The Drum 311 



tackle. Its flesh is little appreciated, though it is 

 fair to say that very few anglers know that the 

 head of many fishes, invariably thrown away, is 

 the bonne bouche. 



The sea-drum is a very well-known fish, attract- 

 ing attention by its ponderous size. It ranks next 

 to the tuna, black sea-bass, Florida jewfish, black 

 grouper, and tarpon in size among American 

 game fishes, specimens having been taken which 

 weighed over one hundred and fifty pounds; 

 and fishes from forty to eighty pounds are not 

 uncommon. In appearance the sea-drum is a 

 large and attractive fish. The body is deep and 

 oblong, rising in a decided "hump," the ventral 

 outline being quite the reverse, so that when 

 placed on the beach the lower surface of the fish 

 will touch from the lower jaw to the tip of the 

 tail. The dorsal fin is tall and prominent; the 

 tail large and powerful, not forked ; the anal fin 

 long; the eye is large and striking, the head 

 blunt. The teeth are small and arranged in 

 bands ; the pharyngeal bones provided with a 

 crushing pavement, formed of blunt molar teeth, 

 or "oyster crushers." The color of the fish is 

 black or very dark in the adult, the young being 

 silver gray with five or six vertical bands. On 



