THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
101 
dred pounds. In length it varies from five to seven feet, and is usually half 
as broad. Though the halibut is not a table delicacy, it has been a source of 
revenue to those “ who go down into the sea in ships.” Till about fifty or 
sixty years ago Massachusetts Bay was a favorite resort of the halibut , until 
the activity of the fishermen drove them away. The fish now have to be 
sought in relatively deep water. The halibut is a ground fish, and its flat¬ 
ness and coloring, seem an intentional provision for the life which it is to lead. 
It has been known to kill its prey by repeated blows of its tail. 
The Turbot {Psetta maxima ) has become celebrated as a table delicacy,, 
but one must go abroad for it. 
The Plaice {Platess a vulgaris) is marine, but prefers the banks or muddy 
bottoms. It is common in Europe, and is taken either by trawls or by spear¬ 
ing. It has the form of what is commonly called the snn perch, and is dotted 
with curious white spots. 
The European Flounder {Platessa fiesus) is found in the muddy bottoms 
at the mouths of rivers, but it will _ __ _ __ 
flourish in any kind of water. It is 
regarded as indifferent eating. 
The Platessa Plana, found in 
New York, is highly prized as a deli¬ 
cacy ; it is usually pale-green in color. 
The Platessa dentata (or summer 
flounder) is also a favorite with fish- 
fanciers in New York. Its peculiar 
flat form has made the fish prover¬ 
bial. 
The Dab {Platessa limanda) is 
abundant in England, and prized for 
the uses of the table. 
Four-horned Trunk-fish {Ostra- 
cion quadricornis) . This is a most 
singular fish, as a brief description 
will show. The body is polygonal in 
form, and is encased in a series of 
hexagonal plates so rigid in their union as to permit of no laxity of 
the. trunk. The teeth are well formed, eight above and as many below, 
which curve backward as in the snake. Projecting from above the eyes 
are four sharp horns that give at once a hideous and grotesque appearance to 
the creature. It is pretty generally distributed in the temperate waters, and 
species are common in the tropics. The flesh is sometimes used as food, peo¬ 
ple of Florida and the West Indies esteeming its flesh as a great delicacy 
when baked in its own shell, but not a few persons declare that the flesh 
is poisonous. 
The Stickleback ( Gasterosteidoe ) has been described among the “nest- 
builders.” 
The Tobacco-Pipe {Fistularia tobaccaria) is a tropical fish, eel-like in 
appearance, but with a long pipe-stem-like snout, which, from its size, seems 
to suggest resemblance to the sword-fish, with which, however, it has no other 
relationship. 
WOLF-FISH. 
