FISHES 491 



sandbanks like the Plaice. It is frequently captured in the 

 draught-net, but does not attain large dimensions. A fish of 

 half a pound weight is considered a fine Dab. Dr. Heysham 

 wrote : ' We now and then see a few of this species in 

 our market among flounders. They are small, but delicate 

 food.' 



SMEAR DAB. 



Pleuronectes microcephalus, Donov. 



This species arrives in our shallow waters at the beginning 

 of spring. The first example caught by the Silloth fishermen 

 in 1892 was taken on the 20th day of April, a solitary specimen. 

 I received it the same evening. When the present species is 

 numerous, the Sole is generally scarce. 



FLOUNDER. 



Pleuronectes Jlesus, L. 



Large numbers of ' fresh-water flounders ' of all ages are 

 netted in the waters of Morecambe Bay ; many are taken at 

 Ravenglass, arid the species abounds in the waters of the English 

 Solway, ascending the Eden in its wanderings a couple of miles 

 above Carlisle. The custom, time-honoured, of spearing Floun- 

 ders or ' flukes' is still observed as a pleasant and even profitable 

 pursuit upon the Solway, especially in the Waver and Wampool, 

 together with their tributary creeks. The young are often 

 taken in the shrimp-nets, but they are not so tenacious of life as 

 young Plaice. The Flounders which feed on small shellfish, 

 after the habit of Plaice or * salt-water flounders,' are larger and 

 of better colour than those which subsist upon the inferior and 

 muddy fare of the creeks which drain the salt marshes. 



SOLE. 



Solea vulgaris, Quensel. 



The shallow waters of the English Solway seem to have been 

 designed as a natural nursery for baby Soles, but the fry 

 measuring from three to four inches in length are destroyed 



