378 
A DESCRIPTION OF 
ooze at the bottom of the sea, no net can reach it, so that 
it is generally caught by hook and line. It is found 
chiefly on the northern coasts of England, Scotland, and 
Holland ; but several other fishes, resembling the Turbot 
in shape, are much inferior to it in flavour. 
THE PLAICE. (Pleuronectes platessa.) 
A WELL-known English fish, nearly allied to the turbot. 
It has smooth sides, an anal spine, and the eyes and six 
tubercles are placed on the same side of the head. The body 
is very flat, and the upper part of the fish of a clear brown 
colour, marked with orange-coloured spots, and the belly 
white. Flounders spawn in the beginning of February, 
and some of them grow to eight or nine pounds in weight ; 
they assume then something like the shape of a turbot, 
but the flesh is very different, being soft and nearly taste- 
less. 
THE FLOUNDER. (Pleuronectes fluiratilis.) 
THE principal distinction between the plaice and the 
