434 SOFT-FINNED GROUP. 



each side of the body above the pectoral fin, and the black lateral line. Generally 



haddock vary in weight from Ho 4 lbs., but in northern seas they attain a 



larger size than further south, and measure as much as a yard in length. In 



England the largest haddock are taken in winter, when they resort to the coast 



for the purpose of spawning. They generally associate in large shoals ; and in 



stormy weather seek shelter in deep water among seaweeds, when it is useless to 



attempt fishing for them. In addition to crustaceans and other invertebrates, their 



food comprises small fishes of various kinds. Haddock are largely consumed 



when split, dried, and smoked. They range across the Atlantic. 



By far the most delicately flavoured British representatives of 

 Other Species. J . . J l 



the genus is the whiting (67. merlangus), shown in the right upper 



corner of the illustration on p. 432, which differs from all the preceding species in 

 the absence of a barbel on the chin, and is specially distinguished by a black spot 

 near the root of each pectoral fin. The usual weight is about li lbs. ; 4 lbs. 

 being nearly the maximum attained. The distributional area of the whiting is 

 restricted to the seas of Northern Europe, where it is found in vast shoals ; 

 Plymouth being one of the British localities where these fish occur in great 

 abundance. Very shy in its habits, the whiting is a voracious fish, Yarrell stating 

 that several sprats have been taken from the stomach of one, while in another of 

 4 lbs. weight were found four full-grown pilchards. The same writer states that 

 it appears to prefer sandy banks, but frequently shifts its ground in pursuit of 

 the fry of various other fishes on which it chiefly feeds. Next to the mackerel, 

 the whiting suffers more by transport than any British sea-fish, and should be 

 eaten as soon as possible after capture. Another species with a black spot near 

 the pectoral fin is the pout, or whiting-pout {G. luscus), which may be at once 

 distinguished from the whiting by the barbel on the chin, and the greater depth 

 of the body, which during life is marked with dark crossbands. Seldom exceed- 

 ing 5 lbs. in weight, this fish ranges from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, but 

 does not cross the Atlantic. The name of pout is derived from the power 

 possessed by this fish of inflating the membranes covering the eyes and adjacent 

 regions into a bladder-like form. Nearly allied is the much smaller power-cod 

 (6r. minutus), which seldom exceeds half a dozen inches in length, and may be 

 further distinguished by the smaller proportionate depth of the body. Found in 

 vast shoals in the Baltic, the power-cod, although of little or no value, is always 

 welcomed as the harbinger of the advent of its larger cousins. The pollack, or 

 whiting-pollack (G. pollackius), is a British representative of the group in which 

 the lower jaw is the longer, and all the upper teeth are of equal size ; it has a dark 

 spot near the pectoral fin, but no barbel. This fish is an inhabitant of European 

 seas as far as the western portions of the Mediterranean. Haunting rocky 

 ground, pollack are famous for their power of withstanding strong tides and 

 currents ; they are very common in many parts of the south coast of England, 

 as Devonshire, but become scarcer to the north. Being free biters, they afford 

 good sport with the line. The coal-fish (G. virens) is a closely allied but some- 

 what larger form, more northern in its distribution, and taking its name from the 

 black colour it frequently assumes. This fish is very common in the Baltic and 

 other northern seas, numbers being captured in the Orkneys. The largest 



