TORSK, OR TUSK. 287 



after a storm. Its flesh is hard, but well flavoured. In Ice- 

 land seldom dried, but eaten fresh. Jan Olsen says that the 

 fresh flesh is badly tasted, but when dried it is the best food. 

 In Norway it is treated like the Stockfish, but forms no 

 branch of merchandise. The hard roe, according to Pontop- 

 piclan, has a good flavour. Its enemies are the larger species 

 of Cod. It is much infested by a worm which forms a nidus 

 in its skin, and produces rounded swellings. 



Dr. Storer says that a fish which he believes to be the 

 same as our Torsk is not uncommonly seen in the Boston 

 market in spring, but that in winter it is more rare. It is 

 taken with the hook when fishing for deep-water Cod. 



The description of this fish by Mr. Low is here adopted, 

 with slight modification. The measurements of the specimen 

 from which this description was taken were the following : 

 " The whole length twenty inches and a half: the greatest 

 breadth four and a half, which was taken at the end of the 

 pectoral fin ; at the vent four inches ; something more than 

 half-way from the vent to the tail, two inches ; at the tail, 

 one inch and a quarter : the length of the head four inches ; 

 from the point of the nose to the commencement of the dorsal 

 fin, six inches ; length of the dorsal fin thirteen inches ; 

 from the point of the lower jaw to the vent, eleven inches ; 

 length of the anal fin, eight inches ; tail something more 

 than two inches." 



" The head small in proportion to the fish, with a single 

 barbule under the chin : the upper jaw very little longer than 

 the lower ; in the jaws there are great numbers of very small 

 teeth, and in the roof of the mouth a rough or toothed bone, 

 much in the shape of a horse-shoe ; a pretty broad furrow 

 runs from the nape to the commencement of the dorsal fin, 

 which runs the whole length of the back to within about an 

 inch of the tail ; the tail is rounded ; the anal fin begins at 

 the vent and ends at the tail, but is not joined with it ; the 



