342 FISHES OF THE FIRTH OF FORTH. 



This fish, the Brassy of Scotland, I have frequently found 

 to exceed the length of seventeen inches, but the more 

 common size is about a foot. It is taken on the east and 

 west coasts of Scotland, on the coasts of Norway and 

 Sweden, and in almost every part of the English shores, par- 

 ticularly in those places where they are deep and rocky. Se- 

 veral are brought to the Edinburgh market in the months 

 of December, January, and February, when they are con- 

 sidered best for the table. They are out of condition in 

 April, May, and June. In taste they are said to resemble 

 the whiting, but are coarser in the flesh, and considered not 

 so easy of digestion. The brassy is taken in the Firth 

 of Forth principally near the Isle of May, with long lines 

 set for cod and baited with mussels. It is seldom found as 

 high up the Firth as Inchcolm, but when taken beyond 

 that point, it is generally thin and ill flavoured, not meet- 

 ing with that abundance and variety of food which it finds 

 in deeper and more rocky situations. 



Genus MERLANGUS. — Dorsal fins three; lower jaw 

 without a barbule. 



Merlangus vulgaris.* — The Whiting. 



Specific Characters. — Under jaw shortest ; a black spot at the base 

 of the first ray of the pectorals ; caudal fin even at the end. 



Description. — From a large specimen twenty- three inches in length. 

 Head about one-fourth of the whole length ; depth of the body ra- 

 ther less than the length of the head^ or one-fifth the whole length 

 of the fish. Colour of the back and sides reddish-brown, frequently 

 with stripes of yellow ; belly white ; dorsal fins bluish, slightly dusky ; 

 anal fins straw-colour, minutely freckled with pale brown ; caudal 

 darkish towards the end ; a large dark spot at the base of the first ray 

 of the pectorals ; lateral line rather darker than the body ; pupils dark 



* Merlangus vulgaris, Cuv., Yarr., Flem. Gadus Merlangus, reiin., 

 Linn., Don. 



