The Florida Jewfish 307 
night; but in the so-called winter months we 
sought them in the outer channels, hence the be- 
lief grew that they were slightly migratory. 
On the mainland coast of Florida the jewfish 
can be found at Captiva, Palma, Sola, Charlotte 
Harbor, the Biscayne Bay country; and all along- 
shore, where there are sheltered nooks, where a 
channel runs in, and mangrove roots have rolled 
down the bank, forming a cheveaux de frise, are 
haunts to its fancy; but among the outer keys the 
fish is found along the base of deep coral groves. 
Such a home I well recall on the southern end of 
the great Tortugas lagoon so frequently changed 
by hurricane and storm. I had been in quest of 
the queen conch, —a rarity even in this prolific 
hunting-ground,—and was slowly drifting over the 
lagoon, eying the bottom through a glass observa- 
tion box, when I suddenly came to the edge of the 
reef, where the coral began. The water was from 
twenty-five to thirty feet deep, now paved with 
luxuriant, long-pronged branch coral that, under 
the influence of the abundant food-supply, had 
developed to an amazing extent. It appeared to 
be five or more feet in height, surrounded by 
masses of lavender-tinted gorgonias and plume- 
like forms in rich browns, while dotting the bot- 
