170 



ZOOLOGY. 



come to the hake {Merlucius lilinearis), the haddock (Me- 

 lanogrammus mglefinus, Fig. 215), and cod (Gadus morrliua 

 Fig. 216), all of which extend northwards from Cape Hat- 

 teras, the cod abounding on both sides of the Atlantic, 

 being a circumpolar fish. The cod does not, as formerly 

 supposed, migrate along the coast, but seeks the cool tern 

 perature to which it is adapted by gradually passing in the 

 early summer from shallow to deep water, and returning as 

 the season grows colder. It visits the shallow water of Mas- 

 sachusetts Bay to spawn about the first of November, and 

 towards the last of the month deposits its eggs. About 

 eight or nine million of eggs are annually deposited by each 



Fig. 216.— The Cod-fish, Gadus morrhua. 



female. The eggs laid by the cod rise to the surface of the 

 water, on which they float. The young fish hatch on the 

 New England coast in twenty days after they are extruded. 



Tbe cod is the most important of all the food-fishes, 

 ■whether we consider the number taken or the amount of 

 capital involved in the cod-fishery. It abounds most on 

 the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The breeding habits 

 of the haddock, hake, and pollock are probably like those 

 of the cod. 



Ficrasfer is a small eel-like fish, with a long, thin tail. 

 It is typical of a peculiar family, and is noteworthy from 

 being a " commensal" or boarder in the digestive canal of 



