GREA T BRITAIN. 171 



be less than 26 inches from the shoulder to the tail, smaller 

 ones being termed drizzles. 



As food. Is mostly preferred salted, and the periods for 

 its capture are, in Zetland, from May 2Oth to August I2th ; 

 Yorkshire, from February to May, or even to the end of 

 that month ; January and February in the south-west of 

 England, and March until May in the north of Ireland. 

 Scilly has long been celebrated for its dry ling, and it may, 

 perhaps, derive its name from zilli, being the Cornish term 

 for this fish, though it is sometimes made to include the 

 also. Rowell observes that when boiled it is much 



:e cod, but firmer and whiter, and has a finer flavour ; 



it to make a dinner of it, it should be baked, well seasoned 

 rith nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and a lump of the liver 



>oked with it. When thus prepared it makes a dinner 

 one can eat with great relish, and feel very satisfied after it. 



Habitat. This species has been recorded from Spitz- 

 bergen to the extreme western portion of the Mediterra- 

 nean, but is most abundant along the coasts of Northern 

 Europe to Iceland, more especially in the German Ocean 

 and off Norway. To the north of Iceland it becomes rare, 

 neither is it abundant off Greenland and the Faroe Islands, 

 while it is absent from the Baltic. It is found off New- 

 foundland. 



This species of the Gadidae, next to the cod and coal- 

 fish, is the most common fish of the Orkneys. Large 

 quantities are likewise taken off the western isles. It has 

 been mentioned as being present at Wick, Banff, Aber- 

 deen ; common at St. Andrews. In the Firth of Forth it 

 is taken with lines, principally about the Isle of May, 

 where it is found more plentiful than further up the 

 estuary. Occasionally small ones are met with near Inch- 

 keith, but scarcely ever above Queensferry. Off Yorkshire 



