A BEAUTIFUL LUxURY. 461 
Tue Crocus.—Micropogon costatus. 
This is the best pan-fish or broiler, not excepting the pom- 
pano or Spanish mackerel. It isa mullet, of course, and even 
better for the table than the black mullet. It is a small 
drab fish, with soft-rayed fins and square tail. The small 
corrugated rayures on the fins and above the lateral line 
form a lively relief. The fish runs from a quarter to a half 
pound, and is eminently a string pan-fish. Mr. Terry, the 
principal fish-dealer in Charleston, South Carolina, recently 
sent me a string of fish, including the crocus and pompano, 
when I found the crocus superior to all the others as a 
breakfast dish. 
It is taken in fykes of very small meshes, or by fishing for 
it in the manner of taking smelt, as described elsewhere. 
‘*A merry fish on a stallion hair, 
‘Tis a pleasant thing to lead 
On May-days, when the cowslip fair 
Ts yellowing on the mead.” 
This tiny fish, of from one-fourth to a halfpound, is found 
near the banks along shore from Virginia to Florida, for- 
aging in shoals, and keeping close to overhanging shores 
shaded with low brambles. It bites readily to a small clam 
bait or shrimp, and is a lively fish 
on delicate tackle. The annexed 
sinker is easily adjustable to any 
depth of water, by a wire at each end extending beyond the 
ring. 
