31 



factory to know that tlie greater portion of the codfish taken on this 

 coast is cured with the salt made by this company. 



The oil from the livers of these fish, which forms a valuable portion 

 of the industry on the Atlantic coast, is not utilized here, nor are the 

 "sounds," or swim bladders, put up for food purposes. As has been 

 long ago remarked in the Atlantic, the fish occupying deep waters 

 are superior to those found on the more accessible banks. 



Merlucius j^roducfus, Ay., Hake — The Merlucius produdus of Ayres 

 may prove to be identical with the vulgaris of the European coasts. 

 Until lately the examples brought to the markets of this city sel- 

 dom exceeded eighteen inches in length, but during the present 

 summer the Italian fishermen of Monterey have frequently caught 

 individuals of two feet or more in length, and some of these have 

 found their way to San Francisco. In consequence of tlie stout form 

 of this fish, and its thickness and depth in the pectoral region, its 

 weight is proportionately large, reaching eight pounds, or even ten. 



Follachius chalcograonmus, Pal., Pollack — This s])ecies, hitherto 

 believed to be absent from the Californian coast, has lately been 

 found in the market, to which it was brought from Monterey Bay. 

 The only other Gadoid fish occurring in California is the well known 

 Tom-cod [Microgadiis 'pro.rimus), which is not on record south of Mon- 

 terey Bay, but ranges northward to Alaska. 



CHIRID^. 



The somewhat heterogeneous group included under this title con- 

 tributes at least seven species to the fauna of California, all of them 

 of sufficient size, but only four of them sufficiently abundant for 

 use as food. All have the character common to the Chiridaz, Ago- 

 nidse, Cottidfe, Scorpsenidse, etc., of a bony process uniting the sub- 

 orbital ring with the preoperculum. Unlike the Scorpsenidx, and 

 most of the Cottidfe, which have three and a half gills, the Chiridse 

 have four, and there is a slit behind the fourth — not present in Scor- 

 pxnids (rock-cod), nor in some Cottoids. The dorsal and anal fins 

 are usually long, but in Anoptoporaa tlie.y are short. The scales are 

 usually ctenoid (rough), but in Ophiodon they are cycloid. The scales 

 in some species cover the entire body and head, but in others parts 

 of the head are scaleless. Chirus has several lateral lines, but the 

 other genera have but one. Zaniolepis and O.vglebiiis have three anal 

 spines like the Scoiymiidfe, and the latter would be a scorpasnid 

 were it not for the gill. Anoplopoma looks like a codfish or whiting 

 and Myriolepis resembles a Serranvs, or marine Percoid. 



The family altogether is a refuge for a number of species that will 

 not conveniently fit in anywhere else. 



All the genera are confined to the North Pacific, and most of the 

 species become more abundant northwards. 



Myriolepis zonifer, Ln., is as yet known from a single example only, 

 found in the market of San Francisco. The ctenoid scales cover 

 body, head, and fins, except dorsal; and its general appearance much 

 resembles that of a young Jew-fish, Stereolepis gigas. The coloration 

 is black transverse bands on a whitish ground. Oxylehius pidus, Gill, 

 may be known at sight by the six vertical cross bands on a yellow 

 ground, barred fins, first dorsal of fifteen spines, anal with three, and 

 especially by its elongated snout and small mouth. It is not very 

 rare at Monterey, living among rocks in clear water near shore. From 



