84 THE COAL-FISH AND THE POLLACK. 



spawn in March, and the eggs appear to occupy about 

 forty days in hatching. 



The whiting differs from its congeners in having no 

 barbule on the nether jaw, and in its slenderer form, 

 which adapts it for the swift pursuit of its prey at a 

 greater elevation from the sea-bottom. Its head and 

 body are compressed ; the deepest part is at the vent, 

 which is opposite the middle of the first dorsal fin ; the 

 upper jaw projects slightly beyond the lower ; both 

 jaws have long sharp teeth, and there is a triangular set 

 of teeth on the palate. The scales are small. There are 

 three dorsal and two anal fins. On the back the colour 

 is a uniform dusky yellow, paling on the sides ; the belly 

 is silvery white, to which circumstance, or to the deli- 

 cate whiteness of the flesh, is due the name of the fish, 

 whiting. 



To the same genus as the whiting belong the CoAL-FiSH 

 and the POLLACK. The former (Gadus carbonarius) is 

 nearly black on the upper parts of the body. It attains 

 the length of two or three feet, and is remarkable for its 

 voracity ; is rather coarse as food, but is much used in 

 northern countries both fresh and salted, or dried. It 

 abounds on the British coasts. In Scotland it is known 

 as the sethe or saithe, and its fry as podleys, sittocks, and 

 cuddies. We have caught them in large quantities in the 

 western lochs, from August down to November, using the 

 rod and almost any kind of bait. They are scarcely worth 

 the trouble, however ; but the fishermen take them for 

 the sake of the oil obtainable from the liver. 



The Pollack (Merlangus pollachius), known in Scotland 

 as the lythe, is far superior in flavour to the coal-fish, 



