Opisthomi and Anacanthini 535 



wise have been represented. In the words of Mr. Goode, 'cod- 

 fish swallow bivalve fish of the largest size, like the great sea- 

 clams, which are a favorite article of food on certain portions 

 of the coast'; further, 'these shells are nested, the smaller 

 inside of the larger, sometimes six or seven in a set, having 

 been packed together in this compact manner in the stomachs 

 of the codfish after the soft parts have been digested out. Some 

 of them had shreds of the muscles remaining in them and 

 were quite fresh, having evidently been but recently ejected 

 by the fish.' Even banks of dead shells have been found in 

 various regions, which are supposed to be the remains of mol- 

 lusks taken by the cod. Shell-fishes, however, form probably 

 but the smaller portion of its diet, and fishes of its own class 

 contribute materially to its food, such as the herring family, 

 the capelin, etc. 



"The codfish in its mode of reproduction exhibits some 

 interesting peculiarities. It does not come on the coast to 

 spawn, as was once supposed, but its eggs are deposited in mid- 

 sea and float to the surface, although it does really, in many 

 cases, approach the land to do so. Prof. C. O. Sars, who has 

 discovered its peculiarities, 'found cod at a distance of twenty 

 to thirty Norwegian miles from the shore and at a depth of 

 from one hundred to one hundred and fifty fathoms.' The 

 eggs thus confided to the mercy of the waves are very numerous ; 

 as many as 9,100,000 have been calculated in a seventy-five- 

 pound fish. 'When the eggs are first seen in the fish they are 

 so small as to be hardly distinguishable ; but they continue 

 to increase in size until maturity, and after impregnation have 

 a diameter depending upon the size of the parent, varying 

 from one-nineteenth to one-seventeenth of an inch. A five- 

 to eight-pound fish has eggs of the smaller size, while a twenty- 

 five-pound one has them between an eighteenth and a seven- 

 teenth.' There are about 190,000 eggs of the smaller size to 

 a pound avoirdupois. They are matured and ejected from Sep- 

 tember to November." 



Unlike most fishes, the cod spawns in cooling water, a trait 

 also found in the salmon family. 



The liver of the cod yields an easily digested oil of great 

 value in the medical treatment of diseases causing emaciation. 



