TORSK OR TUSK. 121 



early in the year in shoals ; that of Iceland in 

 January ; remains there in company with the Fine 

 Bearded, and goes away again in summer ; lives 

 in deep water, and is therefore seldom taken even 

 when it is most abundant ; prefers a rocky bottom 

 on which seaweeds grow, never found anything 

 in the stomach ; and this has probably given rise 

 to the saying " that it lives on the juice of sea- 

 weeds." Spawns early in April and May among 

 tliefuci along the sea coasts; is rarely taken with 

 the cod-hooks, more frequently by the smaller 

 lines ; sometimes taken by the Norwegian fisher- 

 men among the Halibuts. It must have less 

 power of resisting the violence of the sea than 

 its congeners, as it is thrown up dead in in- 

 credible numbers on the coast of the Faroe 

 Islands and the south coast of Iceland after a 

 storm. Its flesh is hard, but well flavoured. In 

 Iceland seldom dried, but eaten fresh. Jan. 

 Olsen says, "that the flesh is badly tasted, but 

 when dried it is the best food. In Norway it is 

 treated like the stock-fish, but forms no branch 

 of merchandise. The hard roe, according to Pont- 

 oppidan, has a good flavour; its enemies arc the 

 larger species of cod. It is much infested by a 



