268 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. 



great importance to this country, inasmuch as it affords 

 occupation to a large number of poor fishermen during the 

 winter months. They are in the greatest perfection for 

 the table from October to the beginning of January, 

 just before they are about to spawn. A great many 

 small haddocks are sometimes caught by the trawlers ; 

 they are largely sold to the poor, and fetch from 8d. 

 to Is. 6d. per basket, weighing three stones. In some 

 of the Scotch cities these small haddocks dried are sold 

 under the name of " speldrings," and also under the name 

 of " Finnon haddocks," from the name of the village near 

 Aberdeen, where they were first cured and smoked by 

 burning the green branches of fir. Thousands and tens 

 of thousands of haddocks are cured in every possible 

 state of freshness ; but none are equal in quality to the 

 Scotch cured. The fish there are cured all but alive. 

 Some are dried with peat smoke instead of sawdust, 

 which is used in the London curing. The Norway had- 

 dock is Sebastes Norvegieus. 



The cod (Gadus morrhua, Lin.) and its allies, G. namga, 

 G. virens, contribute largely to human food. The 

 annual average catch on the great breeding grounds 

 of the species, and where the finest fish are obtained, 

 as on the banks and shores of Newfoundland and 

 the coasts of Labrador, is about 4,000,000 cwt. As- 

 suming fifty fish to the cwt., this gives a yearly take of 

 200,000,000. 



In 1872 the take of cod in the Gulf of St. Lawrence 

 and the Lower British American Provinces (exclusive of 

 Newfoundland and Labrador) was 824,411 quintals. 



In 1880 Canada exported 996,870 cwt. of dried fish, 

 and 27,084 cwt. and 264,953 barrels of pickled fish. In 

 1882 the value of the fisheries of Canada was given at 

 £3,217,734. 



The export of cod-fish from Newfoundland of British 

 take in 1874, reached a total of 1,250,000 cwt., worth 

 more than one million sterling ; in 1882 it was 1,463,439 

 cwt., valued at £1,170,751. 



The cod fisheiy, which is the staple produce of New- 



