96 



THE DAB AND THE HALIBUT. 



The DAB (Platessa limanda) is of the same genus. It 

 may be distinguished from the plaice and flounder by its 



more uniform and 

 lighter brown col- 

 our, its rougher 

 scales, and the 

 greater curvature 

 of the lateral line. 

 The fishermen on 

 the Fife coast call 

 it the " salt-water 

 ., Hl! ~B. fluke." It is found 



on all the sandy 



parts of our coasts, but in deep water ; and it never 

 ascends the rivers. There are five species. 



The HALIBUT or HOLTBUT (Hippoglossus vulgaris), one 

 of the largest kinds of Pleuronects, abounds in the northern 

 seas of Europe (except the Baltic) and America, and is 

 plentiful in British waters. It is a bold, strong fish, and 

 requires good tackle to hold it. Individuals have been 

 captured measuring nearly eight feet in length, but we 

 ourselves have never seen them exceeding five feet ; and 

 of these the flesh is coarse, and, we should think, not 

 nutritious. The Greenlanders, who have stronger stomachs 

 (ilia dura) than Britons, value the halibut exceedingly. 

 They embark in their light kajacks, and spear them with 

 great dexterity; or fish with hook and line, after the 

 fashion described by Crantz : 



" At certain seasons the Greenlanders catch great 

 numbers with large fish-hooks, fastened to whalebone 



* Crantz, "History of Greenland," i. 92, 93. 



