128 LING FISHERIES. 



liand-lines and long lines, and the time of the year is 

 from May until August ; some are, however, caught in 

 "winter, as witness the specimen referred to above. The 

 ling is generally treated in the same way as the cod 

 w^ien caught, being split from head to tail, salted in 

 brine, washed and dried, after which it is sent to 

 London, Liverpool, and elsewhere, for home consump- 

 tion, and a great quantity — which always appears to be 

 the case with cheap valuable food — is exported, some to 

 Spain, and some even as far as Australia. If this fish 

 is so much thought of as an article of food, 16,000 miles 

 from home, my readers must think with me that it is 

 worth knowing more about in its native parts, especially 

 among the labouring classes. 



The ling is very little seen in London, being confined 

 mostly to such places as the New Cut, Lambeth, where 

 it is sold out at threepence per pound to the poor 

 (chiefly L-ish) who abound in that neighbourhood. It 

 is surprising the prejudice there is entertained by the 

 English respecting anything cheap ; bat in the case of 

 the ling cheapness is really combined with goodness. 



The ling is met with in a fresh state in the northern 

 counties of England ; there it is much esteemed as an 

 article of food. I have frequently met with it in York- 

 shire, where it is generally sold at from fom'pence to 

 sixpence per pound. The liver of this fish is remark- 

 able for several reasons — the weight being generally 

 large ; in my specimen, which weighed 461bs., the liver 

 weighed 31b. 7oz. Mr. Couch tells us that quantities 

 of oil extracted fi'om the liver " are used by the poor to 

 burn in their lamps, and has been found efi'ectual in 

 severe cases of rheumatics when taken in small beer, in 

 doses of from half-an-once to an ounce and a half. 

 Formerly from fifty to sixty gallons of this oil and that 



