1824 Fishes. 



Poutassou Whiting, M. poutassou. Very rare. I never saw but 

 one specimen, and that was taken by a fisherman of Polperro. It is 

 described and figured in the second edition of c British Fishes,' but 

 the figure is too dark. 



Raunjng Pollack, M. carbonarius, Rauner. Common during the 

 winter and spring, when they appear to be gregarious ; they are not 

 so, however, in reality. It is a habit of this fish to reside in strong 

 currents, from which they shelter themselves by keeping behind large 

 rocks. In such a situation, they sometimes congregate in large com- 

 panies, with their heads turned in the direction of the stream. Any 

 food, whether living or dead, that is carried past them, is seized as 

 soon as seen ; and thus they are perpetually darting from and return- 

 ing to their hiding place. When not frequenting such haunts they 

 wander alone. If a fisherman takes one, there is a prospect of taking 

 many more, and I have known eighteen hundred weight taken by one 

 boat at one time. During the quiet weather of autumn, they 

 approach the shore, and swim very leisurely from spot to spot, but 

 they invariably pounce upon their prey in the most violent manner, 

 and devour it with greediness. They spawn in spring. 



Hake, Merlucius vulgaris. Always common, and during the au- 

 tumn abundant. It is very ravenous and is a great vagrant. In the 

 winter it is taken with a hook and line, or with the trawl in deep wa- 

 ter ; as summer approaches it comes into shallower bays. It is very 

 uncertain in its movements, for during one night not a single speci- 

 men will be taken, while during the next the supply seems almost un- 

 limited. It is not a gregarious fish, but during the season when the 

 pilchards approach the shore, the hakes accompany them in vast mul- 

 titudes. They so constantly attend on the shoals of pilchards, that 

 the migrations of one may be described as the wanderings of the 

 other. But the movements of the pilchard are the results of natural 

 habits and instinct, apparently independent of external circumstances; 

 but all the wanderings of the hake seem to be the result of insatiable 

 appetite. If the fishermen are successful in the taking of the hake, 

 they know the pilchard is not far off, though it may be swimming 

 near the ground. I have known a man with a pair of lines, each with 

 two hooks, take eighteen dozen in one night, besides attending to the 

 drift-nets for the pilchard. There is scarcely an enclosure of pil- 

 chards, except the great ones at St. Ives in the winter, without great 

 quantities of hake being also taken. In such situations they 

 frequently gorge themselves to such an extent as to be quite helpless ; 

 I have seen, on many occasions, from eight to twelve pilchards 



