COD-FISHES. 79 



The Gadidce, or Cod-fishes (Case 17), consist partly of littoral [Case 17.] 

 and surface species, partly of deep-sea forms. The formev are 

 almost entirely confined to the temperate zones, extending north- 

 wards beyond the Arctic circle; the latter have, as deep-sea fishes 

 generally, a much wider range, and hitherto have been found chiefly 

 at considerable depths in rather low latitudes. Only two or three 

 species inhabit fresh waters. Cod-fishes form one of the most 

 important articles of food and subsistence to the fishermen in 

 Europe and North America, and to whole tribes bordering upon the 

 Arctic Ocean. The common Cod (Gadus morrhua) measures from 

 two to four feet, and attains to a weight of one hundred pounds. 

 It occurs between 50 and 75 N. lat., in great abundance, to a 

 depth of 120 fathoms, but is not found nearer the Equator than 

 40 lat. It is met with singly all the year round close to the 

 coast, but towards the spawning-time it approaches the shore or 

 shallow banks in numbers; this happens in January in England, 

 and not before May on the American coasts. The English resorted 

 to the Cod-fisheries of Iceland before the year 1415; but since 

 the sixteenth century most vessels go to the Banks of Newfoundland, 

 and almost all the preserved Cod consumed during Lent in the 

 various continental countries is imported from across the Atlantic. 

 At one time the Newfoundland Cod-fishery rivalled in importance 

 the Whale-fishery and the Fur-trade of North America. Cod-liver 

 oil is prepared from the liver of the common Cod on the Norwegian 

 coast, but also other species of this genus contribute to this most 

 important drug. The Haddock (G. aylefinus), the Whiting (G. 

 merlan(/us),the Bib or Pout(G. luscus),the Power-Cod (G. mintUus), 

 the Pollack (G. pollachius), and the Coal-fish (G. virens) are other 

 well-known species of the same genus. The Norway Pout (G. 

 esmarkii) has recently been discovered on the west coast of 

 Scotland. The Hake (Merluccius vulyaris) is also found on 

 both sides of the Atlantic, and forms, preserved as " Stock-fish," an 

 important article of trade. The Ling (Molva vulgaris), of which 

 a stuffed specimen and skeleton are exhibited in a separate case, 

 is likewise a very valuable species, from three to four feet long, 

 abundant in the north of Great Britain. The Rocklings (Onus) are 

 small fishes of which several species occur on the British coast. The 

 Burbot or Eel-pout (Lota vulgaris, fig. 65) is a freshwater fish 



