104 WHERE, WHEN, AND HOW TO CATCH FISH 



besides these, a narrow continuous streak of light yellow above lateral 

 line, from head to end of soft dorsal, and another from eye to middle 

 of caudal ; head silvery-yellowish above ; inside of mouth red ; no 

 black under preopercle ; traces of black blotch at base of caudal ; 

 fins colorless, the lower slightly yellowish. Young are light olivaceous, 

 grayish -silvery below ; a dark bronze band, narrower than pupil, 

 darkest in the younger specimen from snout through eye straight to 

 base of caudal ; above this, 2 or 3 dark streaks, the middle one most 

 distinct, from eye to above gill opening ; another, beginning on top 

 of snout on each side, passing above eye, and extending parallel with 

 the first-mentioned stripe straight to last ray of dorsal, where it meets 

 its fellow of the opposite side ; a dark streak from tip of snout 

 along median line to front of dorsal ; a large rounded black blotch at 

 base of caudal, somewhat obscure dusky shading below soft dorsal and 

 at base of pectoral ; fins all plain, upper slightly dusky ; anal nearly 

 white ; pectorals, caudal, and ventrals light yellow ; lining of opercle 

 plain orange ; inside of mouth scarlet. In the large specimen (5^ 

 inches long) the dark stripes are fainter, paler, and more yellowish, 

 several fainter bands occur between the broader ones, and faint oblique 

 streaks of light bronze follow the rows of scales, those above lateral 

 line oblique. In spirits the adult is plain silvery." 



Here I will tell a "Grunt" story, in support of my statement 

 that the fish is the most important one in Key West ; which story is 

 probably a "chestnut " in Florida, but was new to me a year or two 

 ago, and will probably be the same to some of my readers. 



A New York family were spending some time in Key West, and 

 while there made the acquaintance of a family in which there was a 

 young lady with whom they became intimate. They invited her to 

 visit them if she should go to New York. The next summer she 

 went there with her father, who was on business, and accepted her 

 friends invitation to visit them. 



After her visit she went to her father's hotel intending to make 

 quite a stay. But in a day or two called on her friends to bid them 

 good bye. 



They were surprised, and asked what the reason was for changing 

 her mind, and returning to Key West so soon. She rather hesitat- 

 ingly said, that she did not like the food at the hotel, and that the 

 fact really was that she wanted to get back to Key West and to her 

 " Grits and Grunts." 



