THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 



91 



Mackerel-boat off Hastings. 



choice; or in any other sense than that of many 

 individuals independently actuated by a similar mo- 

 tive, flocking to any place where food is plentiful. 

 The Cod rarely comes into the shallows; but haunts 

 the deep water, feeding at the rocky bottom, on 

 marine worms, Crustacea, and shelled mollusca. It 

 is a voracious fish. Mr. Crouch records having taken 

 thirty-five crabs, none of them less than a half-crown 

 piece, from the stomach of a single Cod: his greedi- 

 ness is often his own destruction and the fisher- 

 man's advantage, for it induces him readily to seize 

 the bait. It is most abundant on the north and 

 west coasts of Scotland, but is taken in consider- 

 able plenty all round the coasts of our island. In 



