THE PLAICE. 



563 



and is found in tolerable abundance off our own shores. Like all Hat 

 fishes, it mostly haunts the sandy bed of the sea, but will sometimes 

 swim boldly to the surface of the water. It is a restless and wandering 

 fish, traversing considerable 

 distances as it feeds, and gen- 

 erally moving in small com- 

 panies. 



The Turbot is known in 

 Scotland by the titles of Ban- 

 nock Fleuk and Spawn 

 Fleuk, the former name 

 being given to it on account 

 of its flat shape, which re- 

 sembles a bannock or oat- 

 cake, and the latter because 

 it is thought to be at the best 

 while in roe. After spawning 

 — i. e., about August — its flesh 



loses its peculiar firmness, but in a very short time the fish regains its 

 condition. 



The color of the Turbot is brown of different shades on one side, 

 usually the left, and the whole of that side is spotted with little round 

 bony tubercles, which may be found in the skin after boiling. The size 

 of this fish is extremely variable. The average weight is six or seven 

 pounds, but Turbots are often taken of far greater dimensions. The 



largest specimen 

 of which an au- 

 thentic notice is 

 was 

 Ply- 

 the 

 and 



The Turbot [Pleuronectes maximus 



preserved 

 taken near 

 mouth in 

 year 1730, 



weighed seventy 

 pounds. 



The Plaice is 

 well known by 

 the bright red 

 spots which are 

 scattered over 

 its dark side I 

 The Plaice (Pleuronecte^, platessa). havecaught num- 



bers of Plaice, some measuring six or seven inches in length, by merely 

 wading into the muddy sand, holding them down with the feet, and 

 picking them out with the hands. Their terrified wriggle is easily felt 



