530 



SCANDIXAVIAN FISHES. 



of an ardent spirit." In another specimen a three-gill 

 bottle, some Herrings, and a small Cod were found", 

 together with several bits of parchment and sealing-wax. 

 These last substances might suggest the conclusion that 

 the fish had swallowed one of the bottles which are set 

 adrift to ascertain the set of the ocean-currents, or 

 jjerhaps one of those sad farewell letters written in the 

 bitter hours of distress at sea. 



Its voracity rendei'S the Ling an easy capture. The 

 true Ling-fishery is carried on at the same time as the 

 Cod-fishery and in the same manner (see above, p. 478). 

 For this purpose the fishermen of Bohusliln betake 

 themselves to the Jutland Reef or the Norwegian fishing- 

 baidvs of Jajderen and Storeggen. The Scotch Ling-fishery 

 is pursued on the largest scale oft" the Shetland Islands; 

 l)ut all I'ound (Treat Britain and Ireland' this fishery 

 is of no small importance. Buckland estimated the 

 annual value of the Ling-fishery oft' Stornoway at 

 £16,000. According to statistical reports' in 1888 

 129,766 cwts. of Ling of a value of £47,646 were 

 taken on the coast of Scotland, 66,785 cwts. of a value 

 of £47,135 on the coasts of England and Wales, but 

 on the coast of Ireland only 10,130 cwts. of a. value 

 of £4,863. One may compare these figures with the 

 statement'' of Mr. v. Yhi.en, Inspector of Fisheries, that 

 in 1879 19,620 Ling of a value of about 20,000 crowns 

 (£1,100) were brought to Gothenburg Fish Market. 

 However, the greater part of the catch in Bohuslan is 

 comprised in the statistical reports under the head of 

 storsjojiskef (Great Sea-fishery; Cod etc.). Tliis fishery 

 has been extended since 1884 to the Shetland Banks, 

 and in 1888, according to Dr. A. H. Malm, the value 

 of the catch at first hand was 658,763 crowns (£36,230). 

 How great a proportion of this catch consisted of Ling, 



is uncertain, but it can scarcely have been more than 

 V4. In the Cattegat the true Ling-fishery (with great 

 long-lines) is of still less importance, the catch being 

 only some hundred kilogrammes per annum. Small 

 Ling, known by the fishermen as Ldngelxnn (Ling- 

 child)'', are, however, taken pretty often in shallower 

 ^\■ater ^vith the seine. During the winter months, ac- 

 cording to Ekstrom, a few large Ling ascend into shal- 

 lower water and are taken on Haddock-lines. 



The Ling spawns in spring and early summer, 

 from April to June inclusive. It spawns in the open 

 sea, and the eggs float about in the water. Like the 

 family in general it is extraoi'dinarily prolific. Olsex 

 estimates the number of its eggs at five millions. The 

 ripe eggs are stated by M'Intosh to be nearly ^/j,, of 

 an inch in diameter. 



During and immediately after the spawning-season 

 tlie Ling, like other fishes, is hardly fit for food. The 

 liver in particular, which at other times is of a hand- 

 some reddish white, during the spawning-season is red 

 and worthless. Durino: tlie rest of the year the flesh 

 of the Ling is excellent and more liighly esteemed than 

 that of the Cod. It is cured in the same way as the 

 latter for home use and exportation; l)ut Skewered-Ling 

 {spilldnga = split and dried Ling) is prepared in a spe- 

 cial maimer. The split fish is stretched as hard as 

 possible on skewers {spilor) at several parts of the body, 

 and then hung up to dry. Ling is dressed for the 

 table in the same way as otlier stockfish; but Ekstrom 

 mentions another dish which the fishermen of Bohusliin 

 call Stamp, and which is prepared as follows: the flesh 

 of the Ling together with the liver is thoroughly boiled 

 in salt Avater and then pounded {stampad) to a pulp, 

 which is eaten with avidity. 



Genus LOTTA. 



Two fuUij dcrdopcd dorsal fins, one anal fin; the vertical fins separated, hut the peduncle {finless part) of the 



tail in most cases rerif smcdl, if not imperceptihle. Ventral fins irith 6 — 8 rai/s. Caudal fin rounded. Teeth 



in the loiver jaw and on the head of the vomer, as well as on the intermaxillary hones, small and of 



uniform size, nithout canines. Brcmchiostegal rays 7. 



This genus, which comes extremely near the pre- 

 ceding one, contains, as far as we know at present, 



" Day, Fish. Gt. Brit., IreL, vol. I, p. .306. 



' See Oi-SEN, Piscatorial Atlas, tab. 22. 



' Fish. Trades Gazelle, 12tli and 26tli Jan., 1889. 



■* Appendix lo the Swedish Catalogue, Berlin Exhibition 1880. 



' Cf., however, p. 230 above. 



only one species, but is spread over the fresh water of 

 the northern parts both of the Old World and of the 



