458 
VERTEBRATA. 
to reacL. quite such gigantic dimensions; Yarrell mentions one that weighed one hundred and 
ninety pounds, and measured six feet across. One is spoken of in the history of Rome as having 
been taken in the time of the Emperor Domitian, of such huge size that the senate were con- 
voked to decide upon the proper mode of bringing it to tlie table. Juvenal says, 
" No vessel they find fit to hold such a fish, 
And the senate's convoked to decree a new dish." 
These fish are caught either by means of hooks and lines or by the trawl-net ; the former 
method is employed during the warmer months of the year. The species most esteemed in Eng- 
land arc the Turbot and the Sole^ which are not found in American waters ; but several others, 
although inferior in the quality of their flesh, are of great importance, as they are caught in 
such numbers that they can be sold at a very cheap rate. Of these the best known are the Plaice, 
the Brill, and the Flounder. 
All the Pleuronectidce are inhabitants of the sea, although they sometimes ascend the brackish 
waters of tidal rivers ; and the Flounder even appears capable of thriving in perfectly fresh water. 
They are rather voracious fishes ; and, in spite of their singular form, are often very active in 
their habits. 
Genus RHOMBUS : Rhombus — Pleuronecies of De Kay. To this belongs the Turbot, JR. 
maximus, common in European waters, and regarded in England as one of the richest and best 
of fishes ; it feeds on small fish, Crustacea, and shell-fish ; seeks sandy ground, and is a great 
wanderer, usually in companies; the common size is five to ten pounds. The English and 
Dutch fisheries for turbots are very extensive ; the season begins in April or May and ceases in 
August. In the early part of the season the trawl-net is used, which brings up not only turbots, 
but soles, plaice, tliornbacks, &c. When the weather is warm the fishermen resort to the hook 
and line. The hooks are baited with the common smelt. The value of the turbot annually 
imported into Great Britain from Holland is said by Yarrell to be four hundred thousand dollars ; 
the Danes are said by the same authority to supply sauce for these fishes at a cost of seventy 
thousand dollars, this sauce being extracted from a million of lobsters caught on the coast of 
Norway. These supplies are in addition to the products of the immense fisheries of the British 
themselves. 
It has been stated that a species of turbot has been occasionally taken in Boston harbor, but 
this does not seem to be Avell established. Under the generic head of Plcuronectes Dr. De Kay 
mentions a single species, as follows, though denying the existence of the well-known Euro- 
pean turbot in the American waters: the Spotted Turbot, P. maculahis, twelve to eighteen 
inches long, called Watery Flounder 
by Dr. Mitchill, and sometimes Sand- 
Flounder among fishermen. It is deli- 
cate food, and has been known to 
weigh twenty pounds. 
The Brill, R. vulgaris, is found 
from six to twelve pounds, and is 
taken in large numbers on the Brit- 
ish as well as Dutch coasts. It bears 
the various popular names of Pearl, 
Kite, Brett, &c. Its flesh is much 
inferior to that of the turbot. 
Muller's Topknot, R. hirtus, seven 
or eight inches long, is common on the 
British coasts. 
Block's Topknot, R. jninctatus, is similar to the preceding, though much less abundant. 
The Whiff, R. megastoma, is twelve to twenty -four inches long, and is very thin ; it is not 
greatly esteemed for the table. Common on the British and Dutch coasts, and is called Carter 
by the Cornish fishermen. 
THt; BEILL. 
