is
especially common in the north, though rarely entering the Baltic; it
becomes rare south of the English Channel. Unlike the cod and haddock,
the coal-fish is, to a great extent, a surface-swimming fish,
congregating together in large schools, and moving from place to place
in search of food; large specimens (3 to 3-1/2 ft. long), however, prefer
deep water, down to 70 fathoms. The flesh is not so highly valued as
that of the cod and haddock. The lower jaw projects more or less beyond
the upper, the mental barble is small, sometimes rudimentary, the vent
is below the posterior half of the first dorsal fin, and there is a dark
spot in the axil of the pectoral fin.

COALING STATIONS. Maritime war in all ages has required that the ships
of the belligerents should have the use of sheltered waters for repairs
and for replenishment of supplies. The operations of commerce from the
earliest days demanded natural harbours, round which, as in the
conspicuous instance of Syracuse, large populations gathered. Such
points, where wealth and resources of all kinds accumulated, became
objects of attack, and great efforts were expended upon their capture.
As maritime operations extended, the importance of a seaboard increased,
and the possession of good natural harbours became more and more
advantageous. At the same time, the growing size of ships and the
complexity of fitments caused by the development of the sailing art
imposed new demands upon the equipment of ports alike for purposes of
construction and for repairs; while the differentiation between warships
and the commercial marine led to the establishment of naval bases and
dockyards provided with special resources. From the days when the great
sailors of Elizabeth carried war into distant seas, remote harbours
began to assume naval importance. Expeditionary forces required
temporary bases, such as Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, which was so utilized
by Admiral Vernon in 1741. As outlying territories began to be occupied,
and jurisdiction to be exercised over their ports, the harbours
available for the free use of a belligerent were gradually reduced in
number, and it became occasionally necessary to take them by force.
Thus, in 1782, the capture of Trincomalee was an object of sufficient
importance to justify special effort, and Suffren gained a much-needed
refuge for his ships, at the same time compelling his opponent to depend
upon the open roadstead of Madras, and even to