THE KING AND QUEEN FISHES. 125 
brina cirrhosa, is somewhat similar in general appearance, and its flesh is 
highly esteemed. This feeds on small fishes, mollusks, and, according to 
Yarrell, on sea-weed, sometimes attaining a weight of forty pounds. This 
magnitude I have not seen approximated by our species, although it is pos- 
sible that it may occasionally reach a large size. Of its distribution 
southward I can find no satisfactory account.’’ 
In 1879 numerous small individuals of this species appeared in the har- 
bor of Provincetown, Mass.; they seemed however, to be out of their 
proper habitat, and many were chilled by the coldness of the water and 
cast up on the beach. In 1880 and 1881, the species is said to have been 
particularly abundant on the coast of New Jersey, and to have afforded 
much sport to anglers of that vicinity, many of whom had not been famil- 
iar with it in previous years. 
Mr. A. N, Cheney gives the following instructions for King-fish angling : 
‘A light rod and multiplying reel, a strong and very light line, a 
swivel sinker and two rather small hooks are what is required in the way 
of tackle ; much the same rig as is used in weakfishing. The bait is either 
shedder crab or sand-worm. The King-fish is thoroughly game ; he seizes 
the bait eagerly and then goes to the bottom, following up this movement 
with long runs from right to left ; it is really remarkable what a determined 
resistance the little King-fish will make. In size he varies from one to six 
pounds, the average being two or three pounds. The time to fish for 
them is when the tide is running in. Kingfish can be caught along the 
south side of Long Island, off the Jersey coast at Atlantic City, Long 
Branch and Barnegat Inlet, and further south they are very common.”’ 
The Whitings, favorite food-fishes of the Southern coast, embrace the 
two species, Menticirrus alburnus and M. littoralis, both closely allied 
in general character to the King-fish of more northern waters. They are 
said to occur abundantly from Cape Fear River, N. C., to the Rio Grande, 
in Texas. Uhler and Lugger claim that they inhabit the salt water of 
the Chesapeake Bay and its estuaries, but it is not probable that they are 
at all abundant. On the coast of South Carolina, according to Dr. Hol- 
brook, the Whiting remains all the year round, and although few are 
taken in December and January, yet they are sufficient to prove themselves 
constant residents. Near Charleston in the spring and summer months 
they are very abundant; they enter the mouths of bays and rivers, and 
are captured in great numbers. They take the hook readily ; their favor- 
