296 AIS T ACANTHIISri. 



but he suggests they encourage laziness, as the fishermen when they are present 

 do not trouble themselves to seek anything better. In Land and Water, a 

 correspondent observed that an oil is prepared from their livers, but towards 

 winter in the Shetlands they are swept ashore in enormous quantities, and are 

 often purchased for manure. They now fall off" very much in condition, and are 

 bought in order to obtain oil, which is used for lamps. In June or July those 

 9 or 10 inches long are in the perfection for eating, if cooked within an hour or 

 so of being caught ; they are cooked without disembowelling, and after being 

 rolled in salt and flour are done on the gridiron. The oil is in good demand by 

 tanners. 



As food. — Unless when small it is little esteemed when fresh, but salts well : 

 its flesh is coarser than that of the pollack. Fishermen in Cornwall salt it for 

 home consumption. 



Habitat. — This hardy species was the only fish captured by Lord Mulgrave on 

 the coast of Spitzbergen, while the fry 4 or 5 inches long were caught with the 

 trawl net on the west coast of Davis' Straits during Sir E. Parry's first voyage. 

 It is taken off the coasts of Scandinavia, and abounds in the North Sea and 

 northern coasts of Europe and extends around Great Britain to the shores of 

 France, and into the Mediterranean. Gill considers Gadus purpureus, Mitchell, 

 and Merlangus lepjtoceplialus, De Kay, as identical, or probably so with this, as 

 the American fauna only includes one species of Pollachius, which extends from 

 Greenland to Cape Hatteras. This fish has also been reported as existing in 

 Nova Scotia (Gilpin, Proc. and Trans. Nov. Scot. Ins. Nat. Sc. ii, pt. 1, 1867). 



It is common off most of our deep and rocky coasts, especially in the north : 

 and in the Orkneys and Zetland is extremely abundant (W. Baikie) : Banffshire 

 where it is numerous, more especially the young, termed gerrocks (Edward) : 

 Aberdeen (Sim) : abundant at St. Andrew's (Mcintosh) : also in the Moray 

 Firth during the time the herrings are present. A few are taken near Newcastle- 

 on-Tyne, but it is not much sought after, being held in little esteem (G. Rowell) ; 

 in Yorkshire it is resident and very abundant (Yorkshire Vertebrata). In 

 Norfolk estuary a large one was captured in 1845, and is now in the Wisbeach 

 Museum : it is frequently taken in Blakeney Harbour. In Devonshire abundant 

 in the bays and sometimes in the harbours (Parfitt). In Cornwall it is common 

 during the winter and spring, when it appears to be gregarious and resides in 

 strong currents, from which it shelters itself by keeping behind large rocks, from 

 whence it darts out on its prey. 



In Ireland it is one of the commonest fish around the coast, although rare in 

 Dublin Bay (McCoy). Buckland records one 43 inches long and 251b. captured 

 in December, 1866, and Thompson an example of 32 lb. weight which was taken 

 in Belfast Bay. 



8. Gadus pollachius, Plate LXXXIII, fig. 2. 



Asellus liuitingo-pollacliius, Willughby, p. 167 ; Asellus virescens, Bay, Syn. 

 p. 53 ; Butty, Nat. Hist. Co. Dublin, 1772, i, p. 354. 



Gadus, sp. Artedi, Synon. p. 35, no. 3, Genera, p. 20, no. 3. Pollack, Pennant, 

 Brit. Zool. (Ed. 1776) iii, p. 188 (Ed. 1812) iii, p. 254 ; Low, Fauna Orcadensis, 

 p. 126. Lieu, Duhamel, ii, sect, i, cap. 2, p. 121, pi. xx, f. 1. Callarias imberbis, 

 no: 1, Klein, Pise. Miss, v, p. 8. 



Gadus pollachius, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 439; Bl. Fische Deuts. ii, p. 171, 

 t. lxviii ; Bonnaterre, Atl. Ich. p. 48, pi. xxx, f. 107 ; Gmel. Linn. p. 1169 ; Shaw, 

 Zool. iv, p. 147 ; Lacep. ii, p. 417 ; Bl. Schn. p. 10 ; Walb. Artedi, iii, p. 127 ; 

 Donovan, Brit. Fishes, i, pi. vii ; Turton, Brit. Fauna, p. 91 ; Risso, Ich. Nice, 

 p. 113 ; Fries, and Ekstr. Skand. Fisk. p. 89, t. xx ; Nilss. Skand. Fauna, iv, 

 p. 562 ; Gronov. ed. Gray, p. 133 ; Schlegel, Dieren Neder. p. 74, pi. vii, f. 4 ; 

 Giinther, Catal. iv, p. 338; Ogilby, Zoologist, 1876, p. 4755; Steind. Ich. Span, 

 u. Port, 1868, p. 40 ; Mcintosh, Fish. St. Andrew's, p. 178 ; Collett, Norges Fiske, 

 p. Ill ; Winther, Ich. Dan. Mar. p. 30 ; Giglioli, Pesc. Ital. p. 36. 



Merlavgus pollachius, Yarrell, Brit. Fish. (Ed. 1) ii, p. 172, c. fig. (Ed. 2) ii, 



