302 THE PLAICE. 



seen through its structures. It is quite colorless, except a very slender and very deli- 

 cate pink streak on the edge of the back, and several similar lines upon the sides ; the 

 perfect but glass-like skeleton is hardly to be detected, and even the viscera are almost 

 invisible. It is a very little fish, appearing not to exceed two inches in length ; but its 

 width is proportionately great, so that the fish assumes a nearly circular form. The 

 eyes are silvery white, and the pectoral fins are wholly absent. 



THE well-known TURBOT, so widely and so worthily celebrated for the firm delicacy of 

 its flesh, inhabits many of the European coasts, and is found in tolerable abundance off 

 our own shores. Like all flat fishes, it mostly haunts the sandy bed of the sea, but will 

 sometimes swim boldly to the surface of the water. It is a restless and wandering fish, 

 traversing considerable distances as it feeds, and generally moving in small companies. 



Two modes of catching the Turbot are employed by fishermen, namely, the trawl-net 

 and the long line. As long as the fish remain on the banks, or tolerably near the shore, 

 the net is used, and in its capacious mouth is taken a strange medley of fishes, among 

 which the Turbot is generally plentiful. 



Should, however, the Turbot retire into deep water, or should the weather be too rough 

 for the management of the net, the fishermen employ the line for its capture. The Turbot 

 is gifted by nature with a fine and discriminating appetite, and voracious as it is, it refuses 

 to touch any bait that is not quite fresh, and is said to reject it if any other fish has even 

 bitten it. Certain small fishes are in great repute, especially those which glitter with a 

 silvery lustre. Formerly the lampern of the rivers was extensively used as bait, as its 

 skin is smooth and shiny, and it can be kept alive for a considerable time. The 

 atherine, sea scorpion, and father-lasher are now, however, the principal favorites with 

 the fishermen. The Turbot feeds upon molluscs and crustaceans besides fish. 



The Turbot is known in Scotland by the title of BANNOCK FLEUK, or SPAWN FLEUK, 

 the former name being given to it on account of its flat shape, which resembles a ban- 

 nock or oatcake, and the latter because it is thought to be at the best while in roe. 

 After spawning, /. e. about August, its flesh loses its peculiar firmness, but in a very 

 short time the fish regains its condition. 



The color of the Turbot is brown of different shades on one side, usually the left, 

 and the whole of that side is spotted with little round bony tubercles, which may be 

 found in the skin after boiling. The size of this fish is extremely variable. The aver- 

 age weight is six or seven pounds, but Turbots are often taken of far greater dimen- 

 sions. The largest specimen of which an authentic notice is preserved, was taken 

 near Plymouth in the year 1730, and weighed seventy pounds. 



ANOTHER flat fish, the BRILL (Pleuronectes rhombus), called in Scotland the BONNET 

 FLEUK, and in Devonshire and Cornwall known by the names of KITE and BRETT is 

 held in much estimation for the sake of its flesh, which is but little inferior to that of the 

 turbot, and is, indeed, sometimes fraudulently substituted for that fish. The Brill 

 resembles the turbot in food and habits as well as in appearance, but .does not attain 

 the same dimensions, seldom exceeding seven or eight pounds in weight. The skin of 

 the dark side is devoid of the bony tubercles which are found in the turbot. Its color 

 is reddish brown, mottled with a darker tint of the same color, and variegated with 

 numerous round white spots of a pearly lustre. On account of these spots the Brill is 

 sometimes called the PEARL. When young, the pale reddish brown is covered with 

 spots of black or very dark brown. 



PASSING by the two species of Topknots, we come to the PLAICE, so well known by 

 the bright red spots which are scattered over its dark side. 



This is one of the commonest of the British flat fishes, and, happily for the poor, is 

 taken in such quantities that it supplies nutritious aliment at a very low rate of purchase. 

 It is taken chiefly with the trawl-net, but can be captured with the line, as it bites freely 

 at a bait, generally the common lugworm, and is one of the fish that is most usually 

 caught by amateur sea-fishers. Even the shrimpers take large quantities of small Plaice 



