344 VERTEBRATES 



in incalculable numbers, not only to yield to man an unfailing 

 supply, but to make the necessary provision for the increase of 

 their number. 



When taken out of the water, the Herring dies almost im- 

 mediately, as do all fish that live near the surface of the water 

 Those, on the contrary, as the carp, tench, eels, and the flat fish, 

 who reside at the bottom, are able to sustain life for a much longer 

 period when taken out of their native element. It is therefore 

 necessary that the herrings should be cured as soon as possible. 



The Shad, like the herring, visit our coasts about the 

 beginning of April, and ascend the rivers in enormous shoals, for 



the purpose of depositing their spawn 

 in the less turbulent waters neai the 

 heads of the streams. These fish 

 are caught in the same way a«> the 

 „ „jj . herring, in large seines, made for the 



purpose, and it is not uncommon for 

 one haul of a seine to bring in from two thousand to fivo thoucand 

 fish, averaging from twelve to twenty-two inches each in length, 

 and weighing from three to ten pounds. Large quantities are 

 salted and dried, and thus furnish a profitable article 'ji commerce. 

 The Cod. — In this sub-order the bones of the ventral fins are 

 placed under, and support the bones of the shoulder. The well- 

 known Cod-fish is principally found on the coasts of Newfoundland, 

 but is taken in great numbers on the British shores. The hook 



is generally employed for the 

 capture of this fine fish. An 

 immense number of hooks, 

 each baited with a whelk or 

 - limpet, and attached to short 



lines, are fastened at intervals 

 along a rope, which is stretched, or shot, as it is termed, across the 

 tide, in order to prevent the hooks from getting entangled. Such 

 is the voracity of the fish, that nearly five hundred have been 

 taken by one man in the course of ten hours. The intense cold 

 renders the Cod fishery a service of great hardship. 



