GABIBM. 325 



about fifty fathoms of water, at a locality termed Skate Hole, due to the 

 abundance of these fish. Donovan also mentions it off Caithness : Banff 

 common (Edward) : Aberdeen (Sim) : at St. Andrew's not common (Mcintosh) : 

 said to be occasionally taken in the Firth of Forth and brought to the 

 Edinburgh market, where the young of the ling is frequently mistaken for it 

 (Parnell). It has been captured at Whitby (Ferguson, 1860) also it has been 

 recorded more than once from Yorkshire during the season of 1880-81, while 

 Mr. Mudd, of Great Grimsby, informs us that it is frequently taken near the 

 coast (Yorkshire Vertebrata). 



Respecting its occurrence in Ireland, Thompson observes that it is said 

 by M'Skimmin in his History of Carrickfergus to have been taken on the coast. 



The specimen figured is 17 inches in length and in the British Museum. The 

 average length of the torsk is said to be about 18 inches : Low, however, 

 mentions one 42 inches long. An example was captured at Faaboorg on the 

 south coast of the island of Fiihnen, in 1880, which weighed 42 lb., the roe alone 

 weighing 7 lb. 



