GADID^E. 295 



pollack, Cornwall : also locally as haddock, bil, billet, billard, black poll tck, black- 

 jack, bleck, coalsay, coalsey, coal-whiting, colemie, colmey, cooth, cudden, cuddy, 

 da rifle, gilpin, glassock, glashan, glossan, glossin, green-cod, green-pollack, gray-lord, 

 gull-fish, harbine, kiith, lob, lob-keeling, moulrush, pillock, podlie, podling, prinkle, 

 rook-salmon, saithe. sethe, sey-pollack, sillock, skrae-fisli, stenloch, tibrie. The fry 

 are called parrs at Scarborough as well as in Northumberland, and soil, poodler, 

 billets or billiards up to one year of age : cuddies, saithes, coalman, also saidhean, 

 or swyeen (Moray Firth) : and gerrocks at Banff : herring-hake at Aberdeen. 



In Ireland its names are legion. In county Down it possesses four : the fry 

 are gilpins, next size blockan, then gray lord, while the adults are termed glashan. 

 The } r oung in some localities are also called cudden or piclcey. In some parts of 

 the south and west these fish are termed black-pnllack or glassin. At Roundstone 

 the young are called glossan and moulroush, while adults are termed coal fish : at 

 Portrush the fry are about early in the spring, and by the time they are from 

 four to seven inches in length they are known as cadan (pronounced cudden) : 

 next spring they are called ceithnach (pronounced catenach), perhaps an expansion 

 of the last name, since the termination ach signifies "like." In the following 

 autumn, when weighing about 2 lb., they are known as glasan (pronounced 

 glashin) in allusion to their green colour, and a year later two-year-old glasan. 

 Subsequently they are entitled to the full term gray-lord, as when they are from. 

 8 lb. to 25 lb. weight. 



De koolvisch, Dutch. Le merlan noir ou colin, French. 



Habits. — Generally gregarious, especially when pursuing herring to which 

 form of food they appear very partial. In the Orkneys the fry are first seen in 

 May, when they are taken in large numbers by angling; but it is in the winter, 

 when the sea begins to get stormy, that the large shoals appear. At this period 

 they are froni six to ten inches in length, and much esteemed as sillucks, about 

 March they retire to the deep and grow rapidly, so that by May they are 

 15 inches long and termed kuths, which are tolerable for eating either fresh or 

 roasted ,with the liver, or even dry. A few are taken in the second year, when 

 they are called hvo-year-old kuths or harbines, and are now very coarse and not 

 sought after. Subsequently they attain to a vast bulk, and are then termed seths, 

 but are rare (Low). Dr. Drummond gives an account of once finding his boat in 

 the midst of a shoal of these fishes when at play. The whole sea was alive, while 

 they were disporting themselves in all attitudes. They were regardless of the 

 boat, and so intent on their gambols that numbers were captured with an 

 instrument like a boat hook. Mr. Dunn has remarked the same phenomena, but 

 he ascertained that it was due to thsir chasing small fishes. During the smooth 

 season of the year the coal fish approaches the shore and moves quietly about, but 

 when it descries any prey it pounces on its victim with great violence. Thompson 

 mentions finding principally small crustaceans as Idotea, &c. in the stomachs of 

 these fish : Dr. Drummond usually observed that they were gorged with Onisci, 

 and very fond of E>doinostraca. Mr. Ffennell saw twenty-six salmon fry taken 

 from the stomach of one of these fishes. 



Means of capture. — Angling, which is often done from shore, and line-fishing, 

 the lug-worm being found a good bait. They are very voracious and have great 

 strength. In Belfast Bay a few large examples are occasionally taken in the 

 mullet nets during the spring of the year. 



Breeding. — In America, where they appear to commence spawning off Cape 

 Ann about the end of November, it was found that a coal-fish 39^ inches long- 

 had 4,029,200 eggs, and one seven inches shorter 2,569,753, and that they seem 

 to spawn while s \ Limning about, when their eggs being buoyant are found on the 

 surface. They would appear to hatch in four or five days in water of moderate 

 temperature. In Cornwall they spawn in the spring: in the Orkneys small fry are 

 seen in June (and in July off Yorkshire) in vast shoals, wherein each fish is about 

 \\ inches in length : by August they have attained to from 3 to 5 inches, when 

 they are angled for. 



Uses. — Low remarked " as things are at present with us, this species is the 

 treasure of the Orkneys : while these are to be found, none else are regarded," 



