292 COD-LIVER OIL. [CHAP. vn. 



supposing only a third of them to come to life that is one 

 million and that a tenth part of that number, viz. one hundred 

 thousand, becomes in some shape that is, either as codling or 

 cod fit for table uses, what should be the value of the cod- 

 roe that is carelessly consumed at table ? If each fish be 

 taken as of the value of sixpence, the amount would be 2500. 

 But supposing that only twenty full-grown codfish resulted 

 from the three millions of eggs ; these, at two and sixpence 

 each, would represent the sum of fifty shillings as the possible 

 produce of one dish, which, in the shape of cod-roe, cost 

 only about as many farthings ! 



Cuvier tells as that " almost all the parts of the cod are 

 adapted for the nourishment of man and animals, or for some 

 other purposes of domestic economy. The tongue, for instance, 

 whether fresh or salted, is a great delicacy ; the gills are care- 

 fully preserved, to be employed as baits in fishing ; the liver, 

 which is large and good for eating, also furnishes an enormous 

 quantity of oil, which is an excellent substitute for that of the 

 whale, and applicable to all the same purposes ; the swim- 

 ming-bladder furnishes an isinglass not inferior to that yielded 

 by the sturgeon ; the head, in the places where the cod is 

 taken, supplies the fishermen and their families with food. 

 The Norwegians give it with marine plants to their cows, for 

 the purpose of producing a greater proportion of milk. The 

 vertebrae, the ribs, and the bones in general, are given to their 

 cattle by the Icelanders, and by the Kamtschatkadales to their 

 dogs. These same parts, properly dried, are also employed as 

 fuel in the desolate steppes of the shores of the Icy Sea. 

 Even their intestines and their eggs contribute to the luxury 

 of the table." I may just mention another most useful pro- 

 duct of the codfish. Cod-liver oil is now well known in 

 materia medica under the name of oleum jecoris aselli. The 

 best is made without boiling, by applying to the livers a slight 

 degree of heat, straining through thin flannel or similar 



