42 TREMENDOUS JAWS OF CAT-FISH. 



not unfrequently it enters the nets of the fisherman to 

 plunder them, and when attacked it fights hke a lion. 

 The Germans and Danes call it the " Stone-biter ; " and, 

 indeed, it fiercely bites everything presented to it, not 

 excepting iron. Notwithstanding the ugly appearance of 

 this fish, its flesh is said to be of very good flavour. It 

 is sometimes seen hung up in the shops of London fish- 

 mongers. In the northern countries it is salted and 

 preserved, while the skin makes isinglass, cords, bags, 

 pockets, &c. In the '' Sea Fisheries Eeport, 1865," a 

 witness states that the cat-fish is often eaten ; and I 

 can, for my own part, say that it is very good ; I can 

 compare it to nothing but a nice veal-chop. I would 

 not recommend any one to try his hand at fishing for 

 " cat," as I am told by a North Sea fisherman that 

 they can snap a broom-handle in two with the greatest 



WOLF nsH {Anarhichas lu^us). 



ease. The following instance, from another authority, 

 gives a fair notion of the power of a cat-fish's jaws : 

 " A pair of cat-fish, of different sizes, were caught in a 

 trawl from a yacht on the North Sea, about half- 

 way between Grimsby and Norway. One of them, the 

 smaller of the two, on beiug brought on deck, bit at a 

 mop-handle which was held out to it so savagely that 

 it w^as swung overboard without letting go its hold. 

 When it was shaken off, one of its teeth was left 



