MALACOPTERYGII SUBBRACHIATI. 507 



When the necessity of depositing or fecundating their eggs, 

 or of providing for their own subsistence, impels the cods of 

 the ocean towards the shores, it is constantly at the com- 

 mencement of spring that they make their appearauce. This 

 period, however, of course varies according to the countries 

 which they inhabit, both in Europe and in North America. 

 It is in the month of February, for instance, that they appear 

 in Norway, Denmark, Scotland, England, &c. ; at Newfound- 

 land it is in the month of March. 



The flesh of these fishes, which is white, firm, and of most 

 excellent flavour, renders them exceedingly valuable to us. 

 It is capable of being preserved in a state fit for eating much 

 longer than that of most other species of this class. Its con- 

 sumption is consequently extended through the four quarters 

 of the globe. Almost all the parts of the cod are adapted for 

 the nourishment of man and of animals, or for some other pur- 

 poses of domestic economy. The tongue, for instance, 

 whether fresh or salted, is a great delicacy ; the gills are 

 carefully preserved, to be employed as baits in fishing; the 

 liver, which is large, and good for eating, also furnishes an 

 enormous quantity of oil, which is an excellent substitute for 

 that of the, whale, and applicable to all the same purposes ; 

 the swimming-bladder furnishes an isinglass not inferior to 

 that yielded by the sturgeon ; the head, in the places where 

 the cod is taken, supplies the fishermen and their families 

 with food. The Norwegians give it with marine plants to 

 their cows, for the purpose of producing a greater proportion 

 of milk. The vertebra), the ribs, and the bones in general are 

 given to their cattle by the Icelanders, and by the Kamtschat- 

 dales to their dogs. These same parts, properly dried, are 

 also employed as fuel in the desolate steppes of the shores of 

 the Icy Sea. Even their intestines and their eggs contribute 

 to the luxury of the table. 



Considering the immense resources that the cod presents to 



