coast of Greenland, and is also found about Iceland and Spitzbergen in a latitude of 80 degrees. It does not like water above 45 degrees F., and is often found in water at the freezing point, namely, 32 degrees. The halibut is also found on the Pacific coast, especially off Oregon and Washington and in British Columbia and Alaska. It is one of the largest of food fish. The fish weighing about 80 pounds are considered the best for food, although the halibut sometimes reaches a weight of over 500 pounds. The male is always smaller than the female and less palatable. The annual value of the halibut fisheries on the North Atlantic coast is probably 3/4 million dollars. It is probably slightly more than this on the Pacific coast,—in fact the Pacific coast fisheries have grown so extensively that halibut is shipped eastward across the continent. Vast freight trains known as the "Halibut Express" have been sent across the continent from Vancouver to Boston, making the trip in six or seven days.
Composition.—
Fresh. Dry.
Water, 75.42 percent
Protein, 18.35 " 77.18 percent
Fat, 5.17 " 19.32 "
Ash, 1.06 " 4.39 "
The halibut is a fish containing considerable quantities of fat, and is not so peculiarly nitrogenous in its character as the cod or the haddock. It, therefore, makes a better balanced ration than either of the other fish. The halibut in the fresh state is esteemed fully as highly as the cod, and the halibut steak is a very common part of the fish sold upon the market.
Herring.—The herrings form a very important group of fishes belonging to the family Clupeidæ. There are about 30 genera in the family and 150 species. The herrings are essentially salt-water fishes and are usually found in large schools. Many species, and some of these the most valuable for food, ascend fresh-water streams for spawning. Certain species, for instance, are caught at the same season as the shad in the Chesapeake and Susquehanna. There are a few species which remain permanently in fresh water. The common herring (Clupea harengus) is one of the most important of the food fishes of the whole Atlantic coast, and really over almost all the north Atlantic, throughout which it is generally distributed. The principal herring fisheries are in the North Sea, in Denmark and Norway. Important fisheries are also found off the coast of Great Britain, Belgium, France, and the United States. It is estimated that as many as three billion herring may be found in a shoal covering a dozen square miles. Herring shoals of much larger extent are on record. The herring do not frequent southern waters, but are found in the cool and more northern waters of the Atlantic. On the coast of the United States it has been found as far south as Cape Hatteras, though it does not
