THE COMMON COD. 335 



on mollusca, worms, and Crustacea. Mr Couch has taken 

 thirty-five crabs, none less than the size of a half-crown 

 piece, from the stomach of one Cod. Its digestive powers 

 are said to be very great, and under the influence of the gas- 

 tric juice, the shell of the crab or lobster grows red, just as 

 it does when under the action of boiling water, and that 

 even before the flesh is one-quarter digested. The stomach 

 of the Cod often affords a rich harvest to the naturalist. 



In the Firth of Forth, Cod are taken all the year through, 

 sometimes in tolerable numbers, from whence the Edinburgh 

 market is supplied ; they are in best season in the month of 

 February, and remain in excellent condition till the end of 

 April. They begin to deposit their spawn in the months of 

 May and June, when they frequently ascend the Firth as far 

 as Alloa, and are taken on their return in the salmon-nets in a 

 very poor and lean condition. The spawn that is thus an- 

 nually shed by one parent fish it is said, can give birth to nine 

 millions three hundred and eighty-four thousand of young. 

 The fry are observed in the month of August swimming 

 about in company with sprats, whitebait, and herrings, from 

 two to three inches in length, beautifully freckled with 

 light brown and yellow. The growth of the Cod fish is said 

 to be remarkably rapid, though the degrees of its progres- 

 sion are not ascertained. From the month of July to the end 

 of October the large Cod are observed to be long and thin, 

 particularly those that are captured on sandy banks or in 

 shallow water, being then of very light colour, with the 

 muscle soft, unwholesome, and insipid to the taste; the fish 

 not having had time sufficient to recruit themselves aftei 

 the fatigue of spawning. The best Cod are found in deep 

 and rocky situations in the neighbourhood of the Isle of 

 May and all around the mouth of the Firth. The dark 

 variety of Cod generally known by the name of Rock or 

 Red Cod, is considered as the firmest and sweetest fish. It 



