The cod family. 265 



small fishes, observes that those measuiing 4 — 7^ inches in 

 January, may be divided into two groups, viz., those from 4 to 

 5^ inches which had evidently been hatched the preceding 

 April, and secondly those from 6 to 7^ inches, about which he 

 is somewhat doubtfril, though he puts them down at 11 months. 

 When, however, he comes to a fish 8^ inches on February 20th 

 he thinks the limit has been reached and he estimates it as 

 two years old. But, according to what is shown above, if a 

 whiting can reach 5f inches (or a little more) in November, 

 especially in northern waters, it is by no means impossible 

 for it to reach 8f inches the following February. The whiting 

 is a remarkably predaceous fish, and the rapidity of growth 

 towards the end of autumn favours the views here given. It is 

 a saleable fish in its second year, and some imagine it is also 

 capable of reproduction. 



Young cod, green cod, and whiting from 8 inches to 1 foot 

 long range the shores and follow up the tide into the harbours, 

 and are known collectively as ' podleys.' There is however no 

 difficulty in at once identifying the separate species comprised 

 under this local title. 



The average length, at which sexual maturity is reached, is 

 about 8 inches, and the females, according to Dr Fulton, appear 

 to be in a considerable majority (211 to 100), and they are 

 usually slightly larger in size than the males. 



The Poutassou. (Gadus poittassou, Risso.) 



The spawning season of this species probably occurs at the 

 beginning of the year, according to the Scandinavian authors^ 

 It is chiefly a southern and western fish, and probably in its 

 adult condition frequents deeper water than its congeners. 



Couch mentions that multitudes of young specimens about 

 6 inches long occurred off the English coast in July. Messrs 

 Holt and Calderwood^ narrate that on the 10th July, 1890, 

 whilst the trawl was down at 175 fathoms, 34 miles from Achill 

 Head, a large shoal of young poutassou was observed at the 



1 Op. cit. p. 514. 



2 Sc. Trans. R. Buh. Soc. v., Ser. u. p. 430, 1895. 



