THE KING AND QUEEN FISHES. 127 
are taken in the St. John’s as high up as Arlington. They are abundant 
in the Indian River. About New Smyrna, Fla., according to Mr. S. C. 
Clarke, it is called ‘‘Whiting,’’ ‘‘Kingfish,’’? ‘‘Barb’’ and ‘ Bull-head 
Whiting.’’ They occur in the winter and spring, though seldom in sum- 
mer. The largest reached the weight of one anda half pounds. They 
average three-quarters of a pound, the female being usually the larger. 
They appear about the last of November, and spend the winter in 
bays and still rivers. They bite in strong currents, not in slack water. 
They prefer deep channels and sandy bottoms. They are found in the 
deepest water and prefer cold water. Their food consists of crabs, shrimps, 
and small crustaceans, and they feed at the bottom. Half-grown to full- 
grown fish contain spawn. They spawn in the sea in May. They are 
taken with a hook by the use of mullet or clam bait at half-tide. 
They bite best in a strong current in winter and spring and fifteen or twenty 
may be taken in one tide. In the Gulf of Mexico, according to Stearns, 
they are abundant from Key West to the Rio Grande, and are known as 
the ‘‘ Whiting,’’ though at Pensacola the name ‘‘ Ground Mullet ’’ is in 
use. He writes: 
‘¢ There are two varieties, which, if they have no specific differences, 
have at least, different habits. One variety lives exclusively in very shoal 
water along the sandy beaches, appearing to take pleasure from the action 
of the surf, and swimming in small schools. The other inhabits deeper 
waters ; is found singly, and is of much darker coloring. The former sel- 
dom leaves the sea-water, while the latter are often found in brackish and 
fresh water. I have found ripe spawn in the surf variety in April, and be- 
lieve they deposit it on the sea-beach. Large specimens of the dark variety 
were taken in September, 1879, in the Apalachicola River, where the 
water is fresh. The Whiting is an excellent food-fish.’’ 
The two varieties thus referred to by Stearns have been identified by 
Jordan as the two species WZ. alburnus and M. littoralis, the latter being 
the surf-loving species first mentioned. 
The Whiting is a delicious pan-fish, sweet and hard, though soon losing 
its delicate flavor. In Charleston it is regarded as a great dainty. Ac- 
cording to Colonel Lyman, when Charleston was closely blockaded and 
fishing was a hazardous occupation, the commandant of the garrison, who 
was a bon vivant, gave $100 in Confederate money for a string of Whiting. 
Some of the early writers called this fish the ‘‘ Bermuda Whiting,’’ for 
