560 



GADOIDS. 



When on their migrations or feeding excursions in 

 the currents, these cod swim near the surface. One 

 can not only see them in crossing the shoal in a boat 

 but they give a whitish tinge to the water at a dis- 

 tance, and seem a sort of " blink " on the sky. One 

 can also find them out by the number of sea-birds 

 gannets and gulls chiefly which are whirling about, 

 and screaming on the shore ; and ever and anon 

 plunging down ; but it is doubtful if they are nearly 

 so successful in cod-fishing as they are with herrings, 

 the shoals of which are still more numerous, swim 

 near the surface, and are more easily taken out of the 

 water. Altogether the shoals of cod give no small 

 interest to the seas, of which we are speaking ; and 

 the only regret is, that they should be turned to so 

 little account, in comparison with what might surely 

 be done. 



We had almost forgotten to mention that the oil 

 which is obtained from the liver of the cod, answers a 

 very important purpose in the arts. It is valuable as 

 a lamp oil ; but that is not its only or its chief value, 

 for there is no oil equal to it for the dressing of lea- 

 ther, for which purpose it is almost exclusively used 

 by the best manufacturers. 



THE HADDOCK (G. aglefinus). The haddock is 

 a much more handsome fish than the cod ; the head 

 and gill openings are not so disproportionally large ; 

 and the body is altogether of a finer shape, and the 

 colours brighter. The upper jaw is longer than the 

 under one ; the tail is forked ; the lateral line is black ; 

 and there is a black spot on each side, behind the 

 pectorals, which the legend says are the marks of the 

 thumbs of St. Peter, when he took the tribute money 

 out of its mouth, which shows that the founder of the 

 legend could have known nothing of the geography of 

 the fish. The colour of the upper part of the haddock 

 is dusky, and that of the belly pure white. The frontal 

 line slopes, and the eyes are large and bright. The 

 fins are the same in number, character, and arrange- 

 ment, as those of the cod ; but the extremity of the 

 caudal fin is forked, and the whole air and appearance 

 of the fish are different. The haddock is also a much 

 smaller fish ; the cod measuring, when full-grown, or 

 at least understood to be so for the full growth of a 

 fish is a very indeterminate matter as much as 

 three feet, while the haddock is seldom found of above 

 half that length. The quantities of matter in them 

 are nearly in the proportions of the cubes of the 

 lengths ; but the head of the cod occupies so much of 

 its volume, that there seems to be proportionally more 

 flesh on a well-grown haddock than on a cod of the 

 same length. The spawning time is in spring, as well 

 as that of the cod ; but the haddock, perhaps, comes 

 into season earlier than the other. On those shores 

 where this fish is best and most esteemed, it comes 

 into season on the usual grounds in May, and con- 

 tinues till the middle or end of January. There is 

 some reason, however, to doubt whether the same in- 

 dividuals spawn ever}' year ; for it has been ascer- 

 tained by actual trial that, by going a few miles farther 

 to seaward than the annual fishing grounds, haddocks 

 in good condition may be found in April, or, perhaps, 

 even in March. We want more information as to the 

 retreats of our white fish, and whether we could or 

 could not obtain a supply in good condition, all the 

 year round, by a judicious shifting of the ground. 

 There is another thing to be attended to, and that is 

 the length of time over which the spawning extends, 

 which is probably a much longer one than we gene- 



rally suppose ; and thus those which have spawned 

 in the early part of the season, may have retired and 

 got into good condition again before the others have 

 got through that grand labour of the year. 



Haddocks are certainly found in finest condition in 

 the clear and deep water off the rocky shores ; and it 

 is worthy of remark, that they appear to be best in 

 the places of any eastern sea which are intermediate 

 between those in which the cod are best. We have 

 already mentioned that the cod, on the southern banks 

 between the shores of England and the Netherlands, 

 and those, again, about the north-east of Scotland, 

 on the coast of Caithness, are better than on the 

 shores of the middle of the island. Haddocks are 

 good upon all the coast from the rocky parts of 

 Yorkshire to the Ord of Caithness, and a little be- 

 yond ; but they are very superior upon a certain 

 intermediate portion, namely, on that which extends 

 from the Red Head, a little to the north of Arbroath, 

 to the mouth of the Dee at Aberdeen, where the 

 bold rocky shore and the deep and clear water 

 terminate. On the most bold and rocky portions of 

 this shore they are better than on the others, and 

 they are also got nearer to the land than when the 

 shores are of a tamer character. The east coast of 

 the county of Fife is not high, but it is rocky, and 

 they are pretty good there ; and so are they off the 

 wild and caverned shores near the Red Head. The 

 coast of Kincardineshire, which is all bold, with the 

 exception of clear, sandy, or pebbly beaches in the 

 bottoms of a few small bays, is perhaps the place 

 where they are found in the very highest perfection. 



This is the part of the coast where the partially 

 roasted and nartially smoke-dried ones, known by the 

 name of " Finnin Haddocks," are prepared in the 

 best style, partly because the fish themselves appear 

 to be finer than they are anywhere else, partly be- 

 cause they can be prepared in a more recent state, 

 and partly because the people have a superior 

 method of preparing them. To have them in the 

 highest perfection, however, they must be eaten on 

 the spot, and before they are cooled after the original 

 preparation, for those very superior ones cannot be 

 removed to any distance without losing much of their 

 flavour, and those which can bear carriage have to 

 be salted and much more dried, both of which 

 operations spoil their flavour. 



If they are to be of the finest zest possible and 

 when they are, it is difficult to imagine anything 

 more delicious they must be brought from the sea 

 the same morning they are to be eaten. Small ones 

 should be selected, if sufficiently plump and well- 

 grown, and the flesh should be touched as little as 

 possible. Indeed, a haddock, under all circumstances, 

 is a delicate fish, and cannot bear to be tumbled 

 about, or handled, or sluiced with water, without sus- 

 taining very serious injury, which, by the way, may 

 be one of the reasons why it is difficult, if not im- 

 possible, to get anything like a good haddock in 

 London. 



Holding them by the head, they should be cut 

 open, and wiped clean by gentle pressure, but not 

 washed ; and when they are split so as to be fiat, 

 they should be suspended on wooden spits from the 

 top of a cask, of which both the ends are taken out, 

 and the cask so built in at the side of the kitchen 

 range, or in any other convenient place, so that there 

 may be room for a fire below. The best wood for 

 the fire is the twigs of juniper ; and the smoke and 



