The Groupers 221 



snood. A large bait was necessary, as it was at 

 once attacked by parrot-fishes, angel, and other 

 beautiful bait destroyers, whose actions attracted 

 the groupers, which darted at it and made a fine 

 play, invariably poising for a second, with dor- 

 sals erect with excitement, then feeling the hook, 

 charged to the sounding of the reel. 



Another really beautiful grouper which can be 

 commended to the angler is the hamlet, cherna 

 criolla, or Nassau grouper, called by my boat- 

 man the white grouper. It is Epinephelus stria- 

 tus (Bloch) of science. Its color is at times 

 almost white, more properly a pale gray, but its 

 normal tint is a light olive-green most beauti- 

 fully barred with white or pearl-gray, while the 

 head is striped horizontally, giving it a dashing 

 appearance. The eye is a rich blue, and all 

 together this fish is one of the most attactive of 

 the tropical game fishes. I have taken it at Key 

 West and all along the reef to the west, and it is 

 a common fish in West Indian waters, where it 

 attains a weight of fifty or seventy-five pounds. 

 The large size of many of these fishes is unsus- 

 pected, as the giants are not desirable for market 

 and often cannot be transported. I never saw 

 a black grouper, a " white grouper," or a red 



