COMMON FLdrXDKH. 



403 



■•ill\ considerecl su|i(M'i(ir to the I);ili. In w inlci' csiiccinl- 

 ly, till' flesli is fl;il)l)y, ;iih1 coiitivicts a iiiiiddy flavour, 

 it' the fisli Ji\('s on a hottoiii of this nature. Tiu' I'ioun- 

 (ler seems also to a((|uirc a belter tlM\-our in tVesii or 

 brackish water than MJiere the water is reallv salt". The 

 Flounders of the Loire and Seine are highly esteemed, 

 neeording to Hlanciiekk. 'l-'resh water," lie says'', "has 

 the effect of ridding the hdounder oi' thai oozv smell 



that it has in the sea." in the Baltic t where the 



percentage of salt in the water is coin|iarati\el\ low, 

 the Flounder enjoys a good reputation, "it is one of 

 tiie most delicate fishes of tiie island-belt of Morko," 

 says EksthOm, "especially when the sunuuer is some- 

 what advanced. At this season it is \erv fat and dainty 

 — hence the proverb: Ndr skogen (ii\r/i(hi, dr fiiindran 

 skon (when green is the wood, the Flounder is good). 

 Mueh depends, howe\er, on tiie method of dressing it. 

 Where Flounders are taken in large quantities thev are 

 usually salted or dried. In llie island-belt of Morko 

 there is a local method of pre[)aring them in the following 

 manner. "Tlie fish are gutted, lightly salted, and after 

 thev have lain a day in the salt, hung up to dr-\". They 

 are then kept for future emergencies, and when re- 

 quired for use, are baked on straw in an oven. Pre- 

 pared in this way they are delicious, provided that they 

 are not so old or l)adly preserved that the flesh is rank." 

 Smoked Flounders are also a favourite dish in mau)- 

 places, especially in Denmark and the north of Ger- 

 many. The utility of the Flounder, however, does not 

 save it from being despised where it is taken in too 

 great abundance. Kiu)YKI! tells us that on the west 

 coast of Zealand, at the beginning of May, he once 

 witnessed the taking-up of a bottom-net which was 

 found to be almost full of Flounders. As many as the 

 large fishing- boat could hold — about half the catch — 

 wei'c taken on board, and the rest were released from 



the net. When the bctat I'caehed sliore, nine men took one 

 basketful of Floundei's eacli, while the rest were left to 

 rot in the boat and on the beach. According to Thomp- 

 son considerable (piantities of this fish wore brought to 

 ik'lfast in iiis time', but fiieir \ aiue was so low that 

 one I'laiee was wm-th as nuich as a hundred Flounders. 

 According to Pai.i.as his / 'I cinoi/ cif cs sfollafxs was thrown 

 awa\' on the shore, and left to lie thei'e in lai'ge heaps. 

 In .\hiska, on the other hand, according to P)Kax'', it 

 is ol' great economical imiiortance; and in Sail I'ran- 

 cisco, accorfling to doiiDAx', it is luuch esteemed, though 

 large S]KH'iniens (between S and :^0 lbs. in weight) are 

 sold chciip and not considered good eating. 



The Floundei' b(>ars man\' names. As it is the 

 , most common of our Flatlishes, it is known in most 

 I parts of Sweden by the general name oi fiinidra (Flat- 

 fish). In the island-belt of Tjorn it is called Skrnhha, 

 Skrii/)l)skd(J(la. Ihtskeskddda (because it is often taken 

 t in ri/ssj(ir = traps) and Iiu,ska. .\ccording to Li.nd- 

 STROM the fishermen of (iothland "'distinguish lietween 

 two colour-varieties, Sandjiandre, more whitish gray 

 on the eye side and an inhabitant of sandA- spots, and 

 Bidlerfluiidre, whicli is blackish gray and lives on a 

 stony and dark-coloured bottom." According to Gott- 

 SCHE the Danish fishermen distinguish between Muddcr- 

 sknibbc (Mud-flounder), generally dextral and with a 

 great part of the surface of the liodv destitute of spi- 

 nous scales, and Sandskrubhe, generally sinistral and 

 with the eye side of the body almost entirely covered 

 with spinous scales. 



The Fhninder is taken chiefly in nets {skciddcr/ain), 

 and sometimes together with other fishes in the seine 

 or in fixed engines, such as traps and liottom-nets; but 

 it also readily takes a hook baited Avith worms, and is 

 thus often taken on long-lines set for Eels. 



(Ekstrom, SiMirr.) 



The Plaice and the Flounder have proved to be , Pseudojfesns — with ciliated scales, most distinct in a 



extremely variable species, and to be fairly closely 

 approximated to each other by their varieties. The 

 variety of the former which Gottsche called Plafessa 



row along the bases of the dorsal and anal fins and on 

 the sides of the lateral line — and the variety of the 

 Flounder which Saxdeberg called I'leiirfniecfes Bogda- 



" LlXDSTRu>r says, however, of tlie Flounders in tlie >s\vninps of GotlilanJ. tliiit tlicir flesh is ''of inferior Havc>nr and nuidily. 



* Diet. Gen. d. Peches, p. 319. 



"^ Nat. Hist. Irel. (1856) vol. IV. ji. 104. 



■' Cat. Collect. Fish.. Gt. Intern. Fisli. E.xhih. Lend. 1883, U. S. Amer. Ca(. /•". pp. ;") and 20. 



<• Br. Goode, Fisl(., Fis!,. Ltdtistr. U. &'., .sect. I. \k 184. 



