BRITISH, COLONIAL AND OTHER CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 583 



FAMILY 1. Gaddae. 



This family is one of the most important to man in the whole class 

 of fishes. 



GENUS 1. Morrhua The Cod. 



SPECIES 1. Morrhua vulgaris The Common Cod. 



SPECIES 2. Morrhua Americana The American Cod. 



The first of these two species is the common cod of Newfoundland, 

 well known as an article of food, the wide world over. Among fisher- 

 men, it is designated the bank cod; it is taken in deep water off the 

 coast of Nova Scotia, and also in the entrance to the Bay of Fundy, 

 between Brier Island and Grand Manan. It is always a thick, well- 

 fed fish, and often attains a great weight, sometimes 70 or 80 pounds, 

 and even more. The colour varies much in individuals, but is gener- 

 ally a greenish brown, fading into ash colour when the fish is dead, 

 with many reddish yellow spots ; the belly, silvery opaque white ; the 

 fins, pale green ; the lateral line, dead white. 



This fish is taken from the coast of Maine northwardly, as far as 

 man has penetrated. Captain James C. Ross states, that on the west 

 coast of Greenland, in latitude 60 30' north, a number of very fine 

 codfish were caught by the crew of the " Victory ", on a bank consist- 

 ing of small stones, coarse sand, and broken shells, with 18 to 30 

 fathoms over it. At the Peninsula of Boothia, Captain Ross pur- 

 chased cod from the Esquimaux, who caught them through holes in 

 the ice. 



The Commissioners of British Fisheries, in their Report to Parlia- 

 ment for the year 1846, state that two vessels in that year, proceeded 

 for the first time, from the Shetland Islands to Davis' Straits, for 

 the prosecution of the cod fishery, and were very successful, the num- 

 ber of fish taken having been 29,403 cod. The fish were caught in the 

 ordinary manner, with hand-lines and bait. So plenty were they in 

 some places not far from the shore : that they were caught with 

 raspers, or by letting down and drawing up a line with several bare 

 hooks fixed thereon, tied back to back. The fish were, however, chiefly 

 caught upon a bank, with a depth of water from 15 to 40 fathoms, in 

 latitude 66 and 67 north, and 55 west longitude, from 30 to 40 

 miles off the land. The codfish were in so great abundance, that 

 nearly 2000 fish were caught by the 20 men on board, in the course 

 of 24 hours ; the whole quantity was fished in 28 days, being an aver- 

 age daily catch of 1000 fish. Some of the fish, when taken out of the 

 sea, weighed about 80 Ibs., and when dressed, about 60 Ibs. They 

 were of excellent quality, and their livers were so rich, that they 

 were preserved, with the firm conviction they would produce six tons 

 of oil. In 1847, another successful attempt was made by a vessel from 

 Lerwick, to prosecute the cod fishing at Davis' Straits. The vessel 

 reached the fishing ground on the 23d of June, and continued to fish 

 until the 16th of August, during which time 42,143 cod were caught. 

 This was considerably above the take of the previous year, and but 

 for stormy weather, the voyage would have been even more successful. 



In September 1851, the writer saw in the fish market of Halifax, 

 a bank cod weighing 55 Ibs. It was a female fish, not in good condi- 

 tion, having nearly finished spawning. The fishermen stated, that 

 it was taken off Halifax Harbour, about ten miles from land, in four 



