small 

 striped bass were the crowning glory of the old time fishing. 

 It is discussed as follows by Professor Baird : 



" This species, well worthy of the name which has been given it, and 



