COALF1SH. 115 



It is found in abundance in the Baltic and northern 

 seas, and is taken on the north coast of America ; 

 it is of great value as a means of support to the 

 inhabitants of northern countries. Dr. Mill, 

 during his tour in Shetland and the Orkneys, 

 saw an old man and one or two boys on almost 

 every projecting rock holding in each hand a fish- 

 ing rod, and catching young coalfish as fast as 

 they could bait their hooks and pull them in. The 

 provincial names arc almost numberless, some 

 only applying to them when in certain stages of 

 growth. In the Scotch Islands the coalfish is 

 named piltock, harbin, sillock, cooth or kuth, 

 cuddcn, secth, sey, and gray lord ; in some places 

 they bear the name of podlcy, coalseys, and pod- 

 lers. One peculiarity of these fish is, that they 

 will, when attracted by bait, keep near a boat 

 until all arc caught. Four men in two boats (two 

 in each) have taken with lines twenty-four hun- 

 dredweight iu a few hours; when they have 

 spawned in the spring they arc very indifferent 

 as food for the rest of the summer. They seem 

 gradually to come south, as the young appear in 

 the Orkneys in May, in the Tync in June, and 

 ou the Devonshire and Cornish coast in Julv. 



