COD. 
153 
crabs, whelks, &c. ; and such is their power of di- 
gestion, that the shells are said to be dissolved, 
though so much harder than the sides of the sto- 
mach which contains them. This amazing fa- 
culty in the cold maw of fishes has justly excited 
the curiosity of philosophers ; and we agree with 
Dr. Hunter, that there is a power of animal assimi- 
lation lodged in the stomach of all creatures, which 
we can neither describe nor define ; converting the 
substances they swallow into a fluid fitted for their 
own peculiar support. 
These fish are so very prolific that there is no 
fear of their numbers being exhausted. Leeuwen- 
lioeck tells us that he counted nine millions three 
hundred and eighty-four thousand eggs in a cod- 
fish of a middling size ; but we conclude this to be 
an exaggeration, since Mr. Harmer inserted in the 
Philosophical Transactions for the year 17 67, a 
minute calculation of the numbers each fish may 
produce, and has assigned to the cod three millions 
six hundred and eighty-six thousand seven hundred 
and sixty. 
We learn from Mr. Pennant, that in our seas 
the cod begin to spawn in January, and deposit 
their eggs on rough ground among rocks. Some 
continue in roe till the beginning of April. When 
they are out of season they are thin-tailed and 
lousy : the lice chiefly fix themselves on the inside 
of their mouths. In choosing cod for the table, 
observe that they are plump and round, especially 
