82 FISH. 



Eomans exhibited in vases of glass to their friends 

 and guests. At the present time the mullets of 

 Provence and Toulon are in high estimation. The 

 flesh is white, firm, of good flavour, and, being free 

 from fat, is considered easy of digestion; the 

 liver is the part of the fish in the greatest request. 

 On our coast the striped red mullet seldom ex- 

 ceeds fourteen inches in length, and even this 

 would be considered a fish of large size ; the largest 

 I have ever heard of was caught near Weymouth, 

 some years since, and weighed three pounds six 

 ounces. This fish has been considered migratory, 

 but it appears in the shops of London fishmongers 

 the whole year, but in greatest quantities in 

 the summer, when their colours are most bril- 

 liant, and the fish is in the finest condition for 

 food. These fish take a wide range through the 

 water ; great numbers are taken in mackerel nets 

 near the surface during that season, whilst rowing 

 from place to place, but the greatest quantity is 

 caught in the trawl nets, which traverse the 

 bottom and enclose these and other fish in 

 a manner which will be found described 

 under the head of " Apparatus used in Sea- 

 Fishing." These fish are sometimes found in 



