21 



But besides all these there are fish, which may be 

 placed if not in the first, yet certainly in the second class, 

 which are practically unknown, I will say, to ninety-nine 

 out of every hundred London housekeepers. I shall name 

 first the Wolf-fish, or Cat-fish, which, although unlike in 

 appearance to the usual occupants of a fishmonger's shop, 

 is a white fish, of excellent quality. It lives almost en- 

 tirely on Crustacea, a circumstance, as Yarrell long ago 

 pointed out, always associated with excellence in the fish 

 so fed. The superiority of the cod caught at the Dogger 

 Bank is partly due to the same cause, as their food at this 

 spot is largely crustacean. The halibut, from the North 

 Sea, closely related to the turbot, is good and substan- 

 tial food, and when large, as it often is, is also very cheap. 

 The sea-bream, not unlike a large freshwater perch, and the 

 basse, which has been sometimes styled a white salmon, 

 are both useful varieties which have never received the 

 attention they deserve, and which may be presented 

 simply yet effectively at table. The gurnard is much 

 better known, and an excellent dish may be made with 

 it. Among cheap fish, which might be obtained in any 

 quantity and at a very small price, are the ling and hake, 

 related closely to the cod, but chiefly used at present as 

 salted fish and exported ; the thornback, of the same family 

 as the skate and equal in quality ; the pollack, a substantial 

 whiting, and the coal-fish, of the same family, but second in 

 order of quality, are both good when in season ; a proviso 

 which, it is to be remembered, applies equally to every 



variety. 



I shall but enumerate the conger excellent and 

 nutritive for soup and stew making, and one of the 

 best materials for making the stock of turtle soup ; 

 the turtle often furnishing only the garnish and the 



