170 



ZOOLOGY. 



come to the hnke [Merhicius hilinearis), the haddock {Me- 

 lanogramnms wglejinus, Fig. 215), and cod {Oaclus morrhua 

 Fig. 316), all of which extend northwards from Cape Hat- 

 teras, the cod abounding on both sides of the Atlantic, 

 being a circnmpolar fish. The cod does not, as formerly 

 supposed, migrate along the coast, but seeks the cool tern 

 perature to which it is adapted by gradually passing in the 

 early summer from shallow to deep water, and returning as 

 the season grows colder. It visits the shallow water of Mas- 

 sachusetts Bay to spawn about the first of I^ovember, and 

 towards the hisfc of the month deposits :ts eggs. About 

 eight or nine million of eggs are annually deposited by each 



Fig. 216.— The Cod-fish, Oadu» morrhva. 



female. The eggs laid by the cod rise to the .surface of the 

 water, on which they float. The young fish hatch on the 

 New England coast in twenty days after they are extruded. 



Tiie cod is the most important of all the food-fishes, 

 whether we consider the numljcr taken or the amount of 

 capital involved in tlio cod-fishery. It abounds most on 

 the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Tbo breeding habits 

 of the haddock, liake, and pollock are jirobably like those 

 of the coil. 



Ficrasfcr is a small eel-like fish, with a long, thin tail. 

 It is typical of a peculiar family, and is noteworthy from 

 being a " commensal" or boarder in the digestive canal of 



