WHITING. HAKE. 



THE WHITING. 



This is an elegantly shaped fish, seldom exceeding 

 twelve inches in length. The eyes are large, the nose is 

 sharp, and the teeth of the upper jaw are so long, that 

 they appear above the lower jaw when closed. The head 

 and back are of a pale brown colour, the lateral line is 

 white and crooked, and the belly and sides are silvery. 



Shoals of whitings visit the British seas during the 

 spring ; seldom approaching the shore nearer than half a 

 mile, or retiring from it above three miles. As an article 

 of food, they are more delicate and wholesome than any 

 other of the genus to which they belong ; and at the proper 

 season, add not a little to the comforts of our tables. 



By act of parliament, no whiting of less than six inches 

 in length is allowed to be taken in the Thames or the 

 Medway, nor full-sized ones at any season, except from 

 Michaelmas to Ember-week. 



THE HAKE. 



Though the hake is found in prodigious numbers on 

 many of our coasts, and particularly on those of Ireland, 

 its flesh is little esteemed, either fresh or salted. When 

 cured, it is known by the name of Poor John. It grows 

 from a foot and a half to nearly twice that length. The 

 body is slender, the back pale ash-coloured, and the belly 

 a dirty white. 



Formerly there was a vast fishery of hake on the Nymph- 

 bank off the south-east coast of Ireland, where they ap- 

 peared twice a year. It was not unusual for six men with 

 hooks and lines to take a thousand in a night, besides a 

 considerable quantity of other fish. These were salted, 

 and shipped for Spain. It seems, however, that this fishery 

 is on the decline, from the hakes having deserted their 

 former station. Many of the gregarious fishes leave their 

 accustomed haunts for a period, and afterwards return to 

 them. This probably arises either from a deficiency of 

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