412 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



335. /Sea-JBass. The sea-bass (Johnius nobilis) is a 

 plain, oval fish, bluish-gray in color above, silvery below, 

 weighing from fifteen to forty pounds. It is closely related to 

 the weak-fish of the New York market. The meat is white 

 and delicate, and always commands a high price in the 

 market. It is a surface fish, and sometimes enters the bays, 

 but it is not abundant anywhere. It is caught from March to 

 November. 



336. Sheepshead. The Californian sheepshead (Labrus 

 pulcher) is a black fish, with a broad, bright- red band sur- 

 rounding the body, and weighs from one to twelve pounds. 

 It has white, broad, projecting teeth, like those of a sheep. It 

 has no relationship to the Atlantic sheepshead, but is a conge- 

 ner of the black-fish of the New York market. The meat 

 has a very fine flavor when fresh, but loses its delicacy after 

 being dead a day or two. It is found south of Point Concep- 

 tion, on rocky and kelpy bottoms, from April to October. Its 

 food is chiefly shell-fish. 



337. Smelts. We have four species of fish called smelts 

 (Atherniopsis calif or niensis, Atherniopsis affinis, Osmerus 

 preciosus, and Osmerus similis). The Atherniopses are not 

 true smelts, but belong to the same genus with the sander- 

 lings of the Atlantic, which last are thrown away, or used only 

 as bait ; whereas our Atherniopses are valuable fishes. The 

 Atherniopsis californiensis forms the great bulk of the smelts 

 in our market. It is the largest of the Pacific smelts, sometimes 

 reaching a length of fifteen inches, and a pound in weight. The 

 Osmerus species are small. All of them have bright silver 

 bands along their sides. The smelts are more abundant here 

 than on the Eastern Coast, and are the best of our small fishes. 

 They are caught at all seasons of the year ; in the bays with 

 nets never at sea, or with hooks. 



338. Anchovy. There are two anchovies (Engraulis 

 mordax and Engraulis nanus) on the coast of California. 

 They are so nearly alike, that they are undistinguishable ex- 



