62 NATURAL HISTORY. 



by another of its own kind. For a time both were baffled, but an unlucky movement drove the Whiting 

 from its shelter, and a severe chase took place. Several additional Pollacks joined in the chase, like 

 a pack of hounds, and in terror the Whiting rushed to the sui'face, and becoming exhausted, lay as 

 if dead, drifting along with the tide. After a time animation returned, and the little Whiting again 

 found refuge in the cavity of the Medusa. The movement was observed by the assembled Pollacks, 

 which soon drove it into open water, and after a short chase it was killed by them, though they did 

 not proceed to feed on its carcase." 



The Coal-fish (Gadus virens) has a general resemblance to the Pollack. It is a northern fish, 

 and especially abounds on the North American coast, and is said to range into the Mediterranean. 

 It is met with plentifully on the coast of Cornwall, where it usually runs to a weight of twenty-five 

 pounds, and reaches a length of about three feet. It is black on the back and dorsal fins, and lighter 

 below. A ton and a quarter have been caught in a few hours with lines, by four men in two boats. 



Species of the genus Gadus occur on the coasts of Kamschatka, California, in the Black Sea and 

 Adriatic Sea, in the White Sea, and in the Polar regions. The allied genus, Gacliculus, which has 

 the eye large and no teeth on the vomerine bones, is confined to the Mediterranean ; and the genus 

 Mora, which has only two dorsal fins, ranges from the Mediterranean to the Canaries. There are 

 some other unimportant genera, like Strinsia, limited to the Mediterranean, and Halargyreus is found 

 only at Madeira. 



THE HAKE.* 



The Hake frequents the coasts of Europe and North America, ani ranges into the Mediter- 

 ranean. It is one of the commoner British fishes, especially on the coasts of Cornwall and Devon. 

 Unlike its allies, during the spawning season January to April it loses its appetite, and keaps 

 near the bottom, and is then caught in the trawl-net. The night is the best time for fishing, 

 and eleven hundred have been taken by one boat in two nights. When they gather together it is 

 a sure sign that Pilchards or Herrings are approaching the coast. Several Hake are generally 

 enclosed in the same seine net with the Pilchards ; and Couch records that under these circumstances 

 the Hake eats till it is utterly helpless, and he has seen seventeen Pilchards taken from the stomach 

 of a Hake of ordinary size. The fish, however, is able voluntarily to discharge the contents of its 

 stomach, and when caught with hook and line, at a great depth, the stomach is always founl empty 

 when it reaches the surface ; and when caught near to the surface the contents of the stomach are 

 disgorged when the animal is drawn into the boat. A large fish may weigh as much as twenty- 

 two pounds, and its length varies from three to four feet. It is generally regarded as a coarse 

 fish, but a good deal of the flavour depends upon the mode of cooking. Before being prepared for 

 table, the mucus should first be removed with hot water containing some alkali. Large quantities 

 are salted, dried, and exported to Spain, and it is stored up by English fishermen for home use when 

 stormy weather hinders them from fishing, and for the spring season, when so many fishes retire 

 from the coasts into deep water. The head is one-third the length of the body, but the depth of 

 the body is less than the length of the head. The ventral fins are in advance of the pectoral fins, 

 an.l the pectoral fins commence just below the hinder angle of the operculum. The first dorsal fin 

 is short, but the second dorsal commences just over the vent, and the anal fin commences just behind 

 it. These are both long fins, which extend down the body to near the caudal fin. The head is 

 flattened, the lower jaw long, and the inside of the mouth and of the gill-covers black. The lateral 

 line is white, with a black border on each side. It is straight in the hinder part of the body, but 

 curves a little upward in front, so as to terminate above the operculum. The scales are lai'ger than 

 in the allied fishes. The body is of a dull brown above, and lighter on the under side. When in 

 the best condition the colour becomes of a richer tinge. Other species of Hake are met with in 

 the Iceland seas and on the coast of Chili. 



GREATER FORK BEARD.f 



The Greater Fork Beard, or Forked Hake, is a somewhat rare fish in the British Seas, but 

 ranges round the European coasts and into the Mediterranean. It grows to a length of over two feet. 

 It has a general resemblance to the Hake, but is placed in a different genus, because there is a 



* Merluccius vulgaris. + Phycis llennoidzs. 



