312 Big Game Fishes 
the under jaw are numerous short barbels. The 
range of the fish is from Long Island to Mexico, 
being almost everywhere a common fish, afford- 
ing good sport to the angler. 
The drum belongs to the family Sccenide, which 
includes the weak fishes, the white sea-bass, and 
many others famous in European waters and 
among the ancients. The sea-drum, the object of 
our attention, is known to science as Pogontas 
cromis, but in various localities it has other 
common names. In some the striped young are 
considered separate fishes and called striped drums. 
On the extreme outer reef the men I fished with 
called it the “ porgy,” the drum being “ big porgy” 
and the sheepshead “little porgy.” 
Its habits are similar to those of the sheepshead. 
It is a slow swimmer, frequenting shallow waters, 
preferring sandy bottom; affecting oyster-beds, or 
localities where it can obtain shell-fish. Its taste 
for these dainties renders it one of the enemies of 
the oystermen, the small succulent bivalves being 
crushed like paper in its powerful jaws. The 
trail of the drum along oyster-beds is easily fol- 
lowed by the masses of broken shells and the evi- 
dences of ruthless destruction, which can only be 
compared to that produced by the deadly starfish. 
