440 
SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 
used for it. This must be perfectly fresh, and consist 
of a bit of Herring, Sand-eel, or Mackerel, or, still better, 
a Lamprey. The Turbot is often taken on bulters or 
hand-lines with bait of this description or, at a pinch, 
with the flesh of a shellfish or an Annelid. In Scandinavia, 
however, it is caught chiefly in Flounder-nets; and the 
great fishery in the North Sea is carried on with the trawl. 
In Sweden, according to Nilsson and Malm, the 
Turbot spawns in May and June. Mr. C. A. Hansson 
has forwarded to the Royal Museum from Stromstad a 
young specimen 18 mm. long, with the wandering eye 
exactly at the bridge of the snout, that was taken on 
the 20th of June, 1882. This specimen was probably 
at least a month old. Day mentions a specimen taken 
on the 20th of August, about 38 mm. long, but at the 
same point in the course of development, the age of 
which he supposes to have been two months. The 
Turbot is enormously prolific. Buckland" estimated 
the number of the eggs in a female 23 lbs. in 'weight 
and with ovaries weighing 5 lbs. 9 oz., at 14,311,200. 
Collett computed their number to be 1,056,000 in a 
female 775 mm. long, whose ovaries weighed 0\52 kgm. 
This fecundity is well needed if the species is to sur- 
vive the war of extermination with which it is threat- 
ened by the trawl. The Turbot too, has always been 
sought after more than most other fishes that do not 
occur in immense shoals, on account of its great value 
as human food. 
The flesh of the Turbot is white, firm (flaky) and 
of good flavour. In flavour it is perhaps inferior to 
the Sole — u de gustibus non disputandum” — but the large 
quantity of flesh which it yields, gives it a much 
greater value. Its proper place is beside the Salmon, 
it we may compare these two species when properly 
prepared and eaten with suitable sauces. Like the Sal- 
mon and the Halibut, the Turbot is best when boiled. 
In France, according to Moreau, it is still called Sea- 
pheasant ( faisan d’eau ); and in 1770, according to Day, 
it was known by this name in Dublin. Even the an- 
cient Romans had conceded to the Turbot the same 
high rank among fish as that occupied by the pheasant 
among fowl, and this comparison has endured to our 
time. The Romans, however, set large Turbot highest, 
while we prefer those of average size. Juvenal tells 
us that the Emperor Domitian called together the Sen- 
ate to deliberate how a Turbot of wonderful size 
should be boiled. 
As appears from the statistics given above of the 
amount and value of the Turbot taken by English 
fishermen during the year 1888, the average wholesale 
price of Turbot per lb. in England is 6 3 / 4 d. Accord- 
ing to Ninni (Catalogue of the Italian Exhibition, Ber- 
lin 1880, p. 180), the Turbot in Venice commands a 
price of about 1 x / 2 francs per kgrm. (about (>' 2 d. per 
lb.) for small fish, and as much as 4 francs per kgrm. 
(17d. per lb.) for large ones. “In Gothenburg,” says 
Malm, “it is much in demand among the wealthy, and 
during the thirty years I have lived there, the price 
of a large Turbot, about 2 ft. long 6 , has gradually 
risen from 3 — 5 to 18 — 25 crowns (3s. 4d. — 5s. 7d. to 
£l — £l 8s.).” The value of the Turbot is consider- 
ably enhanced by the circumstance that it can be kept 
fresh comparatively long. It is also fairly tenacious of 
life. Kr0yeii states that when the Danish fishermen of 
the Cattegat take a large Turbot and cannot imme- 
diately find a purchaser for the valuable catch, they 
tie a line round its tail or pass one through its mouth 
and gill-openings, and fasten it to a stone or stake on 
the beach. Thus prevented from escaping, the Turbot 
can live some time in rather shallow water, if the 
weather is not too warm. “The manner,” adds Kroyer, 
“in which the Turbot is kept alive in the well-boats, 
puts its tenacity of life, in my opinion, to a still harder 
test. With a cord passed through the mouth and gill- 
openings it is hung straight up and down in the well- 
stowage, fastened to the deck-beams. This is done 
because it is impossible to let the Turbot lie among 
the other Flatfishes, for it would then damage its com- 
panions with its sharp spinous tubercles, especially 
when the boat is beating up against the wind or is 
in a heavy sea.” 
In Scandinavia the Turbot is taken principally in 
April and May and from August to October inclusive. 
During the spawning-season itself (May and June) most 
of these fish are of course lean and flabby; but the 
Turbot is voracious enough soon to regain its former 
condition. It is considered best from September to 
April inclusive. According to Yarrell the English 
actor Quin, of epicurean notoriety, was the first to 
discover that the flesh of the Turbot is best on the 
a Nat. Hist. Brit. Fish., p 183. 
b About 6 kgrm. in weight. 
