many parts of England the Turbot and Holibut are sold indiscriminately for each other. They are, however, perfectly distinct, the upper parts of the former being marked with large, unequal, and obtuse tubercles; while those of the latter are quite smooth, and covered with oblong soft scales that adhere firmly to the body. The eyes of the Turbot also are on the left, whilst those of the Holibut are on the right of the head. Holibuts are sometimes caught of such immense size, on the northern coasts of England, as to weigh from two to three hundred pounds. Olassen speaks of having seen one in Iceland which measured five ells in length.

A WELL-KNOWN English fish, and a species of the pleuronectes. 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 orangecoloured spots, and the belly white. They 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 tasteless.

THE principal distinction between the Plaice and the Flounder consists in the former having a row of six tubercles behind the left eye, of which this fish is entirely destitute; it is also a little longer in the body, and, when full grown, somewhat thicker. The back is of a dark olive colour, spotted; some of them, with round reddish spots on the back and fins. In taste they are reckoned by some more delicate than the plaice. They live long after their being taken out of their element, and are often cried in the streets of London in the morning; but they seldom appear on the table of the rich and opulent. They are common in the British seas, and in all large rivers which obey the impression of the tide, and feed upon decayed carcasses at the bottom of the water.

THE SOLE

Is well known as a very excellent fish, whose flesh is firm, delicate, and of a pleasing flavour. They grow to the length of eighteen inches, and even more in some of our seas. They are often found of this size

and superiority in Torbay, whence they are sent to market at Exeter, and several other towns in Devonshire and the adjacent counties. They are found also in the Mediterranean and several other seas; and, when in season, are in great requisition for the most luxurious tables. The upper part of the body is brown, the under part white; one of the pectoral fins is tipped with black; the sides are yellow, and the tail rounded at its extremity. It is said that the small Soles, caught in the northern seas, are of a much superior taste to the large ones, which the southern and western coasts afford.

This fish has also the quality of keeping sweet and good for several days, even in hot weather, and it is thought to acquire a more delicate flavour by being thus kept. On this account it is that Soles, in the London markets, are frequently more esteemed than those which are cooked immediately after they are taken out of the sea.

In the economy of the Sole, we have an account of one circumstance which is very remarkable: among various other marine productions, they have been known to feed on shell-fish, although they are furnished with no apparatus whatever in their mouth for reducing these to a state calculated for digestion. Some Soles that were purchased by Mr. Collinson, had their bellies hard and prominent, and appeared to contain rows of some hard substance. On the fish being opened, these were found to be rows of shell-fish, which, from the bulging of the shells, and the intervening interstices, gave the intestines somewhat the appearance of strings of beads. On further examination, some of them were observed to be nearly dissolved, others partly so, but many of them were whole. The usual food of the Sole is the spawn and young of

other fish.

Is the boast of large rivers, and one of the noblest inhabitants of the sea, if we esteem him by his bulk, his colour, and the sweetness of his flesh. They are found of a great weight, and sometimes measure five feet at least in length. The colour is beautiful, a dark blue dotted with black spots on the back, decreasing to silvery white on the sides, and white with a little shade of pink on the belly. The fins are comparatively small. Destined by nature to feed man, they come up the rivers that run down from inland countries, and there the female deposits her eggs. Soon after, both she and the male take an excursion to the vast regions of the sea, and do not return to the land streams again till the next year, for the same purpose. They are so powerfully impelled by this natural sense, that when swimming up a river, if they are stopped by a fall of water, they spring up with such a force through the descending torrent, that they stem it till they reach the higher bed of the stream. Whether they be attracted, to overcome so many difficulties and hardships, by the innate desire of spawning again where they were originally deposited in the shape of eggs, or by any other cause, is not yet ascertained. The Salmon is in a great measure confined to the

northern seas, being unknown in the Mediterranean, and in the waters of other warm climates. The flesh is red when raw, redder when salted, and little paler when boiled; it is an agreeable food, fat, tender, and sweet, and excels in richness all other sea fish: however, it does not agree with all stomachs, and is chiefly hurtful when eaten by sick persons. The Salmon feeds on minnows and other small fish. The pickled Salmon is a good substitute for the fresh one, and is a great branch of trade between Newcastle and the rest of England, where it is in great requisition.

In the river Tweed, about the month of July, the capture of Salmon is astonishing: often a boat-load, and sometimes nearly two, may be taken at a tide; and in one instance, more than seven hundred fish were caught at a single haul of the net. From fifty to a hundred at a haul, are very common. Most of those that are taken before the setting in of the warm weather, are sent fresh to London, if the distance will permit. The others are salted, pickled, and dried, for the London and continental markets. The season for fishing commences in the Tweed on the thirtieth of November, and ends about old Michaelmas day. On this river there are about forty considerable fisheries, which extend upwards, about fourteen miles from the mouth; besides many others of less consequence. These, several years ago, were let at an annual rent of more than ten thousand pounds; and to defray this expense, it has been calculated that upwards of two hundred thousand Salmon must be caught there, one year with another. The principal Salmon fisheries in Europe are in the rivers, or on the sea-coasts adjoining to the large rivers, of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The chief English rivers, in which they are caught, are the Tyne, the Trent, the Severn, and the Thames.

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