THE COD AND COD-FISHERY 287 



alive, for seals are quite indifferent on that point. The 

 cod must rarely die of old age. 



The actual company enjoyed by these gregarious crea- 

 tures may be observed any season on the Labrador, when 

 the great schools of cod are feeding on the living caplin, 

 as the latter, themselves in countless hosts, run inshore to 

 feed. The water is then often literally black with cod, and 

 so eager are they after their food that the air over the school 

 is alive with fish jumping after their prey. Additional ex- 

 citement in the water is furnished by the dogfish, sharks, 

 seals, or herring-hogs, which follow the cod from interested 

 motives. Cartwright, in 1776, gives the following descrip- 

 tion of such a school : " Observing many codfish to come 

 close inshore, where the water was deep, I laid myself flat 

 on the rock, took a caplin by the tail, and held it in the 

 water in expectation that a cod would take it out of my 

 fingers. Nor was I disappointed, for almost immediately 

 a fish struck at it and seized it. And no sooner had one 

 snatched away the caplin than another sprang out of the 

 water, and actually caught a slight hold of my finger and 

 thumb. Had I dipped my hand in the water, I am con- 

 vinced they would soon have made me repent of my folly, 

 for they are a very greedy, bold fish." A similar sight was 

 presented at one point on the coast last year (1908), good 

 sizable fish jumping out of the water after bait and landing 

 on the rocks, so that they were actually taken without 

 any trouble beyond that of picking them up. 



Fortunately for themselves and for the world, they are 

 gifted with the most extraordinary digestive powers ; they 

 certainly do their honest best to convert everything that 

 comes into their way into that which will ultimately benefit 



