Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Soal

SOAL, or Sole, Pleuronectes solea, L. a fish that abounds on the British coasts, and is of various sizes; those taken on the western shores weighing from six to seven pounds each; while such as are caught on the eastern coast, seldom exceed one, or at the utmost, two pounds in weight. The upper part of its body is of a deep-brown colour, and the belly is perfectly white.

These fish are taken by means of trawl-nets, at every season of the year; but, by the 1 and 2 Geo. I. c. 18, they are prohibited to be caught, if less than seven inches in length, from the eye to the tip of the tail.

Soles are highly esteemed on account of their delicate flavour; the facility with which they are digested; and the rich nutriment they afford: these good qualities, however, are supposed to decrease in proportion to their larger size. Hence, the most diminutive are justly preferred; but they ought to be dressed as soon as possible, because their delicacy is impaired by keeping.