Atwood.] 104 



shoal banks off shore in the Straits of Belle Isle. These fish never go 

 on to the coast, though when they all go off shore at the end of the 

 season they must intermingle. Here there may be two species. 



As a further indication of there being two species Captain Atwood 

 stated that the cod off the coast of New England spawned in November 

 and December, on the ledges, while on the banks of Newfoundland they 

 were found with mature spawn late in May or early in June. Yarrell 

 gives ten spines to the first dorsal as a characteristic of M, vulgaris. 

 In M. americana, according to Storer, there are fourteen or fifteen, 

 while some from the banks of Newfoundland, that Captain Atwood 

 counted, had twelve or thirteen. 



The liver of the cod varies also in character in different places. A 

 cargo of cod taken on the Banks of Newfoundland will yield much less 

 oil than the same quantity of fish taken on the coast of Labrador ; the 

 livers of the cod at Labrador are very much larger and white, but if 

 an equal bulk of livers from these two localities is taken, those from 

 the banks will yield the most oil. This is owing to the fact that the 

 Labrador livers contain a large quantity of water, while those from the 

 Newfoundland Banks are small, and many of them reddish. 



In answer to an inquiry about the color of the cod, Captain Atwood 

 said that they varied in coloration ; those from the ledges along the 

 coast were much darker, and their food consisted of crabs and mol- 

 lusks. Upon the banks, the fish that swim the lowest are of a lighter 

 color, and feed on mollusks, but those that keep at the surface are 

 darker and feed on small fish. 



Referring to what he had said at a previous meeting about the 

 "Bull-dog" codfish he remarked that he had since learned that they 

 were also found at the Sable Island Bank, and that the fishermen also 

 frequently found what they called "double-jointed fish;" that is, cod, 

 the vertebrte which were more compact, denser, and shorter than usual, 

 giving the fish much shorter proportions. 



Mr. David Pulsifer presented an Eel fi-om the "West Indian 

 islands, obtained by Mr. David Ranks, and the thanks of the 

 Society were voted for the donation. 



The Custodian announced the following donations to the 

 Museum received since the last meeting : — A collection of 

 various animals from the coast near Paita, Peru, collected and 

 presented by Dr. C. F. Winslow; a collection of 106 jDlants 

 from the Alps of Europe. 



The following gentlemen were elected Resident Members : 

 Dr. S. W. Langmaid, Messrs. William Endicott, Jr., and D. 

 W. Job, of Boston; and Charles A. Tufts, of Dover, NT. H. 



