CHAV. VI F. 



THE GADID.E FAMILY. 



289 



thousands of cod at 3d. and 4d. each ; they were caught be- 

 tween Burntisland and Kincardine, on which ground not a 

 cod is -now to be got ; and at the great cod emporium of Cellar- 

 dyke, the cod-fishing, instead of three score for a boat's fishing, 

 has dwindled down to about half-a-dozen cod." 



THE GADID.E FAMILY. 



The old belief in the migratory habits of fish comes again 

 into notice in connection with the haddock. Pennant having 

 taught us that the haddock appeared periodically in great 

 quantities about mid-winter, that theory is still believed, al- 

 though the appearance of this fish in shoals may be easily 

 explained, from the local habits of most of the denizens of the 

 great deep. It is said that " in stormy weather, the haddock 

 refuses every kind of bait, and seeks refuge among marine 

 plants in the deepest parts of the ocean, where it remains un- 

 til the violence of the elements is somewhat subsided." This 

 fish does not grow to any great size ; it usually averages about 

 five pounds. I prefer it as a table fish to the cod ; the very 

 best haddocks are taken on the coast of Ireland. The scarcity 



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