TAUTOG, CHOGSET AND PARROT-FISH. 299 
chiefly with hook and line. It feeds on crustaceans and mollusks. It is 
taken chiefly by the Chinese, who salt and dry it. It forms half of the 
total catch of the Chinese south of Point Conception. It does not rank 
high as food-fish, its flesh being coarse. The fat forehead is said to make 
excellent chowder. 
The Senorita-fish, of Monterey, Pseudojulis modestus, is known as 
“¢ Pescerey’’; southward it is called ‘‘Senorita.’’ It reaches a weight of 
less than half a pound. It is found in the kelp from Monterey southward 
to Cerros Island, and is generally common. It feeds chiefly on crusta- 
ceans, and is used, asa rule, only for bait, although the flesh is said to 
be of excellent quality. 
The Kelp-fish of California, Platyglossus semicinctus, bears in company 
with Heterostichus rostratus, and perhaps others, the name of “ Kelp-fish.” 
It reaches a pound in weight, and a length of nearly a foot. It is found 
in the kelp about Santa Catalina Island and southward, and is not very 
abundant. It feeds on crustacea, and spawns in July. Its flesh is said to 
be of good quality. : 
The Hog-fish, Lachnolemus falcatus, is, according to Mr. Stearns, 
abundant at Key West and along the Florida coral reefs, although he has 
not observed it north of the Gulf of Mexico. It there attains a consider- 
able size, and a weight of twelve or fifteen pounds, although the average 
fish is not more than one-fourth that size. .In the Key West market it 
appears almost daily, and is much esteemed for food. This species occurs 
throughout the West Indies, and is one of the favorite food-fishes of Cuba, 
although its sale is forbidden by law, on account of the supposed poisonous 
nature of its flesh. In the Bermudas it is one of the most important of the 
food-fishes, attaining sometimes the weight of twenty pounds. It is caught 
by the line fishermen among the reefs, at a depth of five to forty fathoms. 
Like the other members of this family, it feeds upon small fish, and upon 
bottom crustaceans and mollusks. Its brilliant red color renders it a con- 
spicuous object in the markets. During the different stages of growth its 
species undergoes many changes of form, and has been described under 
several different names. The large adult male is remarkable on account 
of a heavy black blotch over the forehead and over the eyes. The name 
*¢ Hog-fish’’ refers to the swine-like appearance of the head, jaws, and 
teeth. At the entrance to the Great Sound, in Bermuda, is a reef called 
Hog-fish shoal, which is surmounted by a beacon bearing an enormous 
effigy of a Hog-fish in metal. 
