116 CALIFORNIA FI8II AND GAME. 



The following account abbreviatiHl from Rhoads (1903) will give a 

 vivid idea of what we may expect of the animal : 



The possum spends the dtiv in hollow trees, logs, deserted liurrows 

 of other animals, drains, sewers, ])rush piles, hay stacks, and outbuild- 

 ings. It prowls abroad at night, foraging for fruit, nuts, eggs, birds, 

 iind rodents, reptiles and insects. When other food is scarce it eats 

 carrion, and may even become a cannibal. It lives and multiplies in 

 thickly settled regions, this doubtless because of its omnivorous diet, 

 its fecundity, its habit of "playing possum," and its nocturnal habits. 



The birth rate of the possum is marvelous. As many as sixteen 

 young are produced at a time; at birth they are three fourths of an 

 inch long, naked, and with rudimentary hind limbs. Each youngster 

 is securely attached to a teat within the abdominal pouch of the mother. 

 From this pouch they emerge when about the size of small rats, and 

 cling by tail and feet to the body of the parent. There are said to 

 be as many as three litters per year. 



The fondness of the possum for fruit, eggs and poultry can scarcely 

 be offset by the facts that some people consider it good to eat and that 

 it is somewhat of a scavenger and destroyer of vermin. Its over-abun- 

 dance, however, may be checked by trapping, and it is not likel.y that 

 the possum will spread far beyond the thickly settled parts of the state 

 where it can find a living around orchards, gardens and barns. 



It will be extremely interesting to watch the history of this, our 

 latest immigrant. — Museum of Vertebrate Zoologij, University of Cali- 

 fornia, Berkeley, October 26, 191^. 



THE HALIBUT FISHERY OF THE PACIFIC COAST.* 



By Edward P. Rankin, 

 General As.sistant, Scientific Department, U. S. S. Albatross. 



The purpose of this paper is to present a brief description of the 

 gear and the methods used by halibut fishermen ; in it are set forth a 

 few observations, made throughout the halibut investigation, which 

 was conducted otf the coast of Oregon by the United States Bureau of 

 Fisheries, during part of April, May, June, July, August and Sep- 

 tember, 1914. The work was carried on, part of the time from the 

 fisheries steamer Albatross, on which expert fishermen were employed; 

 and part of the time from Newport, Oregon ; consequently, the methods 

 have been viewed from all sides. The information here given regarding 

 the fisheries is the result, both of actual fishing operations in which the 

 writer took part, and of interviews with skippers and fishermen of 

 various halibut boats. 



Jlippoglossus hippofjlossifs, the common halibut, is a member of the 

 flounder family, and one of the most valuable of food fishes; its body 

 is extremely flattened from side to side, oval in outline, almost white 

 on the lower side, and dark gray or grayish-brown on the upper side. 

 In this connection, it must be remembered that this fish swims on its 

 side; in consequence, its back and its belly are in the same horizontal 

 plane. This is all due to the distortion of the head, because of which 

 both eyes are situated on the same side, the "blind" side being the 

 lower. The very young halibut has the appearance normal to other 



* Printed with permission of U. S. Bureau of Fisheries. 



