148 BRITISH FISH AND FISHERIES. 



teemed for the whiteness and delicacy of its 

 flesh, and as it is taken nearly all the year 

 round, (though it is in the highest perfection 

 during winter,) there is a constant supply in 

 the market. 



Large individuals of this species are some- 

 times to be met with ; we have heard, from 

 undoubted authority, of one which weighed 

 seven pounds, but few are seen in the shops of 

 the fishmongers much exceeding a pound and 

 a half in weight. This fish is taken by lines, 

 and, being very voracious, it eagerly seizes the 

 bait. It feeds upon fishes, small crabs, mol- 

 lusks, etc. The whiting is too well-known to 

 need description. 



In the high northern seas, a species of this 

 family, termed the coal-fish, or sillock, (Mer- 

 langus carlonarius^ is extremely abundant. 

 It visits the shores of the British islands, and 

 especially those of Scotland and the Scottish 

 isles, where it is taken in considerable num- 

 bers, and is eaten, both in its fresh state, and 

 also when salted and dried, but its flesh is 

 coarse and dry. 



Young coal-fish make their appearance early 

 in the summer, and are taken by the hook and 

 line, as are also the adult fish, which are ex- 

 tremely voracious. The latter are in the best 



