COD

one of the most abundant of food fishes, found in all northern temperate seas and taken in large quantities by both nets and lines along the North Atlantic and Arctic coasts of both America and Europe. It ranges in size up to a hundred pounds, the average market weight though being le than ten pounds. It is a very voracious fish, all the small ocean inhabitants serving it for food, and extraordinary prolific, the roe often containing from two to eight million eggs and sometimes constituting a full half of the weight of the female. See Color Page facing page 250. Cod is marketed in various forms, fresh, salted and dried, in the latter state being generally sold by the quintal (112 pounds). In addition to the large consumption in North America, great quantities of the dried fish are carried from Newfoundland to the West Indies, South America and Europe, especially to the Catholic countries of the latter continent. Fresh cod is at its best during the | winter months. The head and shoulj ders, the choicest portions, are preferÀ le À 7 ably boiled, the remainder being usualpa; ly sliced for frying, etc. In Norway, cows are frequently fed on cod heads and seaweed in order to increase their supply of milk. In Iceland, the waste parts, bones, etc., are utilized as cattle food. [s. 165]