THE COD FAMILY AND THE SAND-EELS 249 



The Whiting (G. merlangus) is as familiar as its larger 

 relative, if anything more so, since it is more generally 

 eaten whole on our tables, whereas the portions of cod give 

 little or no idea of the fish in life. The whiting is dis- 

 tinguished by its lighter colour, absence of barbel (though 

 there is one in young whitings of an inch in length), and 

 black lateral line, while there is a black spot near the base 

 of the pectoral fin. The male is slightly the smaller, in 

 which the whiting again differs from the cod, and the present 

 species does not grow to a greater length than 24 in., or, 

 save in very exceptional cases, a weight of more than 

 4 or 5 lb. The outer edge of the whiting's fins is 

 dark ; otherwise, the fish is of a uniform greenish grey above 

 and white below, with black lateral line, the latter being, 

 however, less pronounced than in the haddock. There are 

 often lighter lines along the dark upper portion of the 

 whiting, but these fade soon after death, and are not, indeed, 

 very marked in many living examples. 



The whiting feeds on young fishes, particularly other whiting 

 and herring, as well as on shrimps and other crustaceans. It 

 attains maturity in all probability in its third year, or when 

 about 9 in. in length, and the spawning-period is from February 

 onward in the Plymouth district, and from March onward in 

 the neighbourhood of St. Andrews. The egg, which has a 

 diameter of less than -^ in., closely resembles the somewhat 

 larger egg of the cod. The young whiting, which hatches 

 about the tenth day, a little sooner or later according to 

 temperature, measures about -J in., and is therefore smaller 

 than that of the cod, from which it may be further dis- 

 tinguished by the presence of yellow spots on the body, fins, 

 and yolk-sac. Cunningham refers to the great difficulty of 

 distinguishing the eggs and larvas of the various members 

 of this family, so much are they alike ; but the small whiting 

 may be known by its bright blue eye and by the absence 

 of bands from its sides. Mcintosh further says that it attains 



