Fishes of. Massachusetts. 473 
* Enchelyopus Americanus," and Mitchell’s “ G'a- 
dus longipes,” are the same fish, I do not hesitate 
_to admit the priority of the specific name of the 
former. Deceived in my early investigations of our 
fishes by the plates of the “ Phycis furcatus,” a 
species taken in the ocean and pretty generally dif- 
fused, and the “Gadus longipes” of Mitchell, I had 
Supposed the species I am about to describe, as the 
Phycis, and accordingly catalogued it as such in 
the first volume of this Journal. At that time Mitch- 
ell’s description was not at my command, to com- 
pare with the fish itself, and I was compelled to 
depend upon his plate. Further research has con- 
vinced me how unsafe it is to rely upon plates alone 
in ichthyology, as well as in the other branches of 
natural history. Mitchell called it the “Codling.” 
As it is generally known by our fishermen as the 
“ Hake,” I have prefixed that name. 
Large numbers of this species are taken between 
the first of June and the first of September, on muddy 
bottoms, between Cape Ann and Boston light-house. 
They are generally taken in the night, with the 
hook ; sometimes 2000 weight, varying in size from 
3 to 3U pounds or more, are taken in a single night, 
by one man, where scarcely a specimen was captured 
during the previous day. 
From a fine specimen three feet in length, weigh- 
ing nine pounds, I have made the following deserip- 
tion: General color of the upper portion of the fish, 
grayish brown; beneath, lighter. Length of the 
head to the body, exclusive of the tail, as 9 to 32; 
VOL. III.—NO. II—IV. 42 
