THE BAIIBOT. 



151 



lamps.' This oil has been held in high esteem 

 for the cure of chronic rheumatism ; it must be 

 taken in closes of half an ounce or an ounce, but 

 its disgusting smell and taste, which are suffi- 

 cient to excite nausea, prevent its frequent use. 

 Cod-liver oil, or refined ling-liver oil, is at pre- 

 sent in vogue as a medicine. What its specific 

 properties may be we know not. 



The ling is active and voracious, and is 

 generally between three and four feet in length, 

 sometimes more ; but its form is slender. Its 

 general colour is dusky grey, passing into 

 Avhite on the under parts. 



In some of our rivers, as the Trent, the Cam, 

 and those of Norfolk and Lincolnshire, Dur- 

 ham and Yorkshire, a fish known as the barbot, 

 or eel-pout, {Lota vulgaris,) is to be met with, 

 but in other rivers it is scarce or does not 

 exist. It is a slender fish, weighing about two 

 pounds on an average, and its flesh is excellent. 

 This fish is fond of lurking in holes, or under 

 large stones, where it watches for its prey. It is 

 extremely tenacious of life, and willUve long out 

 of the water, like the eel, although its gill- 

 opening is large and its mouth wide. It has 

 been introduced into the lake of Geneva, and 

 might be placed with advantage in the meres 

 and lakes of our island. The general colour is 



