340 Big Game Fishes 
was occasionally caught in the manner described 
with a very small but stout hook on the face or 
at the base of a perpendicular coral cliff. The 
channels here were very deep and precipitous, 
and were often lined with branch coral which 
formed an almost perpendicular wall, a perfect 
cheveaux de frise, the interstices of which formed 
favorite lurking-places for the parrot-fishes of 
large size. This fish, though rarely caught with 
a line, was, when three feet in length and rang- 
ing from eighteen to twenty pounds in weight, a 
powerful, active fish. Large individuals were 
frequently taken at night on the edge of the 
lagoon, showing that, like many others, it came 
into the shallows to feed. It was held in no 
esteem by the fishermen, being considered poison- 
ous; its only economic value lay in the “bills,” 
which were a vivid blue when fresh, green later, 
and which were sold to visitors as curiosities. 
The remarkable feature about these fishes are 
the singular “bills” or teeth, which in the dif- 
ferent species coalesce, more or less, forming a 
sharp, solid ridge instead of several teeth. This 
biting armament partakes of the color of the fish. 
In the large parrot-fish described they were pink- 
ish and white; in another genus, green. The 
