Volume 39, Plate VII / Ichthyology (Fish)

Common Hake & Ling

Merlangus vulgaris & Lota molva

1. Common Hake. A fish of considerable size, commonly near two feet and sometimes exceeding three, the Common Hake has a slender elongated body, wide gape, projecting under jaw, and long sharp teeth, being plentiful on English and Irish coasts but rare in Scottish seas. Extremely voracious and gorging on pilchards, spawning from January to April, its flesh is little esteemed, much used dried as Stock-fish or Poor John, with a range extending to the Mediterranean.
2. The Ling. Comparable to the Cod in size and commercial value, the Ling is found along all British coasts, with chief fishing stations among the Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, and Cornwall. Voracious and very prolific, devouring almost any small marine animal and tenacious of life, it yields a large liver giving oil used for lamps and as a medicine for rheumatism, with the flesh exported chiefly to Spanish ports.