ON THE ECONOMICAL USES OF FISHES. 3 95 



continue to take them until the middle of August, 

 >vhen they are found on some banks off the mouth 

 of the Elbe. At the beginning of the season the 

 drag-net is used, which brings up not only turbot 

 but many other flat-fish in great abundance, but, as 

 the season advances, and the fish retire to deeper 

 water, where the net cannot be used with advan- 

 tage, recourse is had to the hook and line. The 

 lines used for this purpose are sometimes three miles 

 in length, and the number of hooks on each varies 

 from six to eight hundred, each baited with a small 

 fish, which requires to be very fresh, and such as 

 are of a bright colour are generally found to answer 

 best. To prevent lines of such immense length from 

 being shifted, or even carried away by the tide, 

 large masses of lead, or sometimes small anchors, 

 are attached to them. The Dutch are said to have 

 drawn not less than £80,000 a-year from the turbot 

 sent by them to the London market, where it seems 

 to be preferred. 



The Dutch are said to furnish about one-fourth of 

 the whole supply of this fish sent to London, besides 

 what is purchased from them at sea by our own 

 fishermen, and thus brought to market free of duty, 

 which otherwise is £6 per boat. In the Channel 

 the French carry on a rather extensive turbot fishery, 

 the greater part of the produce of which also enters 

 cur markets. According to Mr. Yarrell, the number 

 of turbot brought to Billingsgate in the course of 

 Iwelve months, was 87,958. 



The only other flat-fish used as food which we shall 



