142 RESOTTRCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



white below. The halibut prefer a colder climnte, and are not 

 sufficiently abundant in this latitude to sustain a special fish- 

 ery ; but a few are in our market throughout the year. They 

 live in deep water, and in places where the bottom is rocky. 

 They eat little fish and shell-fish, and bite readily at the hook. 

 Their meat is very delicate. 



. §110. Tarhot. — The turbot [Pleiironychthys rugosus) is 

 the only large flat-fish, excej)t the halibut, found along our 

 shore. It sometimes grows to weigh twenty pounds, but the 

 common size is from three to ten pounds. The turbot inhabits 

 deep waters and rocky bottoms, eats fish, and bites readily at 

 the hook. It is one of the best fish in our market. 



§ 111. Sole. — We have four species of small flat-fish, com- 

 monly called soles {Psettlchthys sordidus., Psettichthys inela- 

 nostictus., Parophrys vetulus, and Platessa hilineata). They 

 are so much alike, that they are not distinguished from one 

 another by fishermen generally. The Platessa hilineata is the 

 largest, sometimes weighing two pounds ; the others rarely 

 exceed one pound. They frequent the shallow waters of the 

 bay of San Francisco, and are caught abundantly in nets at all 

 seasons of the year. The flat-fishes do not bury themselves in 

 the mud here through the winter, as they do in the North At- 

 lantic. The soles feed on Crustacea, little fishes, and marine 

 animalculse. 



§ 112. Mackerel. — The mackerel [Scotnher diego) is found 

 north of Point Conception. It is good, but not more than 

 half as large as the Atlantic mackerel. The Californian mack- 

 erel rarely exceeds ten inches in length. It lies near the sur- 

 face of the water at sea, and is not fond of entering bays or 

 going very near the shore. Like its Eastern congener, it bites 

 readily at any white rag or shining white substance jerked 

 through the water. 



§ 113. Rock-Fish. — The rock-fish furnish the main supply 

 of fish in the San Francisco market. All belong to the genus 

 iSebastes, of which there are eight species, the most important 

 being the red {I'osacens)^ black {pielanops)., and wharf rock- 



