960 A Brief Biography of the Halibut. [October, 
History in 1864, stated that the largest he had ever taken weighed, 
when dressed, 237 pounds, and would probably have registered 
300 pounds when taken from the water. In July, 1879, the 
same reliable observer saw, at Provincetown, two individuals 
taken near Race point, one of which weighed 359 pounds (302 
pounds when dressed), the other 401 pounds (322 pounds when 
dressed). 
There is a tradition in Boston that Mr. Anthony Holbrook, one 
of the early fish-dealers of that city, had in his possession a hali- 
but, taken at New Ledge, sixty miles south-east of Portland, 
which weighed over 600 pounds. This story, which is recorded 
by Storer in his “ Fishes of Massachusetts,” Captain Atwood be- 
lieves to be untrue. Halibut weighing from three to four hun- 
dred pounds, though unusual in comparison with the ordinary 
size, are by no means rare. I have before me records of ten or 
twelve such fish captured on the New England coast during the 
past ten years. Nilsson, has mentioned the capture, on the 
Swedish coast, of an individual which weighed 720 pounds. 
There are stories of halibut ten feet in length; a fish weigh- 
ing 350 pounds is between seven and eight feet long and nearly 
four feet in width. The largest halibut are not considered 
nearly so good for table use as those of less than 100 pounds 
weight. A fat female of eighty pounds is, by good judges, con- 
sidered to be in the highest state of perfection, while males 
- are not so highly esteemed. Small halibut, known as “chicken 
halibut,” ranging from ten to twenty pounds, are much sought 
after by epicures, and bring a high price in the New York and 
Boston markets. They are, however, comparatively rare, and 
those weighing ten pounds or less are rarely seen; the smallest 
recorded from our coast was about five inches in length, and was 
taken by Professor Verrill in a dredge-net in the Strait of Canso. 
The halibut of the Pacific are apparently similar in dimensions 
to those of New England. Mr. Anderson, inspector of fisheries 
for British Columbia, states that in the waters of Puget sound 
_ they attain a weight of 200 pounds. 
~ The wholesale dealers of Gloucester, in buying fresh halibut 
_ from the fishermen, recognize two grades ; one, which they call 
“gray halibut,” they consider to be of inferior value, and pay 4 
lower price for. The gray halibut are distinguished by dark 
s or blotches upon the under side, which in the most 
