THECOD. 205 



thought preferable. Many kinds of fish may be successfully 

 caught by the flesh of their own species ; but this is not the 

 case with the cod. That the odor of some kinds of bait is 

 particularly agreeable is well established; but the smell of 

 putrid matter, to this fish, is so offensive, that instead of play- 

 ing about the hook, they generally go beyond its influence. 



They are made an object of much sport and pleasure by 

 the angling inhabitants of Boston and vicinity. The usual 

 mode of taking them is with a stout cotton or hemp line, from 

 fifty to one hundred and fifty feet in length, and about one- 

 fourth of an inch thick, according to the depth of the water, 

 with the largest size black-fish hook, or a small size fisher- 

 man's cod hook, and a sinker weighing from one to four 

 pounds. Parties on such excursions seldom return without 

 a boat-load of cod, and a well-satisfied but very tired set of 

 anglers. 



As an instance of what can be done with this fish, with a 

 light tackle, it ■was stated in the papers of the day, about a year 

 since, that Daniel Webster caught, at Marshfield, a tod weigh- 

 ing nine pounds, with a common trout line and trout hook. 



The cod is most delicious as a table fish, and is cooked 

 in various ways : "when fresh, he is usually fried or boiled ; 

 when dried, he is an object of export to all parts of the coun- 

 try : at the east, when in this state, he is prepared and mashed 

 up into cakes with potatoes, and is a favorite dish. Of late 

 years, the frequenters of New-York dining saloons have been 

 rather amused by the often reiterated cry of the waiters — 

 'Hurry up them, fish-balls.' This is no more nor less than 

 the potatoe fish-cakes of the east, prepared for the palates nf 

 the Gothamites by Sweeney, and Welsh, and other caterers 

 for the appetites of the New-Yorkers. 



they are found in vast quantities on the coast of Long Island, and in the 

 bays and inlets of Massachusetts, where they are used for manuring the 

 land. 



