Deuicactes wirnour Oxrive On. 99 
headed hooks, like those for taking large bass. As its scales 
are very tenacious, some cooks recommend skinning it as the 
New Englanders do tautog and yellow perch. It is an excel- 
lent fish when stuffed and baked, but it is rather adipose for 
boiling. 
Apropos of scaling fish: First, lave them in vinegar, and 
the most tenacious scales will be casily removed. 
THE GRUNTER, 
This is a silver-sided fish with gray back and white belly. 
The fish is very plump, round, and fat, without any foreign 
taste. It usually weighs from two to five pounds, and is 
juicy enough to fry without butter. It is one of the best 
breakfast fishes of the shores and estuaries, and usually shoals 
with the squeteague, and utters several grunts after being 
landed. It is angled for the same as the squeteague. Its 
fins are all soft-rayed, and it is leather-mouthed ; mediun 
sized scales cover the body. In speaking of a frying fish, I 
believe in the epicurean theory of never frying a fish which 
weighs over half a pound; and that boiling, broiling, baking, 
and chowdering are the only true ways to cook fish, except 
the primitive ones of rolling them in buttered paper and roast- 
ing them in bot embers, or threading them on a birch toast- 
ing-fork, with a slice of pork, and roasting them before a 
camp-tire. The grunter is a great delicacy, and very good 
game for the sportsman with rod and reel. 
