FISH AND FISHERIES. 77 



is generally taken by the hook, the closeness with which it adheres to the ground 

 making it merely a chance taking it in the seine. It is a good fish, by many people 

 esteemed considerably above its true merits. The other species, the "sole," is an 

 exquisitely delicious fish, equal if not superior to the Thames sole, but curiously 

 enough is as much undervalued by the public generally as the flounder is the 

 reverse. It is probable that this prejudice proceeds from bad cooking, as the 

 " chair " is of a very tough gelatinous character. The mode of capture is solely by 

 spearing, as it is a fish which never takes the hook, and lies far too close to the 

 ground for the seine. The modus operandi is as follows : — On a calm clear morning 

 pass slowly in a boat over the shallow flats where they abound. The fish, alarmed 

 by the approach of the boat, seeks to hide itself in the mud. A small cloud is thus 

 raised, and into the middle of this cloud the fishermen plunges his sjjear, and un- 

 failingly secures his fish. Large numbers have been taken in this way in one 

 morning at the mouth of Cook's River, in Botany Bay. That and Lake Macquarie 

 seem to be favourite haunts of this fish. Both species come to the flats inshore 

 after midsummer, probably only from deeper flats and banks outside. They 

 are then full of roe, and there can be little doubt that the spawn is deposited 

 on the sandy flats on which the fishes are then found. The ti'awl net seems 

 to be the most likely way of securing a regular supply of these most valuable 

 fishes.— R.R.C. 



Some of the European soles spawn in the open sea, according to Mr. 

 Iloldsworth.* 



Pseudorhomhus has a wide mouth, and teeth in both jaws of unequal 

 size in a single series ; none on the vomerine and palatine bones ; eyes 

 on left side, interorbital space not concave, dorsal fin commences on 

 the snout ; scales, small ; lateral line with a strong anterior curve. This 

 is generally a tropical genus. One species, which has been found in North 

 Australia is yellowish brown with two or three spots on the lateral line. 

 There is another species in Port Jackson, P. multirnaculatus, Giinth., 

 which is a greyish-brown with smaller and larger sub-ocellated blackish- 

 brown spots ; fins, finely spotted with brown, a series of larger distinct 

 spots along the basal half of the dorsal and anal fins. 



We have also many other genera and species in Victoria. The sole is 

 Rhombosolea bassensis, Cast., and the Flounder, P. 2^l^soides, Giinth. 

 We have also in Port Jackson two species of the true sole, viz., — Solea 

 microcephala, Giinth., and/S'. macleayana, Ramsay. The genus Synaptura 

 is peculiar to the Indian and Australian seas. It has the eyes on the 

 right side, upper in advance of the lower, cleft of mouth narrow and 

 twisted to the left side. Teeth minute, on blind side only, none on 

 vomer or palate. Vertical fins confluent, scales small, ctenoid. Lateral 

 line straight. We have three species, and there are two others in the 

 tropics, one of which is the fresh-water species already referred to. 



The Sole. 



(Plate XXXIV.) 

 S. nigra, Macleay, is black on the right side and the left yellowish 

 white. The vertical fins are tipped with white. The scales are 

 firm and hard, and their apices glassy-looking, with seven or eight 

 acute points, those on the blind side like them but not so strongly 

 armed. In the harbour it never attains a length of more than 10 inches, 

 and about 6 wide (high). Mr. Macleay having tried some experiments 

 with a trawl net obtained some of much larger size. He regards the 

 fish as superior to the English sole. 



* See article " Fisheries " in the ninth edition of the Encyclop. Brit. 



