178 ON THE ECONOMICAL USES OF FISHES. 



inferior to the cod, the haddock, Morrhua ceglefinus, 

 is much prized as an excellent article of food, both 

 when fresh and in the dried state. It is taken 

 abundantly on all our shores, especially on the eas- 

 tern coasts, and is fished for in the same way as the 

 cod. The haddock is said to be in best condition 

 in the months of November and December, as well 

 as in June and July. The whiting, Merlangus vul- 

 garis, is a much esteemed and delicate fish, found 

 on all our coasts, but the greatest numbers are taken 

 in the winter months, when large shoals approach 

 the coast to spawn. It is sometimes eaten in a dried 

 state, but is preferred when fresh. When of small 

 size, being then known by the name of sillock or 

 podley, the coal-fish, M. carbonarius, is considered 

 as a delicacy, and even equally so with the preced- 

 ing, and at certain seasons forms a principal part of 

 the food of the poorer classes in the Hebrides and 

 Orkney islands. When of large size, it is generally 

 salted or dried, and is at best but a course fish. It 

 is, however, sometimes very abundant, and Mr. Couch 

 says, that on the Cornish coast, he has known four men 

 to take with the rod and line twenty-four hundred 

 weight of this fish in the course of a very few hours. 

 The pollock, M. Pollachius, is another coarse insipid 

 fish when of ordinary size, found in Britain, North 

 America, Asia, and the Indies, and, according to Dr. 

 Richardson, " very good bread" may be made from 

 the roe. The hake, Merluccius vulgaris^ though 

 found in all the northern seas, is in this country 

 most abundant on our southern coasts, where it is very 



