Volume 39, Plate XI / Ichthyology (Fish)

Holibut & Turbot

Hippoglossus vulgaris & Rhombus maximus

1. The Holibut. Generally three to six feet but recorded at seven and a half feet and three hundred and twenty pounds, the Holibut is not uncommon off Scotland and eastern England, with long sharp curved teeth letting it seize large prey, even swallowing a sounding lead. It spawns in spring, the flesh being coarse and little esteemed though cheap, and is the only native flat fish with a crescent-shaped tail.
2. Turbot. Of a rhomboido-circular shape studded with bony tubercles, the much valued Turbot increases in numbers from the north toward the eastern coasts of England, attaining twenty to thirty pounds and exceptionally far more, spawning in autumn. Choice in its food of small live fishes and Crustacea and taken by long lines or trawl-nets, its white, fat, flaky flesh is famed for exquisite flavour and supplied in great quantity to London chiefly by the Dutch.