itebait was another kind of fish; but
Whitebait are really the Herring and Sprat in their baby state.

EXERCISES

1. Name several enemies of the Herring. 2. Describe the eggs of the
Herring, and where they are laid. 3. What is a "drift-net," and how is
it used? 4. What is a Sardine? What is a "Whitebait?"

LESSON II

THE STORY OF THE FLAT FISH

You see fish of many shapes and sizes in the fishmonger's shop; they can
be divided into two kinds--round fish and flat fish. Cod, Herring,
Mackerel and Salmon are round fish. The flat fish are Plaice, Turbot,
Brill, Halibut, Sole, Dab and Flounder.

Most people know the taste, as well as the look, of a Plaice; but few
know much about its life in the ocean. Indeed, there are secrets in the
life of this fish, and many other fish too, which still puzzle us.

Put a Salmon and a Plaice side by side, and it is plain that they live
in very different ways. One is made to dart like an arrow, the other to
lie flat. One is the shape of a torpedo, the other is flat like a raft.
The shape and colour of the Plaice tell their own story of a life on the
sandy, pebbly bed of the sea. And look at the eyes! Both are on the
upper side of the head! What could be better for a fish that lies flat
on the ocean floor?

The Plaice is the best known of these flat fish, so we will try to find
how its life is spent in the deep sea.

Have you ever watched those little sailing-vessels which go a-shrimping?
They carry a large net--a shrimp-trawl, it is called--which is drawn
over the sandy home of the Shrimp. When the trawl is hauled up it may
contain not only Shrimps, but the other dwellers in sandy places. Among
these, sad to say, is often a mass of baby Plaice and other flat fish.
Tiny little fellows they are, some hardly as large as a postage stamp.
They are thrown aside, being of no use to the fisherman.

Now these babies are quite flat, darkish on the upper side, white on the
other side, like the Plaice you see in the shop. They are not such new
babies after all. Though such wee mites, it is more than six weeks since
they left the egg; and, in that time, they have passed through wonderful
changes, as you will see.

Plaice lay a great many eggs, which float about in the sea. Most are
gobbled up by those sea-creatures--and they are many--who love fish-eggs
for dinner. From each remaining egg a baby Plaice escapes. At first it
floats upside down at the surface of the sea, and eats nothing