THE SHARP-NOSED EEL. 6G5 



angling with short lines, one of which is held in each hand. They thus 

 capture not only Cod-fish, but haddock, whiting, hake, pollack, and 

 various kinds of flat fishes. On favorable occasions the quantity of 

 fish captured by a single boat is very great, one man having taken more 

 than four hundred Cod alone in ten hours. 



The Cod is sometimes sent away in a fresh state, but is often split 

 and salted on the spot, packed in flats on board, and afterward washed 

 and dried on the rocks. In this state it is called Klip-fish or Kock- 

 fish. The liver produces a most valuable oil, which is now in great 

 favor for the purpose of affording strength to persons afflicted with 

 delicate lungs or who show symptoms of decline. The best oil is that 

 which drains naturally from the livers as they are thrown into a vessel 

 which is placed in a pan filled with boiling water. The oil is then 

 carefully strained through flannel, and is ready for sale. 



The roe of the Cod is useful for bait, the sardine in particular being 

 very partial to that substance. Much of the roe is stupidly wasted by 

 the fisherman, who carelessly flings into the sea a commodity of which 

 he can sell any amount, and for which he can obtain ten or eleven 

 shillings per hundredweight. In Norway the dried heads of the Cod 

 are used as fodder for cows, and, strange to say, the graminivorous 

 quadrupeds are very fond of this aliment. 



Like several other marine fish, the Cod can be kept in a pond, pro- 

 vided the water be salt ; and if the pond should communicate with the 

 sea, these fishes can readily be fattened for the table. Several such 

 ponds are in existence, and it is the custom to transfer to them the 

 liveliest specimens that have been caught during the day's fishery, the 

 dead or dying being either sold or cut up as food for their imprisoned 

 relatives. These fishes are extremely voracious, and will eat not only 

 the flesh of their kinsmen, but that of whelks and other molluscs, 

 which are abundantly thrown to them. It is found that under this 

 treatment the Cod is firmer, thicker, and heavier in proportion to its 

 length than if it had been suffered to roam at large in the sea. 



In the large and important group of fishes to which our attention is 

 now drawn, and popularly known as Eels, the ventral fins are wholly 

 wanting, the body is long, snake-like, smooth and slimy on the exterior, 

 and in many cases covered with very little scales hidden in the thick 

 soft skin. 



The Sharp-nosed Eel derives its name from the shape of its head, 

 and by that structure may be distinguished from the second species. 

 In their habits the Eels are so similar that the present species will be 

 taken as an example of the whole genus. 



Of the general habits of the Eel, the Hon. Grantley F. Berkeley 

 has given the following short and interesting account : " During hot, 

 still sunny weather, day and night, in the month oi June, the Eels are 



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