THE COD. 207 



How taken by the natives of Norway. 



The natives of Norway lake this fish off their 

 own coast, in strong pack-thread nets, which 

 have meshes four inches square, and are about a 

 fathom or fifteen meshes deep, and twenty fathom 

 long. They use, according to the weather, from 

 eighteen to twenty-four of these nets joined, so 

 that they have sometimes upwards of four hun- 

 dred fathom of net out at a time. They fish in 

 from fifty to seventy fathom water, and mark the 

 places of the nets by means of buoys. The after- 

 noon is the time when the nets are generally set; 



9 



and, on taking them in on the following morning, 

 it is no uncommon thing to obtain three or four 

 hundred fine cod. 



In Lapland and some of the districts of JXor- 

 ttay, the cod and torsk, (another species of this 

 fish,) which are taken in the winter, are carefully 

 piled up, as they are caught, in buildings con- 

 structed for the purpose, having their sides open, 

 and exposed to the air. Here they remain frozen 

 until the following spring, when the weather be- 

 coming more mild, they are removed to another 

 building of a like construction, in which they are 

 prepared for drying. The heads are cut off, and 

 the entrails taken out, and the remainder of the 

 body is hung up in the air. Fish caught in the 

 spring are immediately conveyed to the second 

 house, and dried in the above manner. Those 

 that are caught during the summer season, on 

 account of the heat of the weather can onlv lx* 



