SUB-BRACHIAN MALACOPTERYGII. 163 



ally weighs from five to ten pounds ; but one was 

 taken near Whitby, in 1832, which weighed one 

 hundred and ninety pounds, and measured six feet 

 across.* It is caught with the hook as well as with 

 the net, the former baited with small fishes. The 

 greatest part of the fishery is in the hands of the 

 Dutch, who are said to obtain 80,000/. a-year for 

 the supply of the London market alone. Turbots 

 are occasionally liable to the same variations as we 

 have noticed in speaking of the Flounder. 



Solearf the Sole. 



Like the Plaices and Halibuts, the Soles are right- 

 sided fish ; the mouth on the under side is distorted, 

 on which side of the jaws alone teeth are found ; 

 the fins extend to the tail; the snout projects a little 

 beyond the mouth ; the general form is oblong oval. 

 The common Sole (S. Vulgaris) is found all round 

 our coast, but those of the Channel are preferred, 

 being larger and of finer flavour. They are usually 

 obtained by trawling, rarely taking bait. Eighty 

 thousand bushels of Soles have been sent to the Lon- 

 don market in the course of one year. The Sole, as 

 well as some other sea-fishes, appears to live and 

 thrive in fresh water. It is taken in the river 

 Arun in Sussex, where it evidently breeds ; and in 

 a pond in Guernsey it becomes twice as thick as 

 those residing in the sea. 



* Yarrell. f Its ancient Latin name. 



