The Leaping Tuna 87 
to fifteen spines; the second dorsal and anal bear 
a spikelike fin, following which are from eight to 
ten finlets, colored a vivid yellow. The teeth are 
very small, so that the prey —sardines, flying- 
fishes, or squid —is crushed rather than cut. 
The flesh of the tuna is excellent, dark and meat- 
like; but owing to the quantity of other kinds of 
edible fish it finds little favor among Americans, 
the catches being taken by Italian and Portu- 
guese fishermen along the Pacific coast. On the 
Mediterranean it is greatly in demand, but in 
America its chief value is to anglers, who will go 
thousands of miles to take it, the sport and that 
of tarpon fishing well illustrating the importance 
of a mere pastime as one of the assets of a state. 
The tarpon brings thousands of dollars into 
Florida and Texas. The game commissioners 
of Maine estimate that sportsmen bring five 
million dollars into their state yearly, while at 
a recent trial involving the protection of the 
game fishes of California a commissioner testi- 
fied that the game of all kinds of the state 
brought two million dollars to the coast per an- 
num, which shows that sport has become one of 
the assets of the nation, to be carefully protected 
and conserved in the interests of the people. 
