GEN. MORRHUA. COMMON COD. 183 



quently gorge substances, such as pieces of wood, 

 which even their powerful gastric juices are unable 

 to dissolve, and they have the power of rejecting 

 them when incommoded by their presence. They 

 deposit their spawn in the months of May and June, 

 according to Dr. Parnell; but Mr. Yarrell gives 

 February as their proper spawning season ; and the 

 number of young to which one female may give 

 birth in one season is so great, that it is usually re- 

 ferred to as one of the most remarkable instances on 

 record of animal fertility. The ova are said some- 

 times to amount to nine millions three hundred and 

 eighty-four thousand ! The fry are seen in the sum- 

 mer months, in company with sprats, herring, &c., 

 and are then from three to five or six inches in 

 length, and freckled with light brown and yellow. 

 They attain greater size as the autumn advances, 

 their growth being extremely rapid, and are then 

 frequently taken by the fishermen, who call them 

 Codlings, Skinners, and Tamlin Cod. In most places 

 the full-grown fish are taken all the year, but they 

 are in greatest perfection during the colder months. 

 As Cod frequent deep waters, and seek their 

 food at or near the bottom, they cannot well be 

 caught otherwise than by a hook and line ; and this 

 method is invariably practised. They catch almost 

 at any small object moving in the water, and it is 

 not therefore necessary to be very particular about 

 the nature of the bait, but shell-fi^h, such as lim- 

 pets, whelks, mussels, &c., are most commonly em- 

 ployed On the Newfoundland bank, the fisher- 



