3i2 Big Game Fishes 



the under jaw are numerous short barbels. The 

 range of the fish is from Long Island to Mexico, 

 being almost everywhere a common fish, afford- 

 ing good sport to the angler. 



The drum belongs to the family Sci&nidce, which 

 includes the weak fishes, the white sea-bass, and 

 many others famous in European waters and 

 among the ancients. The sea-drum, the object of 

 our attention, is known to science as Pogonias 

 cromis, but in various localities it has other 

 common names. In some the striped young are 

 considered separate fishes and called striped drums. 

 On the extreme outer reef the men I fished with 

 called it the " porgy," the drum being " big porgy " 

 and the sheepshead " little porgy." 



Its habits are similar to those of the sheepshead. 

 It is a slow swimmer, frequenting shallow waters, 

 preferring sandy bottom ; affecting oyster-beds, or 

 localities where it can obtain shell-fish. Its taste 

 for these dainties renders it one of the enemies of 

 the oystermen, the small succulent bivalves being 

 crushed like paper in its powerful jaws. The 

 trail of the drum along oyster-beds is easily fol- 

 lowed by the masses of broken shells and the evi- 

 dences of ruthless destruction, which can only be 

 compared to that produced by the deadly starfish. 



