184 MALACOP. SUB-BRACH. COD FAMILY. 



men have sometimes used pieces of pork and sea- 

 fowl with advantage. 



" The flesh of these fishes, which is white, firm, 

 and of most excellent flavour, renders them exceed- 

 ingly valuable to us. It is capable of being pre- 

 served 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 

 animals, or for some other purpose 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 fur- 

 nishes an enormous quantity of oil, which is an 

 excellent substitute for that of the whale, and appli- 

 cable to all the same purposes ; the swimming-blad- 

 der 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 fami- 

 lies with food. The Norwegians give it with ma- 

 rine plants to their cows, for the purpose of pro- 

 ducing a greater proportion of milk. The vertebrae, 

 the ribs, and the bones in general, are given to their 

 cattle by the Icelanders, and by the Kamtschatdales 

 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." * 

 * Griffith's Cuvier, vol. x. p. 507. 



