212. _POLLACK_ (Gadus pollachius) _is a fish belonging to the cod tribe, with three dorsal fins, no beard to the under jaw, the under jaw longer than the upper, the tail-fin forked, and the side line much curved._
_The usual weight of the pollack is six or seven pounds, but it sometimes much exceeds this._
In the Baltic Sea and the Northern Ocean, particularly in those parts where the bottom is rocky, and the sea much agitated, these fish appear, at stated seasons, in great shoals, playing about on the surface in all directions and in the most sportive and agile manner. Near Lubec and Heligoland they are sometimes caught, in immense numbers, in nets, or with lines and hooks baited with a feather, a small fish, or a bit of the skin of an eel. They frequent some of the southern parts of our coasts in the summer, and the eastern shores of Yorkshire in winter.
As an article of food, pollacks are usually considered inferior to whiting, but, in some places, they are much esteemed. On the Continent they are sometimes salted, and eaten during Lent by the inferior classes of people.
213. _LING_ (Gadus molva) _are a species of cod which have two dorsal fins, a small beard on the under jaw, the under jaw longer than the upper, and the tail fin rounded._
_They are caught in great numbers in the Northern Ocean, and about the northern coasts of Great Britain and Ireland; and when full grown are three or four feet in length._
The importance of these fish in a commercial view, is very great. Their size, the numbers in which they are caught, the excellence of their flesh when salted, and the value of the oil that they yield, all contribute to render them an object of eager pursuit by fishermen in those countries on the coasts of which they are found. More than 900,000 pounds' weight of ling are annually exported from the coasts of Norway. In England they are fished for and cured in the same manner as cod (205): and it is said that they bear carriage to great distances much better than cod.
Ling are in season from February until about the end of May. Vast numbers of these fish are salted in the northern parts of England, for exportation as well as for home consumption. When they are in season the _liver_ is white, and yields a great quantity of fine and well-flavoured oil. This is extracted by placing it over a slow fire; but if a sudden heat be applied, very little oil can be obtained. As soon as the fish are out of season the liver becomes red, and affords no oil. A kind of isinglass is made from the _air-bladders_. The _tongues_ are eaten either fresh, dried, or salted.