The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-11-24

had piecred it in several places. This
was in August, 1894, AMI the nsh was
about to 2pawn, but. as on the eastern
coast, l Gould not find a fisherman who
had ever seen a young swordhsh.
,, To illustrate the dangerous nature of
these two fishes, / cite several instances
collected bv Prof. G. Brown Goo If the
Smithsonian. The smack F7ergreen was
struck by speartish off Hateras, the
blow being felt by all on board. The
smack leaked SO badly that she senaled
passing vessel to stand by her until shs
reached Charleston, where, upon hesving
ont the ballast it was found that the
sword had gone through the planking,
tim Der and ceiling. The pianking was
two inches thick the tim Der five inches
and the ceiling one and one-half inches
of white oak.
A xiphias struck tho brig Tinker in
1876 and ran Its sword ten inches into
the vessel. The men were kept at the
pumps until she reached port. The
Gloucester schooner Wyoming had
swc I'd sent two feet through her tim bers.
The yacht Redhot OF New Bedford was
hardly month in the year that somo
accident does net occur from the ferocity
OF these swordsmen Of the sea.
All the genera probably deposit their
eggs 10 the onen sea, the young present.
ing very different apps arance from the
dOuIt. IN t0e young OF nlstlOpnCIus Dotu
jaws are of equal length. the eyes enor-
nous, while two long spinss reach back
beneath the pectoral fms. ] have seal chei
in vain for young swordhsh On this
coast or even a specimen of small weight.
The professional fishermen claim to have
seen them, but many consider the gar
fish, or soon bere OK brevifostris, to be
the young, simply because they have
long beaks.
Our rocky shores are particularly rich
in serranoiu fishes, many spe les being
knuwn as rock bass, the most familiar OF
which are serranus clathratus, serranus
nebulfer and rock bass or spotted cab
rilIa. The largest OF our serranoios is the
iewisn, steroepis gigns. bsttei name
being the black sea bass. 1t is caught all
along our sh ares, but genersally on rocky
bottom, attaining length uf six feet and
a weight OF 700 pounds, though the aver
age is from 2Uo to $50 pounds. | have
taken several ranging up to about L
latter weight. Thsy spawn at Santa Cata-
lima in August and do not migrate, form
ing in schools in winter, often being so
ravenous as to seriously interfere with
the whitehsh fishing. They hava some
M arket value, and formerly we're in great
demand, being sold as homeless cod"
The heepshead, trochocopus puloher,
broai red and black bands. Tae y,ung
are entirely red, often white when
caught. and are generally supposed to be
distinct fish. With thsse We call TO
mind the beautiful kelp fsnes, pseudo
julis. platyg lossus, neterostichus and the
SNOWY representative OF the valuable
family scorpasenidae that abound in
almost endless variety both in individual
and species. They ale commonly known
as rock cod arc Rronpers, the genus sea-
bastlchthys being perhaps the best known
and represented in our i'm N ediate waters
by many species.
The tile fish Of the east Clatilidae) has
a representative here in one OF our most
valued fishes, the white fish (caulodtilus
anomalus) which attains weight OF fiji.
teen or twenty pounds. The white fish is
not migratory in the sense Of leaving this
locality in the winter. II simply schools
At this time and is caught in large num-