The Drum 311 
tackle. Its flesh is little appreciated, though it is 
fair to say that very few anglers know that the 
head of many fishes, invariably thrown away, is 
the donne bouche. 
The sea-drum is a very well-known fish, attract- 
ing attention by its ponderous size. It ranks next 
to the tuna, black sea-bass, Florida jewfish, black 
grouper, and tarpon in size among American 
game fishes, specimens having been taken which 
weighed over one hundred and fifty pounds; 
and fishes from forty to eighty pounds are not 
-uncommon. In appearance the sea-drum is a 
large and attractive fish. The body is deep and 
oblong, rising in a decided “hump,” the ventral 
outline being quite the reverse, so that when 
placed on the beach the lower surface of the fish 
will touch from the lower jaw to the tip of the 
tail. The dorsal fin is tall and prominent; the 
tail large and powerful, not forked; the anal fin 
long; the eye is large and striking, the head 
blunt. The teeth are small and arranged in 
bands; the pharyngeal bones provided with a 
crushing pavement, formed of blunt molar teeth, 
or “oyster crushers.” The color of the fish is 
black or very dark in the adult, the young being 
silver gray with five or six vertical bands. On 
