MITCHILL ON THE FISHES OF NEW-YORK. 387 



and Newfoundland, and there enjoys a coolness that is congenial to his 

 nature. In the spring he returns. 



The bait employed for catching him is small herring. Generally the 

 last holibut is sold in the New-York market about the first of June ; 

 and this is so well understood, that there is then commonly an advance 

 of price. 



The flesh is white and nutritious ; and may be cooked in almost 

 any way. 



2. New-York Flatfish. (Pleuronectes planus.) With a spine at the 

 commencement of the anal fin, back uniformly dark, and lateral line a 

 little curved. 



Lives in the bays and inlets along the coast, nestling and wintering in 

 the mud. Body oblong and smooth. Back of an unmixed dark brown. 

 Belly a clear white. Lateral line crooked a little. Tail rather convex. 

 Caudal fin frequently reddish. Mouth smalL Lower jaw rather pro- 

 minent. Grows to the size of a foot long, and five inches broad. A 

 spine at the commencement of the anal fin. Is called the winter 

 flounder. 



Rays, Br. 7. P. 9. V. 6. D. 62. A. 46. C. 17. 

 " (a) P. p. with a yellow margin on the lower side surrounding the white 

 of that side. This jaundice-coloured border is about three quarters of 

 an inch in breadth, and makes a striking contrast with the pearl of the 

 contiguous parts within it, and the brown of the adjacent dorsal, caudal, 

 and anal fins. 



(b) P. p. with a white back. The individual now before me, (April 

 9, 1815,) has a whiteness of the upper side nearly as clear as that of 

 the nether surface, over rather more than half its extent. The ante- 

 rior part is blanched in this manner. The dorsal fin very sensibly 

 partakes of the altered hue ; but its dark brown is tinctured with yel- 

 low, especially on the rays. Something of the same kind, though less 



