THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 91 
MaAckEREL-BOAT OFF HASTINGS. 
choice; or in any other sense than that of many 
individuals independently actuated by a similar mo- 
tive, flocking to any place where food is plentiful. 
The Cod rarely comes into the shallows; but haunts 
the deep water, feeding at the rocky bottom, on 
marine worms, crustacea, and shelled mollusca. It 
is a voracious fish. Mr. Crouch records having taken 
thirty-five crabs, none of them less than a half-crown 
piece, from the stomach of a single Cod: his greedi- 
ness is often his own destruction and the fisher- 
man’s advantage, for it induces him readily to seize 
the bait. It is most abundant on the north and 
west coasts of Scotland, but is taken in consider- 
able plenty.all round the coasts of our island. In 
