210 BLUEFIELDS. 



tudinal lines of yellow ; the dorsal and caudal fins 

 have borders of rose-pink, and there is a large oval 

 black spot on each flank. The Hind (a species of 

 Serranus) is a handsome fish ; it is studded with 

 scarlet spots on a greyish-white ground : the fins are 

 yellow, especially the caudal, with black borders 

 having a narrow white edge ; sometimes the pectorals 

 are brilliantly scarlet. 



But all of these yield to the different species of 

 HcBmulon, which, under the name of Grunts, are well 

 known and highly esteemed throughout the Carib- 

 bean Sea. The names scientifically bestowed on 

 many West Indian species, such as elegans, formo- 

 sum, xmithopteron, &;c., indicate their pretensions to 

 beauty. Their characteristic markings and hues are 

 oblique parallel lines of gold, on a silver or metalhc 

 azure ground, with delicately tinted fins, and some- 

 times spots of peculiarly intense lustre : the whole 

 interior of their mouth is generally of the finest 

 scarlet. 



All of these are taken with the line, and with the 

 seine, as well as in pots. The Snappers are per- 

 haps more highly esteemed than the Grunts, but 

 both are excellent. They chiefly affect what is 

 called " broken ground," where patches of white sand 

 alternate with masses of rough rock, and fields of 

 grass-like weeds. They range from deep water to the 

 rocky shore ; are taken abundantly with the seine, 

 and bite freely at a bait of Sprat {Harengula clu- 

 jpeola) ; but only fish of small and middling size 

 are commonly caught in pots. The Snappers occa- 

 sionally attain a length of two feet and a half; but 



