THE HADDOCK. 137 



a number will surely baffle all the efforts of man, or 

 the voracity of the inhabitants of the ocean, to dimi- 

 nish the species so greatly as to prevent its affording 

 an inexhaustible supply of grateful provision in ail 



ages. 



In the European seas the Cod begin to spawn in 

 January, and they deposit their eggs in rough ground 

 among rocks. Some continue in roe till the begin- 

 ning of April. They recover very quickly after 

 spawning, and good fish are to be taken all the sum- 

 mer. When they are out of season, they are thinr 

 tailed and lousy. Cod-fish are chosen for the table, 

 by their plumpness and roundness near the tail; by 

 the depth of the hollow behind the head, and by the 

 regular undulated appearance of the sides, as if they 

 were ribbed. The glutinous parts about the head 

 lose their delicate flavour after the fish has been 

 twenty-four hours out of the water. 



The Cod frequently grow to a very great size. 

 The largest that is known to have been taken in 

 this kingdom was at Scarborough, in the vear 

 1775: it measured five feet eight inches in length, 

 and five feet in circumference, and weighed se- 

 venty-eight pounds. The usual weight of these 

 fish is from fourteen to forty pounds*.. 



THE HADDOCK f. 



The Haddock, a fish that every one is acquainted 

 with, migrates in immense shoals, that arrive on the 



* Penn. Brit. Zool. Hi. 172. f Gadus iEglesInus. Lhtn, 



