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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Harvest of the Sea - A contribution to the natural and economic history of the - British food fishes - -Author: James Glass Bertram - -Release Date: October 10, 2020 [EBook #63433] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HARVEST OF THE SEA *** - - - - -Produced by Turgut Dincer, Les Galloway and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - -Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations -in hyphenation and accents have been standardised but all other -spelling and punctuation remains unchanged. - -With a few exceptions French words are not accented. - -In Chapter X, St Monance Uppertown and Overtown both used for the same -location. - -The footnotes are located at the end of the book. - -Italics are represented thus _italic_. - - - - - THE HARVEST OF THE SEA. - - -[Illustration: VIEW OF WICK HARBOUR DURING THE HERRING SEASON.] - - - - - THE - - HARVEST OF THE SEA - - _A CONTRIBUTION TO - THE NATURAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY OF - THE BRITISH FOOD FISHES_ - - BY JAMES G. BERTRAM - - [Illustration: Fish on seashore] - - POLONIUS.—Do you know me, my lord? - HAMLET.—Excellent well; you are a fishmonger. - _Shakespeare._ - - _WITH FIFTY ILLUSTRATIONS._ - - LONDON - JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET - 1865 - - - _Printed by_ R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_. - - - - -PREFATORY NOTE. - - -It is not my intention to inflict upon the reader a formal Preface. -It would, however, be ungrateful were I not to take an opportunity -of acknowledging the aid and information kindly afforded by various -Members of the French Government; also by Professor Coste of the French -Institute; M. Coumes of Strasbourg; the Authorities at Huningue; the -Intendant of the Jardin d’Acclimatisation of Paris; Mr. Robert Buist; -Mr. John Cleghorn; Jonathan Couch, Esq. of Polperro; Mr. H. Dempster; -Thomas Ashworth, Esq.; Mr. Robert Cowie; Mr. R. P. Scott; Edward Cooke, -Esq., R.A., to whose kindness I am indebted for the characteristic -Sketches of “The Angler Fish” and “Jack in his Element.” - -So far as I am aware, this is the first work in which an attempt has -been made to bring before the public in one view the present position -and future prospects of the Food Fisheries of Great Britain. Great -pains have been taken to obtain reliable information and correct -statistics, but in so wide a field of labour considerable allowance -must be made for errors. - -The excellent Fish Groups have been arranged and drawn by Mr. Stewart, -the Natural History draughtsman of this city; while the Sketches of -Fishing Scenes on Lochfyne and elsewhere are by Mr. J. R. Prentice. - - EDINBURGH, _18th October 1865_. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - - FISH LIFE AND GROWTH. - - PAGE - Classification of Fish—Their Form and Colour—Mode and Means - of Life—Curiously-shaped Fish—Senses of Smell and Hearing - in Fish—Fish nearly Insensible to Pain—The Fecundity of - Fish—Sexual Instinct of Fish—External Impregnation of the - Ova—Ripening of a Salmon Egg—Birth of a Herring—Proposal - for a Marine Observatory in order to note the Growth of - our Sea Fish—Curious Stories about the Growth of the Eel—All - that is known about the Mackerel—Whitebait: is it a - Distinct Species?—Mysterious Fish: the Vendace and the - Powan—Where are the Haddocks?—The Food of Fish—Fish - as a rule not Migratory—The Growth of Fish Shoals—When - Fish are good for Food—The Balancing Power of Nature 1 - CHAPTER II. - - FISH COMMERCE. - - Early Fish Commerce—Sale of Fresh-water Fish—Cured Fish—Influence - of Rapid Transit on the Fisheries—Fish-Ponds—The Logan - Pond—Ancient Fishing Industries—The Dutch - Herring-Fishing—Comacchio—The Art of Breeding Eels—Progress of - Fishing in Scotland—A Scottish Buss—Newfoundland Fisheries—The - Greenland Whale-Fishing—Speciality of different Fishing - Towns—The General Sea Fisheries of France—French Fish - Commerce—Statistics of the British Fisheries 34 - - - CHAPTER III. - - FISH CULTURE. - - Antiquity of Pisciculture—Italian Fish-Culture—Sergius - Orata—Re-discovery of the Art—Gehin and Remy—Jacobi—Shaw - of Drumlanrig—The Ettrick Shepherd—Scientific and Commercial - Pisciculture—A Trip to Huningue—Tourist Talk - about Fish—Bale—Huningue described—The Water Supply—_Modus - Operandi_ at Huningue—Packing Fish Eggs—An - Important Question—Artificial Spawning—Danube Salmon—Statistics - of Huningue—Plan of a Suite of Ponds—M. de Galbert’s - Establishment—Practical Nature of Pisciculture—Turtle-Culture—Best - kinds of Fish to rear—Pisciculture in Germany—Stormontfield - Salmon-Breeding Ponds—Design for a Suite of - Salmon-Ponds—Statistics of Stormontfield—Acclimatisation - of Fish—The Australian Experiment—Introduction of the - _Silurus glanis_ 69 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - ANGLERS’ FISHES. - - Fresh-Water Fish not of much Value—The Angler and his - Equipment—Pleasures - of the Country in May—Anglers’ Fishes—Trout, - Pike, Perch, and Carp—Gipsy Anglers—Angling - Localities—Gold Fish—The River Scenery of England—The - Thames—Thames Anglers—Sea Angling—Various Kinds of - Sea Fish—Proper Kinds of Bait—The Tackle Necessary—The - Island of Arran—Corry—Goatfell, etc. 129 - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE NATURAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY - OF THE SALMON. - - The Salmon our best-known Fish—Controversies and Anomalies—Food - of Salmon—The Parr Controversy—Experiments by - Shaw, Young, and Hogg—Grilse: its Rate of Growth—Do - Salmon make Two Voyages to the Sea in each Year?—The - Best Way of marking Young Salmon—Enemies of the Fish—Avarice - of the Lessees—The Rhine Salmon—Size of Fish—Killing - of Grilse—Rivers Tay, Spey, Tweed, Severn, etc.—The - Tay Fisheries—Report on English Fisheries—Upper and - Lower Proprietors 177 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - THE NATURAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY - OF THE HERRING. - - Description of the Herring—The Old Theory of Migration—Geographical - Distribution of the Herring—Mr. John Cleghorn’s - Ideas on the Natural History of the Herring—Mr. Mitchell on - the National Importance of that Fish—Commission of Inquiry - into the Herring-Fishery—Growth of the Herring—The Sprat—Should - there be a Close-time?—Caprice of the Herring—The - Fisheries—The Lochfyne Fishery—The Pilchard—Herring - Commerce—Mr. Methuen—The Brand—The Herring Harvest - All Night at the Fishing—The Cure—The Curers—Herring - Boats—Increase of Netting—Are we Overfishing?—Proposal - for more Statistics 226 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - THE WHITE-FISH FISHERIES. - - Difficulty of obtaining Statistics of our White-Fish - Fisheries—Ignorance of the Natural History of the White - Fish—“Finnan Haddies”—The Gadidæ Family: the Cod, Whiting, - etc.—The Turbot and other Flat Fish—When Fish are in Season—How - the White-Fish Fisheries are carried on—The Cod and - Haddock Fishery—Line-Fishing—The Scottish Fishing Boats—Loss - of Boats on the Scottish Coasts—Storms in Scotland—Trawl-Net - Fishing—Description of a Trawler—Evidence on - the Trawl Question 285 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE NATURAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY - OF THE OYSTER. - - Proper Time for Oyster-Fishing to Begin—Description of the - Oyster—Controversies about its Natural History—Spatting - of the Oyster—Growth of the Oyster—Quantity of Spawn - emitted by the Oyster—Social History of the Oyster—Great - Men who were Fond of Oysters—Oyster-Breeding in France—Lake - Fusaro—Beef’s Discovery of Artificial Culture—Oyster-Farming - in the Bay of Biscay—The Celebrated Green - Oysters—Marennes—Dr. Kemmerer’s Plan—Lessons to be - gleaned from the French Pisciculturists—How to manage an - Oyster-Farm—Whitstable—Cultivation of Natives—The Colne - Oyster-Trade—Scottish Oysters—The Pandores—Extent of - Oyster-Ground in the Firth of Forth—Dredging—Extent of - American Oyster-Beds 332 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - OUR SHELL-FISH FISHERIES. - - Productive Power of Shell-Fish—Varieties of the Crustacean - Family—Study of the Minor Shell-Fishes—Demand for - Shell-Fish—Lobsters—A Lobster Store-Pond Described—Natural - History of the Lobster and other Crustacea—March of the - Land-Crabs—Prawns and Shrimps, how they are caught and - cured—Scottish Pearl-Fisheries—Account of the Scottish - Pearl-Fishery—A Mussel-Farm—How to grow Bait 382 - - - CHAPTER X. - - THE FISHER-FOLK. - - The Fisher-People the same everywhere—Growth of a Fishing - Village—Marrying and giving in Marriage—The Fisher-Folk’s - Dance—Newhaven near Edinburgh—Newhaven Fishwives—A - Fishwife’s mode of doing - Business—Superstitions—Fisherrow—Dunbar—Buckhaven—Cost - of a Boat and its Gear—Scene of the _Antiquary_: - Auchmithie—Smoking Haddocks—The Round of Fisher - Life—“Finnan Haddies”—Fittie and its Quaint Inhabitants—Across - to Dieppe—Bay of the Departed—The Eel-Breeders of - Comacchio—The French Fishwives—Narrative of a - Fishwife—Buckie—Nicknames of the Fisher-Folk—Effects of a - Storm on the Coast 418 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - CONCLUDING REMARKS. - - Are there more Fish in the Sea than ever came out of it?—Modern - Writers on the Fisheries—Were Fish ever so abundant - as is said?—Salmon-Poaching—Value of Salmon—Sea - Fish—Destruction of the Young—Is the demand for Fish - beginning to exceed the Supply?—Evils of Exaggeration—Fish - quite Local—Incongruity of protecting one Fish and not - another—Difficulties in the way of a Close-Time—Duties of - the Board of White-Fisheries—Regulation of Salmon Rivers—Justice - to Upper Proprietors—The one Object of the Fishermen—Conclusion 474 - - - APPENDIX. - - I. OBSERVATIONS ON FISH-GUANO 491 - - II. LIST OF AUTHORITIES 499 - - III. WICK HERRING-HARVEST OF 1865 502 - - IV. TOTAL CATCH OF HERRINGS AT ALL THE STATIONS ON THE - NORTH-EAST COAST DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS; AND - ESTIMATED NUMBER OF HANDS EMPLOYED—1865 503 - - INDEX 505 - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - VIEW OF WICK HARBOUR DURING THE HERRING SEASON _Frontispiece._ - - EGGS OF THE SALMON KIND JUST HATCHING _Page_ 13 - - SALMON A DAY OR TWO OLD 14 - - WHITEBAIT GROUND NEAR QUEENSFERRY 22 - - LOCHMABEN 27 - - PACKING HERRINGS 41 - - A DIVISION OF COMACCHIO 48 - - BILLINGSGATE 65 - - THE FISHMARKET AT BALE 81 - - GROUND-PLAN OF THE PISCICULTURAL ESTABLISHMENT AT HUNINGUE 82 - - VIEW OF HUNINGUE 83 - - HALL OF INCUBATION 84 - - BASINS FOR THE YOUNG FISH 85 - - GUTTERS FOR HATCHING PURPOSES 86 - - ARTIFICIAL MODE OF SPAWNING 87 - - PISCICULTURAL ESTABLISHMENT AT BUISSE 93 - - ORIGINAL BREEDING-POND AT STORMONTFIELD 100 - - PROFILE OF STORMONTFIELD SALMON-BREEDING PONDS 101 - - DESIGN FOR A SERIES OF SALMON-BREEDING PONDS 103 - - PISCICULTURAL APPARATUS 115 - - SILURUS GLANIS 127 - - ANGLERS’ FISHES 137 - - JACK IN HIS ELEMENT 141 - - THAMES ANGLERS.—FROM AN OLD PICTURE 151 - - THE ANGLER FISH 156 - - CORRY HARBOUR 171 - - PARR ONE YEAR OLD 182 - - SMOLT TWO YEARS OLD 189 - - FISHES OF THE SALMON FAMILY 198 - - SALMON-WATCHER’S TOWER ON THE RHINE 201 - - STAKE-NETS ON THE RIVER SOLWAY 208 - - SALMON-FISHING STATION AT WOODHAVEN ON TAY 212 - - MEMBERS OF THE HERRING FAMILY 245 - - VIEW OF LOCHFYNE 249 - - VIEW OF A CURING YARD 261 - - THE GADIDÆ FAMILY 289 - - THE PLEURONECTIDÆ FAMILY 297 - - LAKE FUSARO 349 - - OYSTER-PYRAMID 350 - - OYSTER-FASCINES 351 - - OYSTER-PARKS 355 - - OYSTER-CLAIRES 357 - - OYSTER-TILES 363 - - OYSTER-DREDGING AT COCKENZIE 377 - - THE SCOTTISH PEARL-MUSSEL 399 - - MUSSEL-STAKES 411 - - A MUSSEL-FARM 412 - - NEWHAVEN FISHWIVES 424 - - A FRENCH FISHWOMAN 454 - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -FISH LIFE AND GROWTH. - - Classification of Fish—Their Form and Colour—Mode and Means of - Life—Curiously-shaped Fish—Senses of Smell and Hearing in Fish—Fish - nearly Insensible to Pain—The Fecundity of Fish—Sexual Instinct of - Fish—External Impregnation of the Ova—Ripening of a Salmon Egg—Birth - of a Herring—Proposal for a Marine Observatory in order to note - the Growth of our Sea Fish—Curious Stories about the Growth of the - Eel—All that is known about the Mackerel—Whitebait: is it a Distinct - Species?—Mysterious Fish: the Vendace and the Powan—Where are the - Haddocks?—The Food of Fish—Fish as a rule not Migratory—The Growth of - Fish Shoals—When Fish are good for Food—The Balancing Power of Nature. - - -Fish form the fourth class of vertebrate animals, and, as a general -rule, they live in the water; although in Ceylon and India there are -found species that live in the earth, or, at any rate, that are able to -exist in mud, not to speak of some that are said to occupy the trees -of those countries! The classification of fishes as given by Cuvier -is usually adopted. That eminent naturalist has divided these animals -into those with true bones, and those having a cartilaginous structure; -and the former again are divided into acanthopterous and malcopterous -fish. Other naturalists have adopted more elaborate classifications; -but Cuvier’s being the simplest has in my opinion a strong claim to be -considered the best; at least it is the one generally used. - -A fish breathes by means of its gills, and progresses chiefly by -means of its tail. This animal is admirably adapted for progressing -through the water, as may be seen from its form, which has been -imitated more or less closely by the builders of ships, the makers -of weavers’ shuttles, and others. Fish are exceedingly beautiful as -regards both form and colour. There are comparatively few persons, -however, who have an opportunity of seeing them at the moment of -their greatest brilliancy, namely, just when they are brought out of -the water. I allude more particularly to some of our sea fish—as the -herring, mackerel, etc. The power of a fish to take on the colour of -its hiding-place may be mentioned. I found, a few weeks ago, some young -fish of various kinds in the Tweed at Stobo, which were, when in the -water, quite undistinguishable from the vegetable matter among which -they were taking shelter. It is not an easy matter to paint a fish so -as accurately to transmit to canvas its exquisite shape and glowing -colours. The moment it is taken from its own element its form alters -and its delicate hues fade; and in different localities fish have, -like the chameleon, different colours, so that the artist must have a -quick eye and a responding hand to catch the rapidly-fleeting tints of -the animal. Nothing, for instance, can reveal more beautiful masses of -colour than the hauling into the boat of a drift of herring-nets. As -breadth after breadth emerges from the water the magnificent ensemble -of the fish flashes with ever-changing hues upon the eye—a wondrous -pantomimic mixture of glancing blue and gold, and silver and purple, -blended into one great burning glow of harmonious colour, lighted -into brilliant life by the soft rays of the newly-risen sun. But, -alas for the painter! unless he can instantaneously fix the burnished -mass on his canvas, the light of its colour will be extinguished, and -its beauty be dimmed, long before the boat has reached the harbour. -The brightly-coloured fish of the tropics are indeed gorgeous, as is -the plumage of tropical birds; but as regards excellence of flavour, -beautifully-blended colours, and especially as a food power, they -cannot for a moment be compared with that plentiful poor man’s -fish—the beautiful common herring of our British waters. - -If the breathing apparatus of a fish were to become dry the animal -would at once be suffocated. A fish when in the water has very little -weight to support, as its specific gravity is about the same as that -of the water in which it lives, and the bodies of these animals are -so flexible as to aid them in all their movements, while the various -fins assist either in balancing the body or in helping it to progress. -The motion of a fish is excessively rapid; it can dash along in the -water with lightning-like velocity. Many of our sea fish are curiously -shaped, such as the hammer-headed shark, the globe-fish, the monkfish, -the angel-fish, etc.; then we have the curious forms of the rays, the -Pluronectidæ, and of some others that I may call “fancy fish;” but -fish of all kinds are admirably adapted to their mode of life and the -place where they live—as for instance, in a cave where light has never -penetrated there have been found fish without eyes. Fresh-water fish -do not, however, vary much in shape, most of them being very elegant. -Fish are nearly insensible to pain, and are cold-blooded, their blood -being only two degrees warmer than the element in which they swim. It -is worthy of being noted also that fish have small brains in comparison -to the size of their bodies—considerably smaller in proportion than in -the case of the birds or mammalia, but the nerves communicating with -the brain are as large in fish, proportionately, as in either the birds -or mammalia. So far as personal knowledge goes, I believe the senses -of sight and hearing are well developed in most fish, as also those of -smell and taste, particularly the sense of smell, which chiefly guides -them to their food. We may take for granted, I think, that fish have a -very keen sense of smell—more so than most other animals; and thus it -is that strong-smelling baits are so successful in fishing. The French -people, for instance, when fishing for sprats and sardines, bait the -ground with prepared cod-roe, which, by the way, adds very largely -to the expense of that branch of fishing in the Bay of Biscay. I may -also remind my readers, as an evidence of fish having a strong sense -of smell, that salmon-roe used to be a deadly trout-bait, but fishing -with salmon-roe is now illegal. It has been said by some naturalists -that fish do not hear well, but that assertion is contrary to my own -experience; for on making repeated trials as to the sense of hearing -in fish, I found them as quick in that faculty as they are sharp in -seeing; and have we not all read of pet fish being summoned by means -of a bell, and of trouts that have been whistled to their food like -dogs? Water is an excellent conductor of sound: it conveys a noise -of any kind to a greater distance, and at nearly as great a speed as -air. Benjamin Franklin used to experiment on water as a conductor, -and soon arrived at the conclusion that its powers in this way were -wonderful. By striking two stones together, the experimenter will find -that the sound is conveyed to a great distance, and also that it is -very loud. Most kinds of fish are voracious feeders, and prey upon each -other without the slightest ceremony; and the greatest difficulties of -the angler are experienced after the fish have had a good feed, when -even the most practised artist, with his most seductive bait, will -not induce them to nibble, far less to bite. Many of our fish have a -digestion so rapid as only to be comparable to the action of fire, and -in good feeding-grounds the growth of a fish usually corresponds to -its power of eating. In the sea there exists an admirable field for -observing the cannibal propensities of the fish world, where shoals -of one species have apparently no other object in life than to chase -another kind with a view to eat them; and what goes on in the sea on -a wholesale scale is imitated on a smaller scale in the loch and the -river. To compensate for the waste of life incidental to their place -of birth and their ratio of growth, nature has endowed this class of -animals with an enormous power of reproduction. Fish yield their eggs -by tens of thousands or millions, according to the danger that has to -be incurred in the progress of their growth. - -All fish are enormously fecund; indeed there is nothing in the animal -world that can in this respect be compared to them, except perhaps a -queen bee, which has fifty or sixty thousand young each season; or the -white ant, which produces eggs at the rate of fifty per minute, and -goes on laying for a period of unknown duration; not to speak of that -terrible domestic _bug_bear which no one likes more particularly to -name, but which is popularly supposed to become a great-grandfather in -twenty-four hours. The little aphides of the garden may also be noted -for their vast fecundity, as may likewise the common house-fly. During -a year one green aphis may produce one hundred thousand millions of -young; and the house-fly produces twenty millions of eggs in a season! - -When I state that the codfish yields its eggs in millions, and that a -herring of six or seven ounces in weight is provided with about thirty -thousand ova, it will at once be seen that the multiplying power of all -kinds of fish is enormous; but then the drain on fish life, consequent -on the _habitat_ of these animals, is immense, or at least of -corresponding magnitude. Although there may be thirty thousand eggs in -a herring, the reader must bear in mind that if these be not vivified -by the milt of the male fish, they just rot away in the sea, and never -become of any value, except perhaps as food to some minor monster of -the deep. Millions upon millions of the eggs that are emitted by the -cod or the herring never come to life at all—many of them from the want -of the fructifying power, and others from being devoured by enemies. -Then, again, of those eggs that are so fortunate as to be ripened, it -is pretty certain, I think, from minute and careful inquiry, that fully -ninety per cent of the young fish perish before they are six months -old. Were only half of the eggs to come to life, and but one moiety -of the young fish to live, the sea would so abound with animal life -that it would soon be impossible for a boat to move in its waters. But -we can never hope to realise such a sight; and when it is considered -that a single shoal of herrings consists of millions and millions -of individual fish, and takes up a space in the sea far more than -that occupied by the parks of London, and yet gives no impediment to -navigation, my readers will see the magnitude of our fish supplies; -but, from the destruction of fish life by natural causes, the breeding -supply is kept down to an amount that cannot, in my opinion, be very -far from the point of extermination; and hence I am prepared to argue -the urgent necessity of regulation, continued statistical inquiry, and -the adoption of fish-culture as an adjunct to the natural supplies. - -The figures of fish fecundity are quite reliable, and are not dependent -on mere guessing or imagination, because different persons have taken -the trouble, the writer amongst others, to count the separate eggs -in the roes of some of our fish, in order to ascertain exactly their -amount of breeding power. It is well known that the female salmon -yields her eggs at the rate of about one thousand for each pound of -her weight, and some fresh-water fish are still more prolific; the sea -fish, again, far excelling them in reproductive power. The sturgeon, -for instance, is wonderfully fecund, as much as two hundred pounds -weight of roe having been taken from one of these fish, yielding a -total of 7,000,000 of eggs. I have in my possession the results of -several investigations into the question of fish fecundity, which -were conducted with careful attention to the details, and without -any desire to exaggerate: these give the following results:—Codfish, -3,400,000; flounder, 1,250,000; sole, 1,000,000; mackerel, 500,000; -herring, 35,000; smelt, 36,000. Mr. Frank Buckland, who some time ago -investigated this part of the fish question, quite corroborates such -numbers as being correct, having found equally great quantities in -fish dissected by himself. - -Any of my readers who wish to manipulate these figures may try by way -of experiment a few calculations with the herring. The produce of a -single herring is, let us say, thirty-six thousand eggs, but we may—and -the deduction is a most reasonable one—allow that half of these never -come to life, which reduces the quantity born to eighteen thousand. -Allowing that the young fish will be able to repeat the story of their -birth in three years, we may safely calculate that the breeding stock -by various accidents will by that time be reduced to nine thousand -individuals; and granting half of these to be females, or let us say, -for the sake of rounding the figures, that four thousand of them yield -roe, we shall find by multiplying that quantity by thirty-six thousand -(the number of eggs in a female herring) that we obtain a total of one -hundred and forty-four millions as the produce in three years of a -single pair of herrings; and although half of these might be taken as -the food of man as soon as they were large enough, there would still be -left an immense breeding stock even after all deductions for casualties -had been given effect to; so that the devastations committed by man -on the shoals while capturing for food uses must be enormous if they -affect, as I suppose, the reproductiveness of these useful animals. Of -course this is but guess-work, and is merely given as a basis for a -more minute statement; but I have conversed with practical people who -do not think that, taking all times and seasons into account, even five -per cent of the roe of a herring comes to life, far less that such a -percentage reaches maturity as table fish. - -It is now well enough known, even to the merest _tyros_ in the study -of natural history, and to anglers and others interested as well, -that the impregnation of fish-eggs is a purely external act; but at -one time this was not believed, and even so lately as six years ago a -portion of the experiments at the Stormontfield salmon-breeding ponds -was dedicated, by Mr. Robert Buist, to a solution of this question, -with what result may be easily guessed. The old theory, so stoutly -maintained by Mr. Tod Stoddart and others, that it is contrary both -to fact and reason that fish can differ from land animals in the -matter of the fructification of their eggs, was signally defeated, -and the question conclusively settled at the ponds in a very simple -way—namely, by placing in the breeding-boxes a quantity of salmon eggs -which had not been brought into contact with the milt, and which rotted -away; proving emphatically that the sexes do not come into alliance -at the time of spawning, and that there is no way of rendering the -eggs fruitful unless they are brought into immediate contact with the -milt. Curious ideas used to prevail on this branch of natural history. -Herodotus observes of the fish of the Nile, that at the season of -spawning they move in vast multitudes towards the sea; the males lead -the way, and emit the engendering principle in their passage; this the -females absorb as they follow, and in consequence conceive, and when -their ova are deposited they are consequently matured into fry. Linnæus -backed up this idea, and asserted that there could be no impregnation -of the eggs of any animal out of the body, and as fish have no organs -of generation, there was in the mind of the great naturalist no more -feasible explanation of their mode of reproduction than that given in -Beloe’s _Herodotus_. It is this wonderfully exceptional principle in -the life of fish that has given rise to the art of pisciculture—_i.e._ -the artificial impregnation of the eggs of fish forcibly exuded from -these animals, which, as will be fully explained in another portion -of this work, are brought into contact with the milt, independent -altogether of the animal. - -The principle of fish life which brings the male and female together at -the period of spawning is unknown. It is supposed by some naturalists -that fish do not gather into shoals till they are about to perform -the grandest action of their nature, and that till that period each -animal lives a separate and individual life. If we set down the sense -of smell as the power which attracts the fish sexes, we shall be very -nearly correct: such cold-blooded animals cannot very well have any -more powerful instinct. A very clever Spanish writer on pisciculture -hints that the fish have no amatory feeling for each other at that -period, thus forming a curious exception to most other animals, and -that it is the smell of the roe in the female that attracts the -male. As the writer well expresses it—“The curious phenomenon of the -fecundation of the eggs or spawn of the female fish away from the -bowels of the mothers, and independent of their co-operation in every -way, constitutes an interesting exception to the almost universal law -of instinct and sympathy in the sexes—a law simple in its essence, as -are all nature’s laws, but most prolific in its results; for we see it -pass through all the phases of an immense series, from the phenomena -of organic attraction shown by the first-named living beings up to the -great passions of love and maternity in the human species, forming -the affectionate and solid bases of families and the imperishable -foundation of society.” - -This idea—viz. as to the shoaling of the fish at the period of spawning -only—has been prominently thrown out in regard to the herring by -parties who do not admit even of a partial migration from the deep to -the shallow water, which, however, is an idea that is stoutly held -by some writers on the herring question. It is rather interesting, -however, in connection with this phase of fish life, to note that -particular shoals of herrings deposit their spawn at particular -places, that the eggs come simultaneously to life, and that it is -quite certain that the young fish remain together for a considerable -period—a few months at least—after they are hatched. This is well -known from the fact of large bodies of young herrings having been -caught during the sprat season; these could not, of course, have been -assembled to spawn—they were too young and had no development of milt -or roe. This, if these fish separate, gives rise to the question—At -what period do the herrings begin their individual wanderings? Sprats, -of course—if sprats be sprats and not the young of the herring—may -have come together at the period when they are so largely captured -for the purpose of perpetuating their kind; but if so, they must live -long together before they acquire milt or roe. And how is it that -we so often find young herrings in the sprat shoals? Then, again, -how comes it that the fishermen do not frequently fall in with the -separate herrings during the white-fishing seasons? How is it that -fishermen find particular kinds of fish always on particular ground? -How is it that eels migrate in immense bodies? My opinion is, that -particular kinds of fish do hold always together, or at all events -gather at particular seasons into greater or lesser bodies. No doubt, -life among the inhabitants of the sea, if we could know it, is quite -as diversified as life on land, where we observe that many kinds of -animals colonise—ants, bees, etc. Are the old stories about each kind -of fish having a king so absolutely incredible after all? That there -are schools of fish is certain; how the great bodies may be divided can -only be guessed. - -Whatever may be the attracting cause, and however powerful the sexual -instinct may be among fish, it can scarcely be discussed fully -in a work which makes no pretension to being scientific or even -technological. It is noteworthy, however, that fish-eggs afford us an -admirable opportunity of studying a peculiarly interesting stage of -animal life—viz. the embryo stage—which naturally enough is rather -obscure in all animals. Having had opportunities of observing the -eggs of the salmon in all their stages of progress, from the period -of their first contact with the milt till the bursting of the egg and -the coming forth of the tiny fish, I will venture briefly to describe -what I have seen, because salmon eggs are of a convenient size for -continued examination. The roe of this fine fish is, I daresay, pretty -familiar to most of my readers. The microscope reveals the eggs of -the salmon as being more oval than round, although they appear quite -round to the naked eye. A yolk seems to float in the dim-looking mass, -and the skin or shell appears full of minute holes, while there is an -appearance of a kind of canal or funnel, which opens from the outside -and is apparently closed at the inner end. The milt is found to swarm -with a species of very small creatures with big heads and long tails, -apparently of very low organisation. On the contact of this fluid -with the egg, into which it enters by the canal I have described, an -immediate change takes place—the ovum, so to speak, becomes illuminated -as if by some curious internal power, and the aspect of the egg then -appears a great deal brighter and clearer than before; and it is surely -wonderful that on the mere touching of the egg with this wonder-working -sperm so great a change should take place—a change which indicates that -the grand process of reproduction characteristic of all living nature -has begun in the ovum, and will go on with increasing strength to -maturity. - -Beds containing salmon-spawn are so accessible, comparatively speaking, -as to render it easy to trace the development of the egg from the -embryo to the complete animal. I have personally watched the egg -from the date of its contact with the milt till the little salmon -has burst out of its fragile prison and waddled away to the shady -side of a friendly pebble, evidently anxious to hide its nakedness. -I was enabled, in fact, to hatch a few salmon eggs, brought from -Stormontfield last Christmas-day, by means of a very simple apparatus -in a printing-office, and had therefore an opportunity of daily -observation. As may be supposed, however, the transmutation of a salmon -egg into a fish is a tedious process, which takes above a hundred -days to accomplish. The eggs of the female under the natural system -of spawning are laid in the secluded and shallow tributary of some -choice stream, in a trough of gravel ploughed up by the fish with -great labour, and are there left to be wooed into life by the eternal -murmuring of the water. From November till March, through the storms -and floods of winter, the ova lie hid among the gravel, slowly but -surely quickening into life, and few persons would guess from a mere -casual glance at the tributary of a great salmon stream that it held -among its bubbling waters such a countless treasure of future fish. -A practised person will find out a burrow of salmon eggs with great -precision, and a little bit of water may contain perhaps a million -of eggs waiting to be summoned into life by the mysterious workings -of nature. During the first three weeks from the milting of the egg -scarcely any change is discernible in its condition, except that about -the end of that period it contains a brilliant spot, which gradually -increases in its brilliancy, when certain threads of blood begin -faintly to prefigure the anatomy of the young fish. After another -day or two, the bright spot seems to assume a ring-like form, having -a clear space in the centre, and the blood-threads then become more -and more apparent. These blood-like tracings are ultimately seen to -take an animal shape; but it would be difficult at first to say what -the animal may turn out to be—whether a tadpole or a salmon. After -this stage of the development is reached, two bright black specks are -then seen—the eyes of the fish. We can now, from day to day, note -the form as it gradually assumes a more perfect shape; we can see it -change palpably almost from hour to hour. After the egg has been laved -by the water for a hundred days, we can observe that the young fish -is then thoroughly alive and, to use a common expression, kicking. -We can see it moving and can study its anatomy, which, although as -yet very rudimentary, contains all the elements of the perfect fish. -Heat expedites the birth of the fish. The eggs of a minnow have been -sensibly advanced towards maturity by being held on the palm of the -hand. The spawn of the lobster has the advantage of being nursed on -the tail of the animal till it is just on the point of ripening into -life. Salmon eggs deposited early in the season, when the temperature -is high, come sooner to life than those spawned in mid-winter: indeed -there is a difference of as much as fifty days between those deposited -in September and those spawned in December, the one requiring ninety -days, the other one hundred and forty days to ripen into life. Salmon -have been brought to life in sixty days at Huningue; but the quickest -hatching ever accomplished at the Stormontfield breeding-ponds was when -the fish came to life in one hundred and twenty days. - -I have endeavoured to illustrate these early stages of fish life by a -drawing, which shows the eggs at about their natural size, as also the -advance of the fish in size and shape. - -[Illustration: EGGS OF THE SALMON KIND JUST HATCHING.] - -At the salmon-ponds of Stormontfield the eggs laid down the first -season were hatched in one hundred and twenty-eight days, but the eggs -of other fish have been known to come to life a great deal sooner. The -usual time for the hatching of salmon eggs in our northern rivers is -one hundred and thirty days, or between four and five months, according -to the openness or severity of the season. When at last the infant -animal bursts from the shell, it is a clumsy, unbalanced, tiny thing, -having attached to it the remains of the parental egg, which hamper -its movements; but after all, the remains of its little prison are -exceedingly useful, as for a space of about thirty days the young -salmon cannot obtain other nourishment than what is afforded by this -umbilical bag. - -[Illustration: SALMON A DAY OR TWO OLD.] - -We cannot, unfortunately, obtain a sight of the ripening eggs of any -of our sea fish at a time when they would prove useful to us. No one, -so far as I know, has seen the young herring burst from its shell -under such advantageous circumstances as we can view the salmon ova; -but I have seen the bottled-up spawn of that fish just after it had -ripened into life, the infant animal being remarkably like a fragment -of cotton thread that had fallen into the water: it moved about with -great agility, but required the aid of a microscope to make out that -it was a thing endowed with life. Who could suppose, while examining -those wavy floating threads, that in a few months afterwards they would -be grown into beautiful fish, with a mechanism of bones to bind their -flesh together, scales to protect their body, and fins to guide them in -the water? But young herring cannot be long bottled up for observation, -or be kept in an artificial atmosphere; for in that condition they die -almost before there is time to see them live; and when in the sea there -are no means of tracing them, because they are speedily lost in an -immensity of water. - -There are points of contrast between the salmon and the herring which -I cannot pass without notice. They form the St. Giles’ and St. James’ -of the fish world, the one being a portion of the rich man’s food, -and the other filling the poor man’s dish. The salmon is hedged round -by protecting Acts of Parliament, but the herring gets leave to grow -just as it swims, parliamentary statutes being thought unnecessary -for its protection. The salmon is born in its fine nursery, and is -wakened into life by the music of beautiful streams: it has nurses and -night-watchers, who hover over its cradle and guide its infant ways; -but the herring, like the brat of some wandering pauper, is dropped -in the great ocean workhouse, and cradled amid the hoarse roar of the -ravening waters; and whether it lives or dies is a matter of no moment, -and no one’s business. Herring mortality in its infantile stages is -appalling, and even in its old age, at a time when the rich man’s fish -is protected from the greed of its enemies, the herring is doomed to -suffer the most. And then, to finish up with the same appropriateness -as they have lived, the venison of the waters is daintily laid out on -a slab of marble, while the vulgar but beautiful herring is handled -by a dirty costermonger, who hurls it about in a filthy cart drawn by -a wretched donkey. At the hour of reproduction the salmon is guarded -with jealous care from the hand of man, whilst at the same season the -herring is offered up a wholesale sacrifice to the destroyer. It is -only at its period of spawning that the herring is fished. How comes it -to pass that what is a highly punishable crime in the one instance is -a government-rewarded merit in the other? To kill a gravid salmon is -as nearly as possible felony; but to kill a herring as it rests on the -spawning-bed is an act at once meritorious and profitable! - -Having given my readers a general idea of the fecundity of fish, and -the method of fructifying the eggs, and of the development of these -into fish—for, of course, the process will be nearly the same with all -kinds of fish eggs, the only difference perhaps being that the eggs -of some varieties will take a longer time to hatch than the eggs of -others—I will now pass on to consider the question of fish growth. - -All fish are not oviparous. There is a well-known blenny which is -viviparous, the young of which at the time of their birth are so -perfect as to be able to swim about with great ease; and this fish is -also very productive. Our skate fishes (Raiæ) are all viviparous. “The -young are enclosed in a horny capsule of an oblong square shape, with -a filament at each corner. It is nourished by means of an umbilical -bag till the due period of exclusion arrives, when it enters upon -an independent existence.” I could name a few other fish which are -viviparous. In the fish-room of the British Museum may be seen one of -these. It is known as _Ditrema argentea_, and is plentifully found in -the seas of South America. But our information on this portion of the -natural history of fish is very obscure at present. - -There are many facts of fish biography that have yet to be ascertained, -and which, if we knew them, would probably conduce to a stricter -economy of fish life and the better regulation of the fisheries. Beyond -a knowledge of mere generalities, the animal kingdom of the sea is a -sealed book. No person can tell, for example, how long a time elapses -from the birth of any particular sea fish till the period when it is -brought to table. Sea fish grow up unheeded—quite, in a sense, out of -the bounds of observation. Naturalists can only guess at what rate a -codfish grows. Even the life of a herring, in its most important phase, -is still a mystery; and at what age the mackerel or any other fish -becomes reproductive, who can say? The salmon is the one particular -fish that has as yet been compelled to render up to those inquiring -the secret of its birth and the ratio of its growth. (See _Natural and -Economic History of the Salmon_.) We have imprisoned this valuable -fish in artificial ponds, and by robbing it of its eggs have noted -when the young ones were born and how they grew. It would be equally -easy to devise a means of observing sea fish. Why should we not erect -a great marine observatory, where we could, as in the case of the -Stormontfield-bred salmon, watch the young fish burst from its shell, -and for a year or two observe and study the progress of the animal, and -ascertain its rate of growth, and especially the period at which it -becomes reproductive? The government might act upon this suggestion, -and vote a few thousand pounds annually for the support of a series of -marine fish-ponds; for something more is required than the resources of -an amateur naturalist to determine how fish live and grow. - -What naturalists chiefly and greatly need in respect of our sea fish -is, precise information as to their rate of growth. We have a personal -knowledge of the fact of the sea fish selecting our shores as a -spawning-ground, but we do not precisely know in some instances the -exact time of spawning, how long the spawn takes to quicken into life, -or at what rate the fish increase in growth. - -The eel may be taken as an example of our ignorance of fish life. Do -our professed naturalists know anything about it beyond its migratory -habits?—habits which, from sheer ignorance, have at one period or -another been guessed as pertaining to all kinds of fish. The tendency -to the romantic, specially exhibited in the amount of travelling power -bestowed by the elder naturalists on this class of animals, would seem -to be very difficult to put down. - -About two years ago an old story about the eel was gravely revived -by having the larger portion of a little book devoted to its -elucidation—an old story seriously informing us that the silver eel is -the product of a black beetle. But no one need wonder at a new story -about the eel, far less at the revival of this old one; for the eel is -a fish that has at all times experienced the greatest difficulty in -obtaining recognition as being anything at all in the animal world, or -as having respectable parentage of even the humblest kind. In fact, the -study of the natural history of the eel has been hampered by old-world -romances and quaint fancies about its birth, or, in its case, may I -not say invention? “The eel is born of the mud,” said one old author. -“It grows out of hairs,” said another. “It is the creation of the -dews of evening,” exclaimed a third. “Nonsense,” emphatically uttered -a fourth controversialist, “it is produced by means of electricity.” -“You are all wrong,” sserted a fifth, “the eel is generated from -turf;” and a sixth theorist, determined to outdo all the others and -come nearer the mark than any of his predecessors, assures the public -that the young fish are grown from particles scraped off the old ones! -The beetle theorist tells us that the silver eel is a neuter, having -neither milt nor roe, and is therefore quite incapable of perpetuating -its kind; and, in short, that it is a romance of nature, being _one_ -of the productions of some wondrous lepidopterous animals seen by Mr. -Cairncross (the author of the work alluded to) about the place where -he lived in Forfarshire, its other production being of its own kind, a -black beetle! The story of the rapid growth and transformation of the -salmon is—as will by and by be seen—wonderful enough in its way, but it -is certainly far surpassed by the extraordinary silver eel, which is at -one and the same time a fish and an insect. - -There can be no doubt that the eel is a curious enough animal even -without the extra attributes bestowed upon it by this very original -naturalist, for that fish is in many respects the opposite of the -salmon: it is spawned in the sea, and almost immediately after coming -to life proceeds to live in brackish or entirely fresh water. It is -another of the curious features of fish life that about the period -when eels are on their way to the sea, where they find a suitable -spawning-ground, salmon are on their way from the sea up to the -river-heads to fulfil the grand instinct of their nature—namely, -reproduction. The periodical migrations of the eel, on which instinct -has been founded the great fishing industry of Comacchio, on the -Adriatic, described in another portion of this volume, can be -observed in all parts of the globe, and they take place, according -to the climate, at different periods from February to May; the fish -frequenting such canals or rivers as have communication with the sea. -The myriads of young eels which ascend are almost beyond belief; they -are in numbers sufficient for the population of all the waters of -the globe—that is, if there were protective laws to shield them from -destruction, or reservoirs in which they might be preserved to be used -for food as required. The eel, indeed, is quite as prolific as the -generality of sea fish. As a corroboration of the prolificness of the -animal, it may be stated that eels have been noted—but that was some -years ago—to pass up the river Thames from the sea at the extraordinary -rate of eighteen hundred per minute! This _montee_ was called eel-fair. - -It is clear from certain facts in the history of this peculiar animal -that, like all other fish, it can suit its life and growth to whatever -circumstances it may be placed in, and seems to be quite able to -multiply and replenish its species in rivers and lakes as well as in -the sea. In Scotland eels are very seldom eaten, a strong prejudice -existing in that country against the fish on account of its serpentine -shape; but for all that the eel is a nutritious and palatable fish, and -is highly susceptible of the arts of the cook. At one time the eel was -thought to be viviparous, but naturalists now know better, having found -out that eels produce their young in the same way as most other fish do. - -It would be interesting, and profitable as well, to know as much of -any one of our sea fish as we now know of the salmon, but so little -progress is being made in observing the natural history of fish that we -cannot expect for some time to know much more than we do at present; -everything in the fish world seems so much to be taken for granted that -we are still inclined rather to revive the old traditions than to study -or search out new facts. Naturalists are so ignorant of how the work of -growth is carried on in the fish world—in fact, it is so difficult to -investigate points of natural history in the depths of the sea—that we -cannot wonder at less being known about marine animals than about any -other class of living beings. - -It is the want of precise information about the growth of the fish -that has of late been telling heavily against our fisheries, for in -the meantime all is fish that comes to the fisherman’s net, no matter -of what size the animals may be, or whether or not they have been -allowed time to perpetuate their kind. No person, either naturalist -or fisherman, knows how long a period elapses from the date of its -birth before a turbot or codfish becomes reproductive. It is now well -known, in consequence of the repeated experiments made with that fish, -that the salmon grows with immense rapidity, a consequence in some -degree of its quick digestive power. The codfish, again—and I reason -from the analogy of its greatly slower power of digesting its food and -from other corroborative circumstances—must be correspondingly slow -in its growth; but people must not, in consequence of this slow power -of digestion, believe all they hear about the miscellaneous articles -often said to be found in the stomach of a codfish, as a large number -of the curiosities found in the intestinal regions of his codship are -often placed there by fishermen, either by way of joke or in order to -increase the weight and so enhance the price of the animal. - -As regards the natural history of one of our best-known food fishes, I -have taken the pains to compile a brief _precis_ of its life from the -best account of it that is known, keeping in the background at present -any knowledge or speculation of my own regarding it. I allude to the -mackerel; and the following facts are from an evidently well-studied -chapter of Mr. Jonathan Couch’s _Fishes of the British Islands_, by -which it will be at once seen that our knowledge of the growing power -of this well-known fish is very defective. - -1. Mackerel, geographically speaking, are distributed over a wide -expanse of water, embracing the whole of the European coasts, as -well as the coasts of North America, and this fish may be caught as -far southward as the Canary Islands. 2. The mackerel is a wandering -unsteady fish, supposed to be migratory, but individuals are always -found in the British seas. 3. This fish appears off the British coasts -in quantity early in the year; that is, in January and February. 4. -The male kind are supposed to be more numerous than the female. 5. The -early appearance of this fish is not dependent on the weather. 6. The -mackerel, like the herring, was at one time supposed to be a native of -foreign seas. 7. This fish is laden with spawn in May, and it has been -known to deposit its eggs upon our shores in the following month. - -Such is a brief _resumé_ of Mr. Couch’s chapter on the mackerel. - -Now, we have no account here of how long it is ere the spawn of -the mackerel quickens into life, or at what age that fish becomes -reproductive, although in these two points is unquestionably obtained -the key-note to the natural history of all fishes, whether they be -salmon or sprats. In fact—and it is no particular demerit of Mr. Couch -more than of every other naturalist—we have no precise information -whatever on this point of growth power. We have at best only a few -guesses and general deductions, and we would like to know as regards -all fish—_1st_, When they spawn; _2d_, How long it is ere the spawn -quickens into life; and _3d_, At what period the young fish will be -able to repeat the story of their birth. These points once known—and -they are most essential to the proper understanding of the economy of -our fisheries—the chief remaining questions connected with fishing -industry would be of comparatively easy solution, and admit of our -regulating the power of capture to the natural conditions of supply. - -[Illustration: WHITEBAIT GROUND NEAR QUEENSFERRY.] - -As another example of our ignorance of fish life, I may instance that -diminutive member of the Clupea family—the whitebait. This fish, which -is so much better known gastronomically than it is scientifically, was -thought at one time to be found only in the Thames, but it is much -more generally diffused than is supposed. It is found for certain, -and in great plenty, in three rivers—viz., the Thames, the Forth, and -the Hamble. I have also seen it taken out of the Humber, not far from -Hull, and have heard of its being caught near the mouth of the Deveron, -on the Moray Firth; and likewise of its being found in plentiful -quantities off the Isle of Wight. Mr. Stewart, the natural history -draughtsman, tells me also that he has seen it taken in bushels on -many parts of the Clyde, and that at certain seasons, while engaged in -taking coal-fish, he has found them so stuffed with whitebait that by -holding the large fish by the tail the little silvery whitebait have -fallen out in handfuls. The whitebait has become celebrated from the -mode in which it is cooked, and the excuse it affords to Londoners for -an afternoon’s excursion, as also from its forming a famous dish at the -annual fish-dinner of her Majesty’s ministers; but truth compels me -to state that there is nothing in whitebait beyond its susceptibility -of taking on a flavour from the skill of the cook. It is poor feeding -when compared to a dish of sprats, or (an illegal) fry of young -salmon; and it has been said in joke that an expert cook can make up -capital whitebait by means of flour and oil! But to eat whitebait is -a fashion of the season, and the well-served tables of the Greenwich -and Blackwall taverns, with their pleasant outlook to the river, and -their inducements of chablis and other choice wines and comestibles, -are undoubtedly very attractive, whether the persons partaking of these -dainties be ministers of state or merchants’ clerks. - -The whitebait, however, if I cannot honestly praise it as a table fish, -is particularly interesting as an object of natural history, there -having been from time to time, as in the case of most other fish, -some very learned disputes as to where it comes from, how it grows, -and whether or not it be a distinct member of the herring family or -the young of some other fish. The whitebait—which, although found in -rivers, is strictly speaking a sea fish—is a tiny animal, varying in -length, when taken for cooking purposes, from two to four inches, and -has never been seen of a greater length than five inches. In appearance -it is pale and silvery, with a greenish back, and ought to be cooked -immediately after being caught; indeed if, like Lord Lovat’s salmon, -whitebait could leap out of the water into the frying-pan, it would be -a decided advantage to those dining upon it, for if kept even for a few -hours it becomes greatly deteriorated, and, as a consequence, requires -all the more cooking to bring the flavour up to the proper pitch of -gastronomic excellence. In fact, it is necessary to keep the fish alive -in a tub of water, and to ladle them out for the process of cooking -as the guests may arrive. Perhaps, as all fish are chameleon-like in -reflecting not only the colour of their abode, but what they feed on -as well, the supposed fine flavour of whitebait, so far as it is not -conferred upon that fish by the cook, may arise from the matters held -in solution in the Thames water, and so the result from the corrupt -source of the supply may be a quicker than ordinary decay. The waters -of the Forth at the whitebait ground, of which I have given a slight -sketch, are clean and clear, a little way above Inchgarvie, where the -sprat-fishing is usually carried on, and the whitebait taken there -are in consequence slightly different in colour, and greatly so in -taste, from those obtained in the Thames; in fact, all kinds of fish, -including salmon, are able to live and thrive in the Firth of Forth. It -is long since the refined salmon forsook the Thames, but then salmon -are very delicate in their eating, and at once take on the surrounding -flavour, whatever that may be. Creditable attempts are now being -made to re-stock the Thames, especially the upper waters, with more -valuable fish than are at present contained in that river, but whether -these attempts will be successful yet remains to be seen. I have been -watching with great interest what is being done by Mr. Frank Buckland -and others; but salmon I fear cannot at present live in the Thames. -To thrive successfully, that fish must have access to the sea, and -how a salmon can ever penetrate to the salt water with the river in -its present state is a problem that must be left for future solution; -however, as Mr. Frank Buckland very truthfully remarks, if the salmon -are not first sent down the Thames they cannot be expected ever to come -up that noble river. - -Returning, however, to our whitebait, it may be stated that that fish -was once thought to be the young of the shad, which is itself an -interesting fish, coming from the sea to deposit its spawn in the fresh -waters. The shad was at one time thought to be the patriarch of the -herring tribe; and it was said, in the days when the old theory about -the migration of the herring was believed in, that the great shoals -which came to this country from the icy seas of the high latitudes were -led on their wonderful tour by a few thousands of this gigantic fish. -Pennant conjectured that whitebait was an independent species, but so -difficult is it to investigate such facts in the water that it was not -till many years had elapsed that the question was set at rest so far as -to determine at any rate that whitebait were not the young of either -the Alice or the Twaite shad, which, by the by, is a coarse and insipid -fish— - - “_Alusæ_, crackling on the embers, are - Of wretched poverty the insipid fare.” - -Some investigations I have in hand may settle the question whether -or not the whitebait be herring-fry or a distinct fish. As yet I -have never at any season of the year found an example of whitebait -containing either milt or roe, although it is said that examples may -be taken full of both during the early winter months. This, of course, -is not conclusive evidence of its being the young of some other fish, -although it would go some length in proving it a distinct species; but -I need not enter further into the controversy at present, as it is not -of much interest to the general reader, except to say that whitebait, -whatever species it may belong to, comes up from the sea, where it has -been spawned, to feed in the river. I may mention that this fish cannot -now be taken so far up the river Thames as formerly. Whitebait are now -usually caught between Gravesend and Woolwich, and the fish are in -their best season between April and September. It is not unusual for -sea fish to ascend our rivers: the eel, as I have already narrated, -spawns in the sea, and the young of that fish ascend to the fresh -water, in which they live till they are seized with the migratory -instinct. The parentage of the whitebait will be discovered in the sea, -and the changes undergone by fish during their growth are so varied and -curious that it would be difficult to predict what the little whitebait -may turn out to be—whiting perhaps! After being told that the silver -eel is the produce of a black beetle, and knowing that a tadpole is an -infantile frog, and that the zœa ultimately becomes a crab, we need -not wonder if we are some day told that whitebait becomes in time -metamorphosed into some other entirely different fish! - -Besides whitebait there are other mysterious fish—especially in -Scotland—which are well worthy of being alluded to. An idea prevails -in Scotland that the vendace of Lochmaben and the powan of Lochlomond -are really herrings forced into fresh water, and slightly altered by -the circumstances of a new dwelling-place, change of food, and other -causes. One learned person lately ascribed the presence of sea fish in -fresh water to the great wave which had at one time passed over the -country. But no doubt the real cause is that these peculiar fish were -brought to those lakes ages ago by monks or other persons who were -adepts in the piscicultural art. - -[Illustration: LOCHMABEN. -The home of the Vendace.] - -A brief summary of the chief points in the habits of these mysterious -fish may interest the reader. The “vendiss,” as it is locally called, -occurs nowhere but in the waters at Lochmaben, in Dumfriesshire; and -it is thought by the general run of the country people to be, like -the powan of Lochlomond, a fresh-water herring. The history of this -fish is quite unknown, but it is thought to have been introduced into -the Castle Loch of Lochmaben in the early monkish times, when it was -essential, for the proper observance of church fasts, to have an -ample supply of fish for fast-day fare. It is curious as regards the -vendace that they float about in shoals, that they make the same kind -of poppling noise as the herring, and that they cannot be easily taken -by any kind of bait. At certain seasons of the year the people assemble -for the purpose of holding a vendace feast, at which times large -quantities of the fish are caught by means of a sweep net. The fish is -said to have been found in other waters besides those of Lochmaben, but -I have never been able to see a specimen anywhere else. There are a -great number of traditions afloat about the vendace, and a story of its -having been introduced to the lake by Mary Queen of Scots. The country -people are very proud of their fish, and take a pride in showing it -to strangers. The principal information I can give about the vendace, -without becoming technical, is, that it is a beautiful and very -symmetrical fish, about seven or eight inches long, not at all unlike -a herring, only not so brilliant in the colour; and that the females -of the vendace seem to be about a third more numerous than the males—a -characteristic which is also observed in the salmon family. The vendace -spawn about the beginning of winter, and for this purpose gather, like -the herring, into shoals. They are very productive, and do not take -long to grow to maturity. - -The peculiarities of the Lochleven trout may be chiefly ascribed to a -peculiar feeding-ground. Having lived at one time on the banks of this -far-famed loch, I had ample time and many opportunities of studying -the habits and anatomy, as well as the fine flavour, of this beautiful -fish, which, in my humble opinion, has no equal in any other waters. -Feeding I believe to be everything, whether the subjects operated upon -be cattle, capons, or carps. The land-locked bays of Scotland afford -richer flavoured fish than the wider expanses of water, where the -finny tribe, it may be, are much more numerous, but have not the same -quantity or variety of food, and, as a consequence, the fish obtained -in such places are comparatively poor both in size and flavour. Nothing -can be more certain than that a given expanse of water will feed only -a certain number of fish; if there be more than the feeding-ground -will support they will be small in size, and if the fish again be very -large it may be taken for granted that the water could easily support -a few more. It is well known, for instance, that the superiority of -the herrings caught in the inland sea-lochs of Scotland is owing to -the fish finding there a better feeding-ground than in the large and -exposed open bays. Look, for instance, at Lochfyne: the land runs down -to the water’s edge, and the surface water or drainage carries with it -rich food to fatten the loch, and put flesh on the herring; and what -fish is finer, I would ask, than a Lochfyne herring? Again, in the -bay of Wick, which is the scene of the largest herring fishery in the -world, the fish have no land food, being shut out from such a luxury by -a vast sea wall of everlasting rock; and the consequence is, that the -Wick herrings are not nearly so rich in flavour as those taken in the -sea-lochs of the west of Scotland. In the same way I account for the -rich flavour and beautiful colour of the trout of Lochleven. This fish -has been acclimatised with more or less success in other waters, but -when transplanted it deteriorates in flavour, and gradually loses its -beautiful colour—another proof that much depends on the feeding-ground; -indeed, the fact of the trout having deteriorated in quality as a -consequence of the abridgment of their feeding-range, is on this point -quite conclusive. I feel certain, however, that there must be more than -one kind of these Lochleven trouts; there is, at any rate, one curious -fact in their life worth noting, and that is, that they are often in -prime condition for table use when other trouts are spawning. - -The powan, another of the mysterious fish of Scotland, is also -considered to be a fresh-water herring, and thought to be confined -exclusively to Lochlomond, where they are taken in great quantities. -It is supposed by persons versed in the subject that it is possible to -acclimatise sea fish in fresh water, and that the vendace and powan, -changed by the circumstances in which they have been placed, are, or -were, undoubtedly herrings. The fish in Lochlomond also gather into -shoals, and on looking at a few of them one is irresistibly forced to -the conclusion, that in size and shape they are remarkably like the -common herring. The powan of Lochlomond and the pollan of Lough Neagh -are not the same fish, but both belong to the Coregoni: the powan is -long and slender, while the pollan is an altogether stouter fish, -although well shaped and beautifully proportioned. - -I could analyse the natural history of many other fish, but the result -in all cases is nearly the same, and ends in a repeated expression -that what we require as regards all fish is the date of their period -of reproduction; all other information without this great fact is -comparatively unimportant. It is difficult, however, to obtain any -reliable information on the natural history of fish either by way -of inquiry or by means of experiments. Naturalists cannot live in -the water, and those who live on it, and have opportunities for -observation, have not the necessary ability to record, or at any rate -to generalise what they see. No two fishermen, for instance, will agree -on any one point regarding the animals of the deep. I have examined -every intelligent fisherman I have met within the last ten years, -numbering above one hundred, and few of them have any real knowledge -regarding the habits of the fish which it is their business to capture. -As an instance of fishermen’s knowledge, one of that body recently -repeated to me the old story of the migration of the herring, holding -that the herring comes from Iceland to spawn, and that the sprat goes -to the same icy region in order that it may fulfil the same instinct. - -“Where are the haddocks?” I once asked a Newhaven fisherman. “They are -about all eaten up, sir,” was his very innocent reply; and I believe -this to be true. The shore races of that fish have long disappeared, -and our fishermen have now to seek this most palatable inhabitant of -the sea afar off in the deep waters. Vast numbers of the haddock used -to be taken in the Firth of Forth, but during late years they have -become very scarce, and the boats now require to go a night’s voyage -to seek for them. If we knew the minutiæ of the life of this fish, -we should be better able to regulate the season for its capture, and -the percentage that we might with safety take from the water without -deteriorating the breeding power of the animal. There are some touches -of romance even about the haddock, but I need not further allude to -these in this division of my book, as I shall have to refer to it -again under the head of the “White Fish Fisheries.” It is, like all -fish, wonderfully prolific, and is looked upon by the fishermen as -being also a migratory fish, as are also the turbot and many other sea -animals. - -The family to which the haddock belongs embraces many of our best -food fish, as whiting, cod, ling, etc.; but of the growth and habits -of the members of this family we are as ignorant as we are of the -natural history of the whitebait or sprat. I have the authority of a -rather learned Buckie fisherman (recently drowned, poor fellow! in the -great storm on the Moray Frith) for stating that codfish do not grow -at a greater rate than from eight to twelve ounces per annum. This -fisherman had seen a cod that had got enclosed by some accident in a -large rock pool, and so had obtained for a few weeks the advantage of -studying its powers of digestion, which he found to be particularly -slow, although there was abundant food. The haddock, which is a far -more active fish, my informant considered to grow at a more rapid rate. -On asking this man about the food of fishes, he said he was of opinion -that they preyed extensively upon each other, but that, so far as his -opportunities of observation went, they did not as a matter of course -live upon each other’s spawn; in other words, he did not think that the -enormous quantities of roe and milt given to fish were provided, as -has been supposed by one or two writers on the subject, for any other -purpose than the keeping up of the species. The spawn of all kinds of -fish is extensively wasted by other means; and these animals have no -doubt a thousand ways of obtaining food that are yet unknown to man; -indeed, the very element in which they live is in a sense a great mass -of living matter, and it doubtless affords by means of minute animals -a wonderful source of supply. Fish, too, are less dainty in their food -than is generally supposed, and some kinds eat garbage of the most -revolting description with great avidity. - -I take this opportunity of correcting the very common error that all -fish are migratory. Some fishermen, and naturalists as well, picture -the haddock and the herring as being afflicted with perpetual motion—as -being wanderers from sea to sea and shore to shore. The migratory -instinct in fish is, in my opinion, very limited. They do move about a -little, without doubt, but not further than from their feeding-ground -to their spawning-ground—from deep to shallow water. Some plan of -taking fish other than the present must speedily be devised; for now -we only capture them—and I take the herring as an example—over their -spawning-ground, when, according to all good authority, they must -be in their worst possible condition, their whole flesh-forming or -fattening power having been bestowed on the formation of the milt and -roe. I repudiate altogether this iteration of the periodical wandering -instincts of the finny tribes. There are great fish colonies in the -sea, in the same way as there are great seats of population on land, -and these fish colonies are stationary, having, comparatively speaking, -but a limited range of water in which to live and die. Adventurous -individuals of the fish world occasionally roam far away from home, and -speedily find themselves in a warmer or colder climate, as the case may -be; but, speaking generally, as the salmon returns to its own waters, -so do sea fish keep to their own colony. - -Our larger shoals of fish, which form money-yielding industries, are -of wonderful extent, and must have been gathering and increasing for -ages, having a population multiplied almost beyond belief. Century -after century must have passed away as these colonies grew in size, -and were subjected to all kinds of influences, evil or good: at times -decimated by enemies, or perhaps attacked by mysterious diseases, that -killed the fish in tens of thousands. At Rockall, for instance, there -was lately discovered a cod depôt, about which a kind of sensation -was made—perhaps by interested parties—in the public prints, but the -supply obtained at that place was only of brief duration. This fish -colony, which had evidently fixed upon a good food-giving centre, was -too infantile to be able to stand the heavy draughts that were all at -once made upon it. Schools or shoals of fish, when they are of such an -extent as will admit of constant fishing, must have been forming during -long periods of time; for we know that, despite the wonderful fecundity -of all kinds of sea fish, the expenditure of both seed and life is -something tremendous. We may rest assured that, if a female codfish -yields its roe by millions, a balancing-power exists in the water that -prevents the bulk of them from coming to life, or at any rate from -reaching maturity. If it were not so, how came it, in the days when -there was no fish commerce, and when man only killed the denizens -of the sea for the supply of his individual wants, that our waters -were not, so to speak, impassable from a superfluity of fish? Buffon -has said that if a pair of herrings were left to breed and multiply -undisturbed for a period of twenty years, they would yield a fish bulk -equal to the whole of the globe in which we live! - -The subject of fish growth—particularly as regards the changes -undergone by the salmon family—will be found further elucidated under -the head of “Fish Culture,” and incidentally in some other divisions of -this work. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -FISH COMMERCE. - - Early Fish Commerce—Sale of Fresh-water Fish—Cured Fish—Influence - of Rapid Transit on the Fisheries—Fish-ponds—The Logan Pond—Ancient - Fishing Industries—The Dutch Herring Fishing—Comacchio—the Art - of Breeding Eels—Progress of Fishing in Scotland—A Scottish - Buss—Newfoundland Fisheries—The Greenland Whale Fishing—Speciality of - different Fishing Towns—The General Sea Fisheries of France—French - Fish Commerce—Statistics of the British Fisheries. - - -There was a time when man only killed the denizens of the deep in order -to supply his own immediate wants, and it is very much to be regretted, -in the face of the extensive fish commerce now carried on, that no -reliable documents exist from which to write a consecutive history of -the rise and progress of fishing. - -In the absence of precise information, it may be allowed us to guess -that even during the far back ages fish was esteemed as an article of -diet, and formed an important contribution to the food resources of -such peoples as had access to the sea, or who could obtain the finny -inhabitants of the deep by purchase or barter. In the Old and New -Testaments, and in various ancient profane histories, fish and fishing -are mentioned very frequently; and in what may be called modern times a -few scattered dates, indicating the progress of the sea fisheries, may, -by the exercise of great industry and research, be collected; but these -are not in any sense consecutive, or indeed very reliable, so that we -are, as it were, compelled to imagine the progress of fish commerce, -and to picture in our mind’s eye its transition from the period when -the mere satisfaction of individual wants was all that was cared for, -to a time when fish began to be bartered for land goods—such as farm, -dairy, and garden produce—and to trace, as we best can, that commerce -through these obscure periods to the present time, when the fisheries -form a prominent outlet for capital, are a large source of national -revenue, and are attracting, because of these qualities, an amount of -attention never before bestowed upon them. - -Fish commerce being an industry naturally arising out of the immediate -wants of mankind, has unfortunately, as regards the article dealt in, -been invested with an amount of exaggeration that has no parallel -in other branches of industry. Blunders perpetrated long ago in -Encyclopædias and other works, when the life and habits of all kinds -of fish, from the want of investigation, were but little understood, -have been, with those additions which under such circumstances always -accumulate, handed down to the present day, so that even now we are -carrying on some of our fisheries on altogether false assumptions, and -in many cases evidently killing the goose for the sake of the golden -egg: in other words, never dreaming that there will be a fishing -to-morrow, which must be as important, or even more important, than the -fishing of to-day, beyond which the fisher class as a rule never look. - -It is curious to note that there was in most countries a commerce -in fresh-water fish long before the food treasures of the sea were -broken upon. This is particularly noticeable in our own country, and -is vouched for by many authorities both at home and abroad. We can all -imagine also, that in the prehistoric or very early ages, when the -land was untilled and virgin, and the earth was undrained, there were -sources for the supply of fresh-water fish that do not now exist in -consequence of the enhanced value of land. At the period to which I -have been alluding there was a much greater water surface than there -is now—rivers were broader and deeper, and so also were our lakes and -marshes. In those early days, although not so early as the remote -uncultivated age of which I have spoken, there were great inland stews -populous with fish, especially in connection with monasteries and other -religious houses, many examples of which, in their remains, are still -to be seen in England or on the Continent. In fact, fish commerce, in -despite of many curious industries connected with the productiveness -of the fisheries, was not really developed till a few years ago, when -the railway system of carriage began. Even up to the time of George -Stephenson commerce in fish was generally speaking a purely local -business, except in so far as the fishwives could extend the trade by -carrying the contents of their husbands’ boats away inland, in order, -as in the still more primitive times, to barter the fish for other -produce. The fishermen of Comacchio, for instance, still cure their -eels, because they have not the means of sending them so rapidly into -the interior of Italy as would admit of their being eaten fresh. Scotch -salmon in the beginning of the present century was nearly all kippered -or cured as soon as caught, because the demand for the fresh fish was -only local, and therefore limited. With the discovery that salmon by -being packed in ice could be kept a long time fresh, the trade began to -extend and the price to rise. This discovery, which exercised a very -important influence on the value of our salmon-fisheries, was made by a -country gentleman of Scotland, Mr. Dempster of Dunnichen, in the year -1780. Steamboat and railway transit, when they became general, at once -converted salmon into a valuable commodity; and such is now the demand, -from facility of transport, that this particular fish, from its great -individual value, has been lately in some danger of being exterminated -through the greed of the fishery tenants; indeed, it cannot be said -that it is yet safe, for every tenant thinks it legitimate to kill all -the fish he can see. - -The network of railways which now encircles the land has conferred -upon our inland towns, so far as fish is concerned, all the advantages -of the coast. For instance, the fishermen of Prestonpans send more -of their fish to Manchester than to Edinburgh, which is only nine -miles distant: indeed our most landward cities are comparatively -well supplied with fresh fish and crustacea, while at the seaside -these delicacies are not at all plentiful. The Newhaven fishwife is -a common visitant in many of our larger Scottish inland towns, being -able by means of the railway to take a profitable journey; indeed, -one consequence of the extension of our railways has undoubtedly been -to add enormously to the demand for sea produce, and to excite the -ingenuity of our seafaring population to still greater cunning and -industry in the capture of all kinds of fish. In former years, when a -large haul of fish was taken there was no means of despatching them to -a distance, neither was there a resident population to consume what was -caught. Railways not being then in existence, the conveyance inland -was too slow for a perishable commodity like fish, and visitors to the -seaside were also rarer than at present. The want of a population to -eat the fish no doubt aided the comfortable delusion of our supplies -being inexhaustible. But it is now an undoubted fact, that with -railways branching out to every pier and quay, our densely-populated -inland towns are better supplied with fish than the villages where -they are caught—a result of that keen competition which has at length -become so noticeable where fish, oysters, or other sea delicacies are -concerned. The high prices now obtained form an inducement to the -fishermen to take from the water all they can get, whether the fish -be ripe for food or not. A practical fisherman, whom I have often -consulted on these topics, says that forty years ago the slow system of -carriage was a sure preventive of overfishing, as fish, to be valuable -for table purposes, require to be fresh. “It’s the railways that has -done all the mischief, sir, depend on that; and as for the fishing, -sir, it’s going on at such a rate that there will very soon be a -complete famine. I’ve seen more fish caught in a day, sir, with a score -of hooks on a line than can now be got with eight thousand!” - -[Illustration] - -As to fish-ponds: at the time indicated it was quite usual for noblemen -and other country gentlemen to have fish-ponds; in fact, a fish-pond -was as necessary an adjunct of a large country house as its vegetable -or fruit garden. These ponds, as the foregoing sketch will show, were -of the most simple kind, and were often enough constructed by merely -stopping a little stream at some suitable place, and so forming a -couple of artificial lakes, in which were placed a few large stones, -or two or three bits of artificial rock-work, so constructed as to -afford shelter to the fish. There being in those days no railways or -other speedy conveyance, there arose a necessity for fish-ponds to -persons who were in the habit of entertaining guests or giving great -dinner-parties; hence also the multiplicity of recipes in our older -cookery-books for the dressing of all kinds of fresh-water fishes; -besides, in the very ancient times, that is before the Reformation, -when Roman Catholicism required a rigorous observance of the various -church fasts, a fish-pond near every cathedral city, and in the -precincts of every monastery, was a _sine qua non_. The varieties of -fish bred in these ponds were necessarily very limited, being usually -carp, some of which, however, grew to a very large size. There are -traces also of some of our curious and valuable fishes having been -introduced into this country during those old monastic times. Thus it -is thought, as has been already stated, that the celebrated trout of -Lochleven may have been introduced from foreign parts by some of the -ancient monks who had a taste for gastronomy. The celebrated vendace of -Lochmaben is likewise supposed to have been introduced in the same way -from some continental fishery. - -As I have already shown, most of the fish-ponds of these remote times -were quite primitive in their construction—very similar, in fact, to -the beautiful trout-pond that may any day be seen at Wolfsbrunnen, near -Heidelberg. There were no doubt ponds of large extent and of elaborate -construction, but these were comparatively rare; and even on the very -sea-coast we used to have ponds or storing-places for sea fish. One of -these is still in existence: I allude to Logan Pond in Galloway. This -is only used as a place for keeping fish so as to have them attainable -for table uses without the family having to depend on the state of the -weather. This particular pond is not an artificially-constructed one, -but has been improved out of the natural surrounding of the place. It -is a basin, formed in the solid rock, ten yards in depth, and having -a circumference of one hundred and sixty feet. It is used chiefly as a -preserve to ensure a constant supply of fish, which are taken in the -neighbouring bay when the weather is fine, and transferred to the pond, -which communicates with the sea by a narrow passage. It is generally -well stocked with cod, haddock, and flat fish, which in the course -of time become very tame; and I regret to say, from want of proper -shelter, most of the animals become blind. The fish have of course to -be fed, and they partake greedily, even from the hand of their keeper, -of the mass of boiled mussels, limpets, whelks, etc., with which they -are fed, and their flavour is really unexceptionable. - -Coming back, however, to the subject of fresh-water fish-ponds, it -may be stated that at one time some very large but simply-constructed -fish-ponds, or stews as they were then called, existed in various parts -of England, but that, as the commerce in sea fish gradually extended, -these were given up, except as adjuncts to the amenities of gentlemen’s -pleasure-grounds. Ornamental canals and fish-ponds are not at all -uncommon in the parks of our country gentlemen, although they are not -required for fish-breeding purposes, as the fast London or provincial -trains carry baskets of fish to a distance of one hundred miles in a -very few hours, so that a turbot or whiting is in excellent condition -for a late dinner. - -All the ancient fishing industries, whether those that still exist or -those that are extinct, except in their remains, bear traces of the -times in which they originated. Pisciculture (which I shall describe at -some length by and by) arose at a very ancient period, and was chiefly -resorted to in connection with fresh-water fishes—the ova of such being -the most readily obtainable; or with the mollusca, as these could -bear a long transport, having a reservoir of water in their shell. -The sea fishers of the olden time dealt with the fish for the purpose -of their being cured with salt or otherwise, simply, as has already -been stated, because of the scarcity of rapid land carriage and a -comparatively scanty local population. - -[Illustration: PACKING HERRINGS.] - -The particular fishing industry which has bulked largest in literature, -and which was pursued after a systematic fashion, is, or rather was, -that of the Dutch, for Holland does not at present make her mark so -largely on the waters as she was wont to do, being at present far -surpassed in fishing enterprise by Scotland and other countries. The -particular fish coveted by the Dutch people was the herring, and I have -recently had the pleasure of examining a set of engravings procured in -Amsterdam, that convey a graphic idea of the great importance that was -attached by the Dutch themselves to their herring-fishery. This series -of sixteen peculiarly Dutch plates begins at the beginning of the -fishery, as is indeed proper it should, by showing us a party busy at a -seaside cottage knitting the herring nets; one or two busses are seen -in the distance busy at work. We are then shown, on the banks of one -of the numerous Dutch canals, a lot of quaint-looking coopers engaged -in preparing the barrels, while next in order comes a representation -of the preparing and victualing of the buss, which is surrounded by -small boats, and crowded with an active population all engaged in -getting the vessel ready for sea—barrels of provisions, breadths of -netting, and various necessaries, are being got on board. Then follow -plates, of which the foregoing is a specimen, showing us the equipment -of various other kinds of boats, which again are succeeded by a view -of the busses among the shoals of herring, the big mast struck, most -of the sails furled, and the men busy hauling in the nets, which are -of course, as is fitting in a picture, laden with fish. Various other -boats are also shown at work, as the great hoy, a one-masted vessel, -that is apparently furnished with a seine-net, and the great double -shore or sea-boar, which is an open boat. Then we have the herring-buss -coming gallantly into the harbour, with its sails all set and its flags -all flying—its hull deep in the water, which seems to frolic lovingly -round its prow as if glad at its safe return. Next, of course, there is -a scene on the shore, where the pompous-looking curer and his servants -are seen congratulating each other amid the bustle of surrounding -commerce and labour; dealers, too, are figured in these engravings, -with their wheelbarrows drawn by dogs of unmistakable Dutch build, and -there are also to be seen in the picture many other elements of that -industry peculiar to all fishing towns, whether ancient or modern. - -The next scene of this fishing panorama is the herring banquet or -feast, where the king, or mayhap the rich owner of a fleet of busses, -sits grandly at table, with his wife and daughter, attended by a butler -and a black footman, partaking of the first fruits of the fishery. -After this follows a view of the fishmarket, with portraits of the -fishwives, and altogether thoroughly indicative of their peculiar -way of doing business, which is always the same, whether the scene -be laid in ancient Holland or in modern Billingsgate. Next comes a -picture of the various buyers of the commodity on their way home, -of course by the side of a canal, with their purchases of deep-sea, -shore, state, and red herrings. The next scene of the series is a -smoking-house, partially obscured by wreaths of smoke, where the -herrings are being red-ed; and the series is appropriately wound up -with a tableau representing the important process of repairing the -damaged nets—the whole conveying a really graphic, although not very -artistic, delineation of this highly characteristic Dutch industry. A -few plates illustrative of the whale-fisheries of Holland are appended -to the series I have been describing—for whale-fishing in the seas -of Greenland was also in those days one of the industries of the -hardworking Dutch. - -The old saying that Amsterdam was built on herring bones frequently -used to symbolise the fishing power of Holland. It is thought that -the industry of the Dutch people was first drawn to the value of -the sea fisheries by the settlement of some Scottish fishermen in -their country. I cannot vouch for the truth of this statement as to -the Scottish emigration, but I believe it was a Fleming who first -discovered the virtues of pickled herrings, and it is also known that -the capture of the herring was a chief industry on the sea-board of -all the Low Countries, and it is likewise instructive to learn that -at a time when our own fisheries were very much undeveloped the Dutch -people found our seas to be a mine of gold, so productive were they in -fish, and so famous did the Dutch cure of herrings become. We are not -called on, however, to credit all the stories of miraculous draughts -taken, and store of wealth garnered up, by the plodding Hollanders. -We must bear in mind that when the Dutch began to fish the seas as -a field of industry were nearly virgin, and that that people had -at one time this great source of wealth all to themselves. At that -particular period, likewise, there was no limit to the supply, the -fishermen having but to dip their nets in the water in order to have -them filled. No wonder, therefore, that the fisheries of Holland grew -into a prominent industry, and became at one time the one absorbing -hobby of the nation. Busses in large fleets were fitted out and -manned, till in time the Dutch came to be reputed as the greatest -fishers in the world. But great as was the fishing industry of those -days in Holland, and industrious as the Dutch undoubtedly were, it is -evident that there has been a considerable amount of exaggeration as -to the results, more especially in regard to the enormous quantities -of fish that are said to have been captured and cured. But whatever -this total might be was not of great consequence. The mere quantity of -fish caught is perhaps, although a considerable one, the smallest of -the many benefits conferred on a nation by an energetic pursuit of its -fisheries. The fishermen must have boats, and these must be fitted with -sails, rigging, etc.; and, moreover, the boats must be manned by an -efficient crew; then the curing and sale of the fish give employment to -a large number of people as well; whilst the articles of cure—as salt, -barrels, etc.—must of necessity be largely provided, and are all of -them the result of some kind of trained industry: and all these varied -circumstances of demand combine to feed the particular industrial -pursuit I am describing. And the fisheries provide, besides, a grand -nursery for seamen, which is, perhaps, in a country like ours, having a -powerful navy, the greatest of all the benefits conferred. - -I have taken the pains to collate as many of the figures of the Dutch -fishery as I could collect during an industrious search, and I find -that, in the zenith of its prosperity, after the proclamation of the -independence of the States of Holland, three thousand boats were -employed in her own bays, while sixteen hundred herring busses fished -industriously in British waters, while eight hundred larger vessels -prosecuted the cod and whale fisheries at remote distances. In the -year 1603 we are informed that the Dutch sold herrings to the amount -of £4,759,000, besides what they themselves consumed. We are also told -that in 1618 they had twelve thousand vessels engaged in this branch of -the fishery, and that these ships employed about two hundred thousand -men. It must have been a splendid sight, on every 24th of June, to -witness the departure of the great fleet from the Texel; and as most of -the Dutch people were more or less interested in the prosperity of the -fishery, either as labourers or employers of labour, there would be no -lack of spectators on these occasions. The Wick herring drave of twelve -hundred boats is, as I will by and by endeavour to show, an industrial -sight of no common kind, but it must give way before the picturesque -fleet of Holland, as it sailed away from the Texel about three hundred -years ago. - -Long before the organisation of the Dutch fisheries there existed a -quaint colony of Italian fisher people on the borders of a more poetic -water than the Zuyder Zee. I allude to the eel-breeders of Comacchio on -the Adriatic. This particular fishing industry is of very considerable -antiquity, as we have well-authenticated statistics of its produce, -extending back over three centuries. The lagoons of Comacchio afford -a curious example of what may be done by design and labour. This -place was at one time a great unproductive swamp, about one hundred -and forty miles in circumference, accessible to the waves of the sea, -where eels, leeches, and the other inhabitants of such watery regions, -sported about unmolested by the hand of man; and its inhabitants—the -descendants of those who first populated its various islands—isolated -from the surrounding civilisation, and devoid of ambition, have long -been contented with their obscure lot, and have even remained to this -day without establishing any direct communication with surrounding -countries. - -The precise date at which the great lagoon of Comacchio was formed into -a fish-pond is not known, but so early as the year 1229 the inhabitants -of the place—a community of fishers as quaint, superstitious, and -peculiar as those of Buckie on the Moray Firth, or any other ancient -Scottish fishing port—proclaimed Prince Azzo d’Este Lord of Comacchio; -and from the time of this appointment the place grew in prosperity, and -the fisheries from that date began to assume an organisation and design -which had not before that time been their characteristic. The waters -of the lagoon were dyked out from those of the Adriatic, and a series -of canals and pools were formed suitable for the requirements of the -peculiar fishery carried on at the place, all of which operations were -greatly facilitated by the Reno and Volano mouths of the Po forming -the side boundaries of the great swamp; and, as a chief feature of the -place, the marvellous fish labyrinth celebrated by Tasso still exists. -Without being technical, we may state that the principal entrances to -the various divisions of the great pond—and it is divided into a great -many stations—are from the two rivers. A number of these entrances have -been constructed in the natural embankments which dyke out the waters -of the lagoon. Bridges have also been built over all these trenches by -the munificence of various Popes, and very strong flood-gates, worked -by a crank and screw, are attached to each, so as to regulate the -migration of the fish and the entrance and exit of the waters. A very -minute account of all the varied hydraulic apparatus of Comacchio would -only weary the reader; but I may state generally, and I speak on the -authority of M. Coste, that these flood-gates place at the service of -the fish-cultivators about twenty currents, which allow the salt waters -of the lagoon to mingle with the fresh waters of the river. Then, -again, the waters of the Adriatic are admitted to the lagoon by means -of the Grand Palotta Canal, which extends from the port of Magnavacca -right through the great body of the waters, with branches stretching to -the chief fishing stations which dot the surface of this inland sea, so -that there are about a hundred mouths always ready to vomit into the -lagoon the salt water of the Adriatic. - -The entire industry of this unique place is founded on a knowledge -of the natural history of the particular fish which is so largely -cultivated there—viz. the eel. Being a migratory fish, the eel is -admirably adapted for cultivation, and being also very prolific and -of tolerably rapid growth it can be speedily turned into a source of -great profit. About the end of the sixteenth century we know that the -annual income derived from eel-breeding in the lagoons was close upon -£12,000—a very large sum of money at that period. No recent statistics -have been made public as to the money derived from the eels of -Comacchio, but I have reason to know that the sum has not in any sense -diminished during late years. - -[Illustration: A DIVISION OF COMACCHIO. - - A. Canal Palotta. - B. Entrance from the canal. - C. Canal for the passage of boats. - C´. Sluices for closing canal. - D. First compartment of the labyrinth. - E. Outer basin. - F. Antechamber of the first compartment. - G. Chamber of the first compartment. - H. Second compartment. - I. Chamber of second compartment. - K. Third compartment. - L L L. Chambers of third compartment. - M. Wickerwork baskets for keeping fish alive. - N. Boat with instruments of fishing. - O. Dwelling-house. - P. Storehouse. -] - -The inhabitants of Comacchio seem to have a very correct idea of the -natural history of this rather mysterious fish. They know exactly the -time when the animal breeds, which, as well as the question how it -breeds, has in Britain been long a source of controversy, as I have -already shown; and these shrewd people know very well when the fry -may be expected to leave the sea and perform their _montee_. They can -measure the numbers, or rather estimate the quantity, of young fish -as they ascend into the lagoon, and consequently are in a position -to know what the produce will eventually be, as also the amount of -food necessary to be provided, for the fish-farmers of Comacchio do -not expect to fatten their animals out of nothing. However, they go -about this in a very economic way, for the same water that grows -the fish also grows the food on which they are fed. This is chiefly -the aquadelle, a tiny little fish which is contained in the lakes -in great numbers, and which, in its turn, finds food in the insect -and vegetable world of the lagoons. Other fish are bred as well as -the eel—viz. mullet, plaice, etc. On the 2d day of February the year -of Comacchio may be said to begin, for at that time the _montee_ -commences, when may be seen ascending up the Reno and Volano mouths -of the Po from the Adriatic a great series of wisps, apparently -composed of threads, but in reality young eels; and as soon as one -lot enters, the rest, with a sheeplike instinct, follow their leader, -and hundreds of thousands pass annually from the sea to the waters of -the lagoon, which can be so regulated as in places to be either salt -or fresh as required. Various operations connected with the working -of the fisheries keep the people in employment from the time the -entrance-sluices are closed, at the end of April, till the commencement -of the great harvest of eel-culture, which lasts from the beginning of -August till December. The manner of life of the people of Comacchio -will be found detailed under the title of “The Fisher Folks” in another -part of this volume. The engraving represents one of the fishing-places -of the lagoon. - -No country has, taking into account size and population, been more -industrious on the seas than Scotland—the most productive fishery -of that country having been the herring. There is no consecutive -historical account of the progress of the herring-fishery. The first -really authentic notice we have of a trade in herrings is nine hundred -years old, when it is recorded that the Scots sold herrings to the -people of the Netherlands, and we have some indications that even -at that early period a considerable fishery for herrings existed in -Scotland; and even prior to this time Boethius alludes to Inverlochy -as an important seat of commerce, and persons of intelligence consider -that town to have been a resort of the French and Spaniards for the -purchase of herring and other fishes. The pickling and drying of -herrings for commerce were first carried on by the Flemings. This mode -of curing fish is said to have been discovered by William Benkelen of -Biervlet, near Sluys, who died in 1397, and whose memory was held in -such veneration for that service that the Emperor Charles V. and the -Queen of Hungary made a pilgrimage to his tomb. We have also incidental -notices of the herring-fishery in the records of the monastery of -Evesham, so far back as the year 709, and the tax levied on the capture -of herrings is noticed in the annals of the monastery of Barking as -herring-silver. The great fishery for herrings at Yarmouth dates -from the earliest Anglo-Saxon times, and at so early a period as the -reign of Henry I. it paid a tax of 10,000 fish to the king. We are -told that the most ancient records of the French herring-fishery are -not earlier than the year 1020, and we know that in 1088 the Duke of -Normandy allowed a fair to be held at Fecamp during the time of this -fishery, the right of holding it being granted to the Abbey of the Holy -Trinity. The Yarmouth fishery, even in these early times, was a great -success—as success was then understood. Edward III. did all he could to -encourage the fishery at that place. In 1357 he got his Parliament to -lay down a body of laws for the better regulation of the fisheries, and -the following year sixty lasts of herring were shipped at Portsmouth -for the use of his army and fleet in France. In 1635 a patent was -granted to Mr. Davis for gauging red-herrings, for which Yarmouth -was famed thus early, at a certain price per last; his duty was, in -fact, to denote the quality of the fish by affixing a certain seal; -this, so far as we know, is the first indication of the brand system. -His Majesty Charles II., being interested in the fisheries, visited -Yarmouth in company with the Duke of York and others of the nobility, -when he was handsomely entertained, and presented with four golden -herrings and a chain of considerable value. - -Several of the kings of Scotland were zealous in aiding the fisheries, -but the death of James V. and the subsequent religious and civil -commotions put a stop for a time to the progress of this particular -branch of trade, as well as to every other industrial project of -his time. In 1602 his successor on the throne, James VI., resumed -the plans which had been chalked out by his grandfather. Practical -experiments were made in the art of fishing, fishing-towns were built -in the different parts of the Highlands, and persons well versed in -the practice were brought to teach the ignorant natives; but as the -Highlanders were jealous of these “interlopers,” very slow progress -was made; and, again, the course of improvement was interrupted by the -king’s accession to the throne of England and the union of the two -Crowns. During the remainder of James’s reign little progress was made -in the art of fishing, and we have to pass over the reign of Charles I. -and wait through the troublous times of the Protectorate till we have -Charles II. seated on the throne, before much further encouragement -is decreed to the fisheries. Charles II. aided the advancement of -this industrial pursuit by appointing a Royal Council of Fishery, in -order to the establishment of proper laws and regulations for the -encouragement of those engaged in this branch of our commerce. - -After this period the British trade in fish and the knowledge of the -arts of capture expanded rapidly. It is said, as I have already stated, -that during our early pursuit of the fishery the Dutch learned much -from us, and that, in fact, while we were away founding the Greenland -whale-fishery, the people of Holland came upon our seas and robbed -us of our fish, and so obtained a supremacy in the art that lasted -for many years. At any rate, whatever the Dutch accomplished, we were -particularly industrious in fishing. Our seas were covered with busses -of considerable tonnage—the average being vessels of fifty tons, with a -complement of fourteen men and a master. The mode of fishing then was -to sail with the ship into the deep sea, and then, leaving the vessel -as a rendezvous, take to the small boats, and fish with them, returning -to the large vessel to carry on the cure. The same mode of fishing, -with slight modifications, is still pursued at Yarmouth and some other -places in England. - -The following note of the cost of building and sailing one of the -old Scottish herring-busses will illustrate the fishery of the last -century:— - - -_Expenses of a Vessel of 60 Tons Burden fitted out for the -Herring-Fishery._ - - To shipbuilder’s account for hull £345 0 0 - To joiners’ account 21 10 0 - To blockmaker’s account (paint, etc.) 18 0 0 - To rope-work account (sails, etc.) 160 0 0 - To smith’s account (anchors, etc.) 22 10 0 - To spars, 3 fishing-boats, compasses, etc. 56 0 0 - —————-—————- - Cost of Vessel (forward) £623 0 0 - - _Outfit._ - - To 462 bushels of salt 45 0 0 - To 32 lasts herring barrels 80 0 0 - To 15,000 square yards netting 78 5 0 - To buoys, etc. 8 4 0 - To provisions for 14 men for 3 months 42 10 0 - To spirits for men when at work 5 0 0 - To wages, 13 men at 27s. per month 52 13 0 - To shipmaster’s wages 10 0 0 - To custom-house clearing 0 15 0 - —————-—————- - Cost of Outfit £945 7 0 - ============ - -Supposing the above vessel to make one-half of her cargo of herrings -yearly, which has not been the case for seven years back on an average, -the state of account will stand as under:— - - _Voyage to Herring Fishers and Owners._ _Dr._ - - To one-half of salt carried out £22 10 0 - To one-half of barrels used 48 0 0 - To tear and wear on nets (one-third worn) 26 1 3 - To provisions and spirits 47 10 0 - To wages, including skipper 62 13 0 - To tear and wear of rigging and vessel, - 5 per cent per month 30 11 2 - To insurance on £957 for 3 months at 2½ per cent 27 16 0 - To interest on £957 for 3 months 11 18 0 - To waste on salt, etc., at 10 per cent 3 10 0 - To freight of herrings to Cork, at 2s. per barrel, - 192 barrels 19 4 0 - To duty on herrings in Ireland, at 1s. per barrel 9 12 0 - —————-————— - £305 5 5 - - Brought forward £305 5 5 - - _Contra._ _Cr._ - - By 192 barrels herrings at 20s. £192 0 0 - By debenture on herrings at 2s. 8d. 25 12 0 - By bounty on 60 tons 90 0 0 - —————————— 307 12 0 - —————————— - Gain on home fishery £2 6 7 - - Extra Expenses on such Busses as go to the Irish - Fishery— - To duty of 17¾ tons salt in Ireland £10 19 11 - To duty on barrels 4 16 0 - To fees on 3 boats at 42s. 6 6 0 - —————————— 22 1 11 - —————————— - Loss if upon Irish fishery £19 15 4 - -Much has also been written from time to time about the great -cod-fishery of Newfoundland: it has been the subject of innumerable -treatises, Acts of Parliament, and other negotiations, and various -travellers have illustrated the natural products and industrial -capabilities of these North American seas. The cod-fishery of -Newfoundland is undoubtedly one of the greatest fishing industries the -world has ever seen, and has been more or less worked for three hundred -and sixty years. Occasionally there is a whisper of the cod grounds of -Newfoundland being exhausted, and it would be no wonder if they were, -considering the enormous capture of that fish that has constantly been -going on during the period indicated, not only by means of various -shore fisheries, but by the active American and French crews that are -always on the grounds capturing and curing. Since the time when the Red -Indian lay over the rocks and transfixed the codfish with his spear, -till now, when thousands of ships are spreading their sails in the bays -and surrounding seas, taking the fish with ingenious instruments of -capture, myriads upon myriads of valuable cod have been taken from the -waters, although to the ordinary eye the supply seems as abundant as -it was a century ago. When my readers learn that the great bank from -whence is obtained the chief supply of codfish is nearly six hundred -miles long and over two hundred miles in breadth, it will afford a -slight index to the vast total of our sea wealth and to the enormous -numbers of the finny population of this part of our seas, and the -population of which, before it was discovered, must have been growing -and gathering for centuries; but when it is further stated—and this -by way of index to the extent of this great food-wealth—that Catholic -countries alone give something like half a million sterling every year -for the produce of these North American seas, the enormous money value -of a well-regulated fishery must become apparent even to the most -superficial observer of facts and figures. - -It is much to be regretted that we are not in possession of reliable -annual statistics of the fisheries of Newfoundland, but there are so -many conflicting interests connected with these fisheries as to render -it difficult to obtain accurate statistics. Mr. Hind, in his recent -work on Labrador, gives us a few figures about the fisheries of Nova -Scotia and Canada, for which we are thankful. From this work we learn -that the fish exported from Nova Scotia in 1860 reached the large sum -of $2,956,788, and that 3258 vessels were engaged in the fishery; and -Mr. Hind thinks that if we include the fish and fish-oil consumed by -the inhabitants, the present annual value of the fisheries to British -America must be above $15,000,000, and this estimate even does not -include much of the fish that goes directly to Britain. The value of -the Labrador fisheries alone has been estimated at one million sterling -per annum, and the total value of the fisheries of the Gulf of St. -Lawrence and the coast of Labrador may be set down as four millions -sterling per annum, and the Canadian fisheries, Mr. Hind informs us, -are yet in their infancy! - -Another fishing industry which has bulked large in the annals of -the sea is the whale-fishery. At one time a goodly number of British -vessels were fitted out in order to follow this dangerous pursuit in -the Arctic Seas, and many a thrilling narrative has been founded on -the adventures of enterprising whalers. This fishery has fallen off -very much of late years, both as regards the pursuit of the right or -the Greenland whale, and also in the case of the sperm whale, the -capture of which used to be an “enterprise of great pith and moment” -in America, the head-quarters of the fishery being situated at New -Bedford. It is a good thing that the invention of gas has superseded in -a great measure our dependence on the whale; and the discovery of other -lubricants, vegetable and mineral, suitable for machinery, has rendered -us altogether independent of the Leviathan of the deep. Although this -particular fishing industry may almost be said to be extinct, it was at -one time of considerable importance, at least to Scottish commerce. - -To come down to the present time, it is pleasant to think that the -seas of Britain are crowded with many thousand boats, all gleaning -wealth from the bosom of the waters. As one particular branch of sea -industry becomes exhausted for the season another one begins. In -spring we have our white fisheries; in summer we have our mackerel; -in autumn we have the great herring-fishery; then in winter we deal -in pilchards and sprats and oysters; and all the year round we trawl -for flat fish or set pots for lobsters, or do some other work of the -fishing—in fact, we are continually day by day despoiling the waters of -their food treasures. When we exhaust the inshore fisheries we proceed -straightway to the deep waters. Hale and strong fishermen sail hundreds -of miles to the white-fishing grounds, whilst old men potter about -the shore, setting nets with which to catch crabs, or ploughing the -sand for prawns. At different places we can note the specialities of -the British fisheries. In Caithness-shire we can follow the greatest -herring-fleet in the world; at Cornwall, again, we can view the -pilchard-fishery; at Barking we can see the cod-fleet; at Hull there is -a wealth of trawlers; at Whitstable we can make acquaintance with the -oyster-dredgers; and at the quaint fishing-ports on the Moray Firth, -to be afterwards described, we can witness the manufacture of “Finnan -haddies,” as at Yarmouth we can take part in the making of bloaters; -and all round our coasts we can see women and children industriously -gathering shell-fish for bait, or performing other functions connected -with the industry of the sea—repairing nets, baiting the lines, or -hawking the fish, for the fisherwomen are true helpmates to their -husbands. At certain seasons everything that can float in the water is -called into requisition—little cobbles, gigantic yawls, trig schooners, -are all required to aid in the gathering of the sea harvest. Thousands -of people are employed in this great industry; betokening that a vast -population have chosen to seek bread on the bosom of the great deep. - -Crossing the Channel we can see that the general sea fisheries of -France are also being prosecuted with great vigour, and at those -places which have railways to bear away the produce with considerable -profit. I am in possession of notes and statistics pertaining to a -large portion of the French seabord, giving plentiful details of the -modern fishing industry of that country; and the fisheries of France -are greatly noticed just now, in the hope of their forming a splendid -nursery for seamen, the improvement of the navy being at present one -of the dominant objects of the Emperor of the French. The Marine -Department, having this object in view, have sagaciously broken through -all the old protective laws incidental to the fisheries, and now -allow the fishermen to carry on their trade very much as they please; -trawling has therefore become pretty general at all those ports which -maintain railway communication with the interior: thus at Dunkerque -there are 60 trawlers; at Boulogne, 100; at Tourville, 109; at -Treport, 53; at Calais, 84; with lesser numbers at smaller ports, most -of them being engaged in supplying the wants of Paris with deep-sea -fish; and as the coasts are provided with excellent harbours of refuge, -the trawlers follow their avocations with regularity and success. - -The modes of sea-fishing are so much alike in every country that it -is unnecessary for us to do more than just mention that the French -method of trawling is very similar to our own, about which I will by -and by have something to say. But there are details of fishing industry -connected with that pursuit on the French coasts that we are not -familiar with in Britain. The neighbouring peasantry, for instance, -come to the seaside and fish with nets which are called _bas parc_; and -these are spread out before the tide is full in order to retain all -the fish which are brought within their meshes. The children of these -land-fishers also work, although with smaller nets, at these foreshore -fisheries, while the wives poke about the sand for shrimps and the -smaller crustacea. These people thus not only ensure a supply of food -for themselves during winter, but also contrive during summer to take -as much fish as brings them in a little store of money. - -The perpetual industry carried on by the coast people on the French -foreshores is quite a sight, although it is a fish commerce of a -humble and primitive kind. Even the little children contrive to make -money by building fish-ponds, or erecting trenches, in which to gather -salt, or in some other little industry incidental to sea-shore life. -One occasionally encounters some abject creature groping about the -rocks to obtain the wherewithal to sustain life. To these people all -is fish that comes to hand; no creature, however slimy, that creeps -about is allowed to escape, so long as it can be disguised by cookery -into any kind of food for human beings. Some of the people have old -rickety boats patched up with still older pieces of wood or leather, -sails mended here and there, till it is difficult to distinguish the -original portion from those that have been added to it; nets torn and -darned till they are scarce able to hold a fish; and yet that boat -and that crippled machinery are the stock in trade of perhaps two or -three generations of a family, and the concern may have been founded -half a century ago by the grandfather, who now sees around him a -legion of hungry gamins that it would take a fleet of boats to keep in -food and raiment. The moment the tide flows back, the foreshore is at -once overrun with an army of hungry people, who are eager to clutch -whatever fishy _debris_ the receding water may have left; the little -pools are eagerly, nay hungrily, explored, and their contents grabbed -with an anxiety that pertains only to poverty. At some places of the -coast, however, a happier life is dawning on the people—the discovery -of pisciculture has led to a traffic in oysters that, as I will by and -by show, is surprising; indeed a new life has in consequence dawned -on some districts, and where at one time there was poverty and its -attendant squalor, there is now wealth and its handmaid prosperity. - -On some parts of the French coasts, and it is proper to mention this, -the fishery is not of importance, although the fish are plentiful -enough. At Cancale, for instance, the fishermen have imposed on -themselves the restriction of only fishing twice a week. In Brittany, -at some of the fishing places, the people seem very poor and miserable, -and their boats look to be almost valueless, reminding one of the state -of matters at Fittie in the outskirts of Aberdeen. At the isle of -Groix, however, there is to be found a tolerably well-off maritime and -fishing community; at this place, where the men take to the sea at an -early age, there are about one hundred and thirty fishing boats of from -twenty to thirty tons each, of which the people—_i.e._ the practical -fishermen—are themselves the owners. At the Sands of Olonne there is a -most extensive sardine-fishery—the capture of sprats, young herrings, -and young pilchards, for curing as sardines, yielding a considerable -share of wealth, as a large number of boats follow this branch of the -business all the year round. There are not less than 13,000 boats on -the coast of Brittany devoted to the sardine trade, and when it is -considered that, according to Mitchell, a sum of £80,000 is annually -expended on cod and mackerel roe for bait in this fishery, my readers -will see that the total value of the French fisheries must be very -considerable. Experiments in artificial breeding are now being made -both with the white fish and the crustaceans, and sanguine hopes are -entertained of having in a short time a plentiful supply of all kinds -of shell and white fish, and as regards those parts of the French -coast which are at present destitute of the power of conveyance, -the apparition of a few locomotives will no doubt work wonders in -instigating a hearty fishing enterprise. - -In fact the industry of the French as regards the fisheries has become -of late years quite wonderful, and there is evidently more in their -eager pursuit of sea wealth than all at once meets the eye. No finer -naval men need be wished for any country than those that are to be -found in the French fishing luggers, and there can be no doubt but -that they are being trained with a view to the more perfect manning -of the French navy. At any rate the French people (? government) -have discovered the art of growing sailors, and doubtless they will -make the most of it, being able apparently to grow them at a greatly -cheaper rate than we can do. As regards the French fisheries in the -North Sea, I may mention that the flotilla engaged in 1863, in that -particular mine of industry, consisted of 285 ships, measuring 22,000 -tons, and manned by nearly 4000 seamen—the whole, both ships and men, -being an increase over those of the preceding year. This fleet left -the shores of France between the 20th of March and the 12th of April, -and shortly after these dates arrived at Iceland. A very large number -of codfish were taken, and the report to the Minister of Marine says -that the ships of war on the station afforded help to eighty-three -of the vessels, and that the health of the crews was remarkably good -during the whole season, eighteen vessels only requiring the aid of -the surgeon, and these vessels had only two invalids each. This is -instructive as showing the care that is taken in the selection of -healthy crews, and of the pains of their Government to keep them -healthy, and it must be admitted that, so far as physique is concerned, -the French seamen are fine-looking fellows. - -The commercial system established in France for bringing the produce -of the sea into the market is of a highly-elaborate and intricate -character. The direct consequence of this system is, that the price of -fish goes on increasing from its first removal from the shore until -it reaches the market. This fact cannot be better illustrated than -by tracing the fish from the moment they are landed on the quay by -the fishermen through various intermediate transactions until they -reach the hands of the fishmonger of Paris. The first agent into -whose hands they come is the _ecoreur_. The _ecoreur_ is usually a -qualified man appointed by the owners of the vessels, the municipality, -or by an association termed the _Société d’Ecorage_. He performs -the functions of a wholesale agent between the fisherman and the -public. He is ready to take the fish out of the fisherman’s hands as -soon as they are landed. He buys the fish from the fisherman, and -pays him at once, deducting a percentage for his own services. This -percentage is sometimes 5, 4, or even as low as 3½ per cent. He -undertakes the whole risk of selling the fish, and suffers any loss -that may be incurred by bad debts or bad sale, for which he can make -no claim whatever upon the owner of the boat. The system of _ecorage_ -is universally adopted, as the fisherman prefers ready money with a -deduction of 5 per cent rather than trouble himself with any repayment -or run the risk of bad debts. Passing from the _ecoreur_ we come to the -_mareyeur_—that is, the merchant who buys the fish from the wholesale -agent. He provides baskets to hold the fish, packs them, and despatches -them by railway. He pays the carriage, the town-dues or duties, and -the fees to the market-crier. Should the fish not keep, and arrive in -Paris in bad condition, and be complained of by the police, he sustains -the loss. As regards the transport arrangements, the fish are usually -forwarded by the fast trains, and the rates are invariable, whatever -may be the quality of the fish. Thus, turbot and salmon are carried at -the same rate as monkfish, oysters, and crabs. On the northern lines -the rate is 37 cents per ton per kilometre; upon the Dieppe and Nantes -lines, 25 or 26 cents; which gives 85 or 96 francs as the carriage of -a ton of fish despatched from the principal ports of the north—such as -St. Valery-sur-Somme, Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkerque—and 130 francs -per ton on fish despatched from Nantes. - -The fish, on their arrival in Paris, are subjected to a duty. For the -collection of this duty the fish are divided into two classes—viz., -fine fresh fish and ordinary fresh fish. The fine fish—which class -includes salmon, trout, turbot, sturgeon, tunny, brill, shad, mullet, -roach, sole, lobster, shrimp, and oyster—pay a duty of 10 per cent of -the market value. The duty upon the common fresh fish is 5 per cent. -This duty is paid after the sale, and is then of course duly entered in -the official register. - -All the fish sent to Paris is sold through the agency of auctioneers -(_facteurs à la criee_) appointed by the town, who receive a commission -of 2 or 3 per cent. The auctioneer either sells to the fishmonger or to -the consumer. - -It will be seen from the above statement that between the landing -of the fish by the fisherman and the purchase of it by the salesman -at Paris there is added to the price paid to the fisherman 5 per -cent for the _ecorage_; 90, 100, or 130 francs per ton for carriage; -10 or 5 per cent, with a double tithe of war, for town-dues; and 3 -per cent taken by the auctioneer—or, altogether, 18 or 13 per cent, -besides the war-tithe and the cost of transport. This is an estimate -of the indispensable expenses only, and does not include a number of -items—such as the profit which the _mareyeur_ ought to make, the cost -of the baskets, carriage from the market to the railway, and from the -custom-house to the market in Paris; and, besides, presumes that the -merchant who buys in the market is the consumer, which is seldom the -case. - -Many other considerations must be taken into account, as, for instance, -the quantity of fish not sold, or sold at a low price, the fish which -arrive in Paris in bad condition, and that quantity which never leaves -the fishing town. - -Besides all this, if we bear in mind that the fish-despatcher tries to -repay himself for losses incurred, it need not astonish us that he must -put a high price upon the fish he sends to the market. - -From these considerations it is evident, I think, that the high price -of fish is not owing to any scarcity in the supply, or that an increase -in the quantity brought to land will effectually reduce the price. -Were the fisherman to give his labour for nothing, and the merchant, -or rather commission-agent, who buys from him to seek no profit, there -is still enough in carriage, toll, and duties, to put a price on the -fish which would place it beyond the power of small purses to reach. -To reduce the price we must lessen these intermediate expenses, and -put the fisherman in direct communication with the Parisian salesman. -This might be possible by the establishment of fishermen’s societies, -directed by skilful business men. - -I question very much, however, if the fishermen would agree to such -a plan, as they always prefer ready money and no risk. Another -suggestion is to unite the offices of _ecoreur_ and _mareyeur_ in -one person, or even, as is already done in some quarters, to combine -these two functions with the owner’s own special duties. Undoubtedly, -a much more effectual plan than either of these is a reduction in the -expenses of carriage and duties. The system of transport is manifestly -defective, inasmuch as the rate is a uniform one for fine and ordinary -fresh fish. The expenses of the carriage compel the fisherman in -many cases to retain the ordinary or inferior qualities of fish and -endeavour to make use of them otherwise than for sale by employing them -for the food of their own households, feeding poultry, or manuring -barren land. They in some instances cut off the superfluous parts of -the monkfish—the tail, fins, etc.—to reduce the carriage weight; and -although the fish thus mutilated fetch a less price than they would -otherwise bring, the depreciation of the selling-price is more than -counterbalanced by the reduction in the freight. - -It would be difficult to suggest a system which would at once meet the -wishes of the owners of boats, the fish-merchants, and the railway -directors. On the southern and western railway lines in Ireland the -fish are divided into classes. Turbot, sole, plaice, whiting, eels, and -shrimps, are charged two-thirds of the rate for salmon; oysters, crabs, -and lobsters, one-half; and herring and the common fish one-third. -In France, as I have already said, the rate is uniform. The cost of -transport depends upon the distance alone. The Commercial Treaty has -brought foreign fish more abundantly into the market; but those coming -from England, being gutted to make them keep, have no longer the red -gills by which the buyer distinguishes fresh fish; and between a gutted -fish and one with the gills intact the purchaser never hesitates to -choose the latter, without the slightest regard to the place at which -it has been caught. The fish-carrier, again, tries, by cramming as -many fish as possible into the large baskets, to diminish the number of -packages, and thus destroys a number of his fish. - -If there is little hope of a reduction of the railway tariffs, there -is still less chance, we think, of any reduction of the town-duties. -They are far too profitable to the city funds. The revenue derived by -the city of Paris from the sale of fish amounted, in 1858, to 894,214 -francs; in 1859, to 928,925; and in 1860 it increased to 1,027,920 -francs. This sum, however, only includes the dues levied upon fish -carried to the market. There is a separate and distinct duty upon fish -which arrive directly by railway to the consumer. In this case fine -fresh fish are subjected to a duty of 60 francs the 100 kilogrammes; -common fish, 15 francs; ordinary oysters, 5 francs; and Ostend oysters, -15 francs per 100 kilogrammes. The exact revenue accruing to the city -from this source embraces these two duties; and in estimating the full -amount that the merchant must pay for bringing fish into the town and -selling it in the market, we must add to these dues the expense of -cartage, railway fare, the double tithe of war, and the fees to the -crier. - -From the official records of the market sales, we find that for six -years there has been little difference in the price of fish. The tables -of 1852 and 1862 show that mussels, shrimps, mullets, and salmon, are -at the same price; lobsters, sprats, turbot, and shad, are a little -less; and mackerel, whiting, monkfish, sardines, sole, tunny, trout, -barbel, and flounder, are slightly raised. The prices vary so little -that any increase in the revenue must arise from an increased quantity -being brought into the market. Oysters, however, have increased greatly -in price, although the quantity has diminished. - -[Illustration: BILLINGSGATE.] - -But allowing the French people to cultivate to the very utmost—as they -especially do as regards the oyster—it is impossible they can ever -exceed, either in productive power or money value, the fisheries of our -own coasts. If, without the trouble of taking a long journey, we desire -to witness the results of the British fisheries, we have only to repair -to Billingsgate to find this particular industry brought to a focus. At -that piscatorial bourse we can see in the early morning the produce of -our most distant seas brought to our greatest seat of population, sure -of finding a ready and a profitable market. The aldermanic turbot, the -tempting sole, the gigantic codfish, the valuable salmon, the cheap -sprat, and the universal herring, are all to be found during their -different seasons in great plenty at Billingsgate; and in the lower -depths of the market buildings countless quantities of shell-fish of -all kinds, stored in immense tubs, may be seen; while away in the -adjacent lanes there are to be found gigantic boilers erected for -the purpose of crab and lobster boiling. Some of the shops in the -neighbourhood have always on hand large stocks of all kinds of dried -fish, which are carried away in great waggons to the railway stations -for country distribution. About four o’clock on a summer morning -this grand piscatorial mart may be seen in its full excitement—the -auctioneers bawling, the porters rushing madly about, the hawkers also -rushing madly about seeking persons to join them in buying a lot, and -so to divide their speculations; and all over is sprinkled the dripping -sea-water, and all around we feel that “ancient and fish-like smell” -which is the concomitant of such a place. - -No statistics of a reliable kind are published as to the total annual -value of the British fisheries. An annual account of the Scottish -herring-fishery is taken by commissioners and officers appointed for -that purpose; which, along with a yearly report of the Irish fisheries, -is the only reliable annual document on the subject that we possess, -and the latest official report of the commissioners will be found -analysed in another part of this volume. For any statistics of our -white-fish fisheries we are compelled to resort to second-hand sources -of information; and, as is likely enough in the circumstances, we do -not, after all, get our curiosity properly gratified on these important -topics—the progress and produce of the British fisheries. As a proof -of the difficulty of obtaining reliable statistics of our sea-harvest, -I am compelled to have recourse to the quantities of all kinds of fish -carried by the various railways as an indication of what we are doing -on the waters. Large quantities of sea produce are still, however, -carried by water. The supplies brought inland by the various railways -are as follow:— - - London and Brighton 5,174 tons. - Great Western 2,885 ” - North British 8,303 ” - Great Northern 11,930 ” - North Eastern 27,896 ” - South Eastern 3,218 ” - Great Eastern 29,086 ” - —————— - Making a total of 88,492 tons. - -For Ireland the statistics of carriage for the same year are as follow:— - - Great Southern and Western 1145 tons. - Midland and Great Western 785 ” - Waterford and Limerick 374 ” - Dublin and Drogheda 1004 ” - ————— - Making a total of 3308 tons. - -The best index, however, of the quantities of fish taken out of the -British seas is the supply of that comestible required for London -alone. Two attempts have been made to obtain a correct account of the -quantities of each kind used for the commissariat of London. Fourteen -years ago Mr. Mayhew gave a summation of the quantities of fish sold -at Billingsgate, and the number of each kind as detailed is really -astonishing; as 203,000 salmon, nearly four millions of fresh herrings, -and others in proportion. The second attempt to gauge the fish-supply -of the great metropolis was made by a Member of Parliament. In moving -for a commission to inquire into the state of the British fisheries, he -gave the following statistics:— - - Codfish 500,000 - Mackerel 25,000,000 - Soles 100,000,000 - Plaice 35,000,000 - Haddocks 200,000,000 - Oysters 500,000,000 - Periwinkles 300,000,000 - Cockles 70,000,000 - Mussels 50,000,000 - Lobsters, daily 10,000 - -There is likewise a very extensive demand for cured or pickled fish. -Mayhew quoted 1,600,000 dried cod and 50,000,000 of red herrings as -being a portion of the London fish-supply. Eels are also a very large -item, being set down as nearly 10,000,000 per annum; and as for crabs, -prawns, shrimps, sprats, etc., they are required by the ton weight, and -are hawked about London in millions! - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -FISH CULTURE. - - Antiquity of Pisciculture—Italian Fish-Culture—Sergius - Orata—Re-discovery of the Art—Gehin and Remy—Jacobi—Shaw of - Drumlanrig—The Ettrick Shepherd—Scientific and Commercial - Pisciculture—A Trip to Huningue—Tourist Talk about Fish—Bale—Huningue - described—The Water Supply—_Modus Operandi_ at Huningue—Packing - Fish Eggs—An Important Question—Artificial Spawning—Danube - Salmon—Statistics of Huningue—Plan of a Suite of Ponds—M. De Galbert’s - Establishment—Practical Nature of Pisciculture—Turtle-Culture—Best - Kinds of Fish to Rear—Pisciculture in Germany—Stormontfield - Salmon-Breeding Ponds—Design for a Suite of Salmon-Ponds—Statistics - of Stormontfield—Acclimatisation of Fish—The Australian - Experiment—Introduction of the _Silurus glanis_. - - -Pisciculture may be briefly described as the art of fecundating and -hatching fish-eggs, and of nursing young fish under protection till -they are of an age to take care of themselves. - -The art of pisciculture is almost as old as civilisation itself. We -read of its having been practised in the empire of China for many -centuries, and we also know that it was much thought of in the palmy -days of ancient Italy, when expensively-fed fish of all kinds were -a necessity of the wonderful banquets given by wealthy Romans and -Neapolitans. There is still in China a large trade in fish-eggs, and -boats may be seen containing men who gather the spawn in various -rivers, and then carry it into the interior of the country for sale, -where the young fish are reared in great flocks or shoals in the -rice-fields. One Chinese mode of collecting fish-spawn is to map out -a river into compartments by means of mats and hurdles, leaving only -a passage for the boats. The mats and hurdles intercept the spawn, -which is skimmed off the water, preserved for sale in large jars, and -is bought by persons who have ponds or other pieces of water which -they may wish to stock with gold or other fish. One Chinese plan is to -hatch fish-eggs in paddy-fields, and in these places the spawn speedily -comes to life, and the flocks of little fishes are herded from one -field to another as the food becomes exhausted. The trade in ova is -so well managed, even in the present day, that fish are plentiful and -cheap—so cheap as to form a large portion of the food of the people; -and nothing so much surprises the Chinese who come here as the high -price that is paid for the fish of this country. A Chinese fisherman -was much astonished, three years ago, at the price he was charged for a -fish-breakfast at Toulon. This person had arrived in France with four -or five thousand young fish of the best kinds produced in his country, -for the purpose of their being placed in the great marine aquarium in -the Bois de Boulogne. Being annoyed at the comparative scarcity of -fish in France, the young Chinaman wrote a brief memoir, showing that, -with the command of a small pond, any quantity of fish might be raised -at a trifling expense. All that is necessary, he stated in the memoir -alluded to, is to watch the period of spawning, and throw yolks of -eggs into the water from time to time, by which means an incredible -quantity of the young fry are saved from destruction. For, according -to the information conveyed by this very intelligent youth, thousands -of young fish annually die from starvation—they are unable to seek -their own food at so tender an age. We cannot believe all the stories -we hear about the Chinese mode of breeding fish, they are so evidently -exaggerated; but I must notice one particularly ingenious method of -artificial hatching which has been resorted to by the people of China -and which is worth noting as a piscicultural novelty. These ingenious -Celestials carry on a business in selling and hatching fish-spawn, -collecting the impregnated eggs from various rivers and lakes, in -order to sell to the proprietors of canals and private ponds. When the -proper season for hatching arrives, they empty a hen’s egg, by means -of a small aperture, sucking out the natural contents, and then, after -substituting fish-spawn, close up the opening. The egg thus manipulated -is placed for a few days under a hen! By and by the shell is broken, -and the contents are placed in a vessel of water, warmed by the heat -of the sun only; the eggs speedily burst, and in a short time the -young fish are able to be transported to a lake or river of ordinary -temperature, where they are of course left to grow to maturity without -being further noticed than to have a little food thrown to them. - -The luxurious Romans achieved great wonders in the art of -fish-breeding, and were able to perform curious experiments with the -piscine inhabitants of their aquariums; they were also well versed -in the arts of acclimatisation. A classic friend, who is well versed -in ancient fish lore, tells me that the great Roman epicures could -run their fish from ice-cold water into boiling cauldrons without -handling them! They spared neither labour nor money in order to gratify -their palates. The Italians sent to the shores of Britain for their -oysters, and then flavoured them in large quantities on artificial -beds. The value of a Roman gentleman’s fish in the palmy days of -Italian banqueting was represented by an enormous sum of money. The -stock kept up by Lucullus was never valued at a less sum than £35,000! -These classic lovers of good things had pet breeds of fish in the same -sense as gentlemen in the present day have pet breeds of sheep or -homed cattle. Lucullus, for instance, to have such a valuable stock, -must have been in possession of unique varieties derived from curious -crosses, etc. Red mullet or fat carp, which sold for large prices, -were not at all unusual. Sixty pounds we can ascertain as being given -for a single mullet, and more than three times that sum for a dish of -that fish; and enormous sums of money were lavished in the buying, -rearing, and taming of the mullet; so much so, that some of those -who devoted their time and money to this purpose were satirised as -mullet-millionaires. One noble Roman went to a fabulous expense in -boring a tunnel through a mountain, in order that he might obtain -a plentiful supply of salt water for his fish-ponds. Sergius Orata -invented artificial oyster-beds. He caused, as will be afterwards -described when I come to speak of oyster-farming, to be constructed at -Baiæ, on the Lucrine Sea, great reservoirs, where he grew the dainty -mollusc in thousands; and in order that he and his friends might have -this renowned shell-fish in its very highest perfection, he built a -palace on the coast, in order to be near his oyster-ponds; and thither -he resorted when he wanted to have a fish-dinner free from the care and -turmoil of business. Many of the more luxurious Italians, imitating -Sergius Orata, expended fabulous sums of money on their fish-ponds, and -were so enabled, by means of their extravagance, to achieve all kinds -of _outré_ results in the fattening and flavouring of their fish. A -curious story, illustrative of these times and of the value set on fish -of a particular flavour, is related, in regard to the bass (_labrax -lupus_) which were caught in the river Tiber. The Roman epicures were -very fond of this fish, especially of those caught in a particular -portion of the river, which they could tell by means of their taste and -fine colour. An exquisite, while dining, was horrified at being served -with bass of the wrong flavour, and loudly complained of the badness of -the fish; the fact being that the real bass (the high-coloured kind) -were flavoured by the disgusting food which they obtained at the mouth -of a common sewer. - -The modern phase of pisciculture is entirely a commercial one, -which as yet does not lie in imparting fanciful flavours to the -fish—although, if such were wanted, it might easily enough be -accomplished—but has developed itself both at home and abroad in the -replenishing of exhausted streams with salmon, trout, or other kinds -of fish. The present idea of pisciculture, as a branch of commerce, -is due to the shrewdness of a simple French peasant, who gained his -livelihood as a _pêcheur_ in the tributaries of the Moselle, and the -other streams of his native district, _La Bresse_ in the _Vosges_. He -was a thinking man, although a poor one, and it had long puzzled him -to understand how animals yielding such an abundant supply of eggs -should, by any amount of fishing, ever become scarce. He knew very well -that all female fish were provided with tens of thousands of eggs, and -he could not well see how, in the face of this fact, the rivers of La -Bresse should be so scantily peopled with the finny tribes. Nor was the -scarcity of fish confined to his own district: the rivers of France -generally had become impoverished; and as in all Catholic countries -fish is a prime necessary of life, the want of course was greatly felt. -Joseph Remy was the man who first found out what was wrong with the -French streams, and especially with the fish supplies of his native -rivers—and better than that, he discovered a remedy. He ascertained -that the scarcity of fish was chiefly caused by the immense number of -eggs that never came to life, the enormous quantity of young fish that -were destroyed by enemies of one kind or another, and the fishing-up of -all that was left, in many instances, before they had an opportunity -to reproduce themselves; at any rate, without any care being taken to -leave a sufficient breeding stock in the rivers, so that the result he -discovered had become inevitable. - -The guiding fact of pisciculture has been more than once accidentally -re-discovered—that is, allowing that the ancient Romans knew it exactly -as now practised; but nothing came of such discoveries, and till -a discovery be turned to some practical use, it is, in a sense, no -discovery at all. After being lost for many hundred years, the art of -artificially spawning fish was re-discovered in Germany by one Jacobi, -and practised on some trout more than a century ago. This gentleman -not only practised pisciculture himself, but wrote essays on the -subject as well. His elaborate treatise on the art of fish-culture was -written in the German language, but also translated into Latin, and -inserted by Duhamel du Monceau, in his _General Treatise on Fishes_. -Jacobi, who practised the art for thirty years, was not satisfied -with a mere discovery, but at once turned what he had discovered to -practical account, and, in the time of Jacobi, great attention was -devoted to pisciculture by various gentlemen of scientific eminence. -Count Goldstein, a savan of the period, likewise wrote on the subject. -The Journal of Hanover also had papers on this art, and an account of -Jacobi’s proceedings was enrolled in the Memoirs of the Royal Academy -of Berlin. This discovery of Jacobi was the simple result of keen -observation of the natural action of the breeding salmon. Observing -that the process of impregnation was entirely an external act, he saw -at once that this could be easily imitated by careful manipulation; so -that, by conducting artificial hatching on a large scale, a constant -and unfailing supply of fish might readily be obtained. The results -arrived at by Jacobi were of vast importance, and obtained not only -the recognition of his government, but also the more solid reward of a -pension. I need not detail the experiments of Jacobi, as they are very -similar to those of others that I intend to describe at full length in -this portion of my narrative. - -Some persons dispute the claims of France to the honour of this -discovery, asserting that the peasant Remy had borrowed his idea from -the experiments of Shaw of Drumlanrig, who had by the artificial -system undertaken to prove that parrs were the young of the salmon. -As I shall again have occasion to allude to Mr. Shaw’s experiments, -I do not require to say more at present on this part of my subject -than that they were brought to a successful conclusion long before -the rediscovery of the art of pisciculture by Remy. In my opinion the -honours may be thus divided, whether Remy knew of Shaw’s experiments -or not: I would give to Scotland the honour of having re-discovered -pisciculture as an adjunct of science, and to France the useful part -of having turned the art to commercial uses. In regard to what has -been already stated here as to the accidental discovery of artificial -fish-breeding, I may mention that James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, -was one of the discoverers. Hogg had an observant eye for rural scenes -and incidents, and anxiously studied and experimented on fish-life. -He took an active share in the parr controversy. Having seen with his -own eyes the branded parr assuming the scales of the smolt, he never -doubted after that the fact that the parr was the young of the salmon. -In Norway, too, an accidental discovery of this fish-breeding power was -made; and certainly if salmon-fishing in that country goes on at its -present rate cultivation will be largely required. The artificial plan -of breeding oysters has been more than once accidentally discovered. -There is at least one well-authenticated instance of this, which -occurred about a century ago, when a saltmaker of Marennes, who added -to his income by fattening oysters, lost a batch of six thousand in -consequence of an intense frost, the shells not being sufficiently -covered with water; but while engaged in mourning over his loss -and kicking about the dead molluscs, he found them, greatly to his -surprise, covered with young oysters already pretty well developed, -and these, fortunately, although tender, all in good health, so -that ultimately he repeopled his salt-bed without either trouble or -expense—having of course to wait the growth of the natives before he -could recommence his commerce. - -To return to Remy, however, his experiments were so instantaneously -crowned with success as even to be a surprise to himself; and in order -to encourage him and Gehin, a coadjutor he had chosen, the Emulation -Society of the Vosges voted them a considerable sum of money and -a handsome bronze medal. It was not, however, till 1849 that the -proceedings of the two attracted that degree of notice which their -importance demanded both in a scientific and economic sense. Dr. Haxo -of Epinal then communicated to the Academy of Sciences at Paris an -elaborate paper on the subject, which at once fixed attention on the -labours of the two fishermen—in fact, it excited a sensation both in -the Academy and among the people. The government of the time at once -gave attention to the matter, and finding, upon inquiry, everything -that was said about the utility of the plan to be true, resolved to -have it extended to all the rivers in France, especially to those -of the poorer districts of the country. The artificial system of -fish-breeding was by this mode of action rapidly extended over the -chief rivers of France, and added much to the comfort of the people, -and in some cases little fortunes were realised by intelligent farmers -who appreciated the system and had a pond or stream on which they could -conduct their experiments in safety. - -The piscicultural system has culminated in France, chiefly under the -direction of Professor Coste, in the erection of a great establishment -at Huningue, near Bale, for the collection and distribution of -fish-eggs. In order to see this place with my own eyes, and so be -enabled to describe exactly how the piscicultural business of France -is administered, I paid a visit to the great laboratory along with -some friends in the autumn of 1863, having gone by way of Paris in -order to see that city in its holiday trim during the _fêtes_ of the -Emperor. The weather was so hot, and pleasure-seeking so fatiguing, -that my little party made but a brief stay in the gay capital. It was a -pleasant relief indeed when we had obtained our tickets for Mulhausen, -done the penance of the _salle d’attente_, and then, attaining our -seats, had left the sultry city behind us. The air became at once cool -and moist, and the torturing Paris thirst left us—that fierce thirst -which no quantity of well-mixed _vin ordinaire_ and water, no amount of -brandy and _eau de seltz_, could assuage. After reaching the outskirts -of the city, and passing those manufactories, wood-yards, tile-depôts, -brickfields, and stone-yards, which are common to the environs of all -large towns, we could see well about us, and enjoy the sights and -sounds of French agriculture—all but the perfume of the rotting flax -in process of manipulation in the watery pits; we certainly did not -enjoy that potent compound of all that is awful in the way of smell. It -was pleasant to note the industry of the small farmers, all busy with -their wives and families on their little allotments, or rather estates, -for numbers of them are owners or perpetual holders of the land on -which they work; and it looks curious to eyes accustomed to the large -fields of England to see the little patches which compose the majority -of French farms. We saw no particularly choice landscape scenery on -the line of rail by which we travelled—_via_ Troyes and Chalindrey—but -there was no lack of picturesque villages and immense barns, giving -cheerful token of a rude plenty, and there was no end of tall pollard -trees, and numerous vineyards; besides, here and there, upon a bit of -stubble, we were agreeably surprised by the whitter of an occasional -covey of partridges. - -Bent on a piscatorial tour, I noted with care—to the occasional -wonderment of my friends—the spots of water that pretty often fringed -the line of rails, and wondered if they were populated by any of the -finny tribe; if so, by what kind of fish, and whether they had been -replenished by the aid of pisciculture? There was evidently fishing -in the districts we passed through, because at many of the stations -we encountered the vision of an occasional angler, and a frequent -“flop” in many of the pools which we passed convinced me that fair -sport might be had; and the entry of an occasional Waltonian into -some of the stations with twenty pounds weight of trout quite excited -everybody, and made some of us long to whip the waters of the district -of Champagne, through which we were passing. And a close inspection of -the national _etablissement de pisciculture_ at Huningue has convinced -me that if any river in France be still fishless, it is not through the -fault of a paternal government. - -Travelling is pleasant in France, for although the trains are slow, -they are safe and punctual. The distance from Paris to Mulhausen is -fifteen hours by the ordinary train, but we did not feel the journey -at all tedious. In my compartment were a priest, who spoke a very -“leetle” English, but who could evidently read a great deal of Latin; a -shrewd Edinburgh news-agent—who, like most Scotchmen, took nothing for -granted, but saw and judged for himself; and his daughter, a young lady -on her way to “do” the Rhine, but who took no interest in pisciculture. -Then there was a lively English gentleman, who seemed to have an -intimate acquaintance with every fish in the Thames; he had netted -whitebait (and eaten them) off Blackwall, he had taken perch out of the -East India Dock, killed a monster pike near Teddington, and had caught -no end of gudgeon at various picturesque spots on the great river. - -“Bah,” said my Scotch friend, joining in the conversation, “did you -ever kill a salmon, man? I hate gudgeon and such small fry; give me -the river Isla, about the ‘Brig o’ Riven,’ a good stout rod with no -end of tackle, and an angry seventeen-pound fish sulking behind a big -stone—then you may have sport; or favour me with good trolling-tackle -and a boat on deep Loch Awe, with the castle of Kilchurn glooming its -great shadow over us, and the eternal hills rising tall around, and I -will take out trout that will outweigh a hundred gudgeon; or give me -a trout-rod and a pleasant ramble along the picturesque Shochy, and -I will manage to fill my basket with fish worth taking home; but away -with your Thames gudgeon, they can only satisfy a Cockney linendraper.” - -Verily my shrewd Scottish friend, with his reminiscences of monster -fish and his fervid manner, waxed eloquent; he even startled the -priest; and as for the Englishman he looked quite chapfallen. I had to -come to the rescue, and defended as well as I could Thames angling, -and reminded the enthusiastic Caledonian that they once had very fine -salmon in the Thames, and would some day, if all goes well, have them -again; and that gudgeon-fishing in the midst of such fine scenery was -at least a healthy and happy way of having a pleasant day’s “out,” even -if the sport was not quite so fierce as hunting for salmon in the river -Isla at the “Brig o’ Riven.” - -The salmon of the Tay, it was also hinted to the news-agent, were not -so famous as those of the Severn. “But we have twenty for your one,” -was the quick reply, “and at the Stormontfield breeding-ponds we are -raising them by the hundred thousand. The rental of the Tay, sir, is -equal to what the whole revenue of the French fisheries was a year or -two ago.” “Very likely, sir,” I replied; “but then the Tay is what you -may call a Highland stream—good for fish, no doubt; and the Thames is -a splendid river in its own way, but no one pretends that it is a fish -river; it is the highway of the greatest commerce in the world, and——” -“Pooh, man,” said the Scotchman, “the Tay is as celebrated for commerce -as for fish. Have you ever been to Dundee?” And then, chuckling to -himself at his rather rich idea of comparing Dundee to London, my -friend sank back in his corner of the carriage and looked as if he -could have slain a thousand London gudgeon-fishers, and the twinkle in -his eye waxed brighter and brighter as he continued his chuckle. - -As even the longest journey will come to an end, the train arrived in -due time at Mulhouse, or Mulhausen, as it is called in the German, and -it being late and dark, and our whole party being somewhat fatigued, -we allowed ourselves to be carried to the nearest hotel, a large, -uncomfortable, dirty-looking place, where apparently they seldom see -British gold, and make an immense charge for _bougies_. Had we had the -necessary time to spare, my little party would have been interested in -seeing Mulhouse, which is a manufacturing town of considerable size, -where many of the operatives are the owners of their own houses; but -being within scent of Switzerland, having the feeling that we were in -the shadow of its mountains, and almost within hearing of the noise -made by its many waters, we hurried on by the first train to Bale. -The distance is short, and the conveyance quick. Almost before we had -time to view the passing landscape, which is exceedingly beautiful, -being rich in vineyards and orchards, and rapidly turning Swiss in its -scenery, we were stopped at St. Louis by the custom-house authorities, -who, it is but proper to say, are exceedingly polite to all honest -travellers. I would advise any one in search of the _etablissement -de pisciculture_ at Huningue to leave the train at this station. Not -knowing its proximity at the time of my visit, I went right on to Bale. - -Poets might go into raptures about Bale—Bale the beautiful—with the -flowing Rhine cutting it into two halves, its waters green as the -icefields which had given them birth, its houses quaint, its streets -so clean, its fountains so antique; but we had no time to go into -raptures—our business was to get to Huningue, and curiously enough we -had wandered into the fishmarket before we knew where we were. Like -various other fishmarkets which we have visited, it contained no fish -that we could see, but it is so picturesque that I determined to place -a view of it in this work. Hailing a _voiture_, our party had no end -of difficulty to get the coachman to understand where we wanted to -be driven. I said, “To Huningue;” he then suggested that it must be -“Euiniguen,” and my Scotch young lady friend, who was all in a glow -about the “beautiful Rhine,” as, of course, a young lady ought to be, -suggested that the pronunciation might be “Hiningue,” which proved -a shrewd guess, as immediately on hearing it we were addressed in -tolerable but very broken English by a quiet-looking coachman, who -said, “Come with me; I have study the English grammaire; I know where -you want to go, and will take you.” Although I could not help wondering -that a celebrated place, as we all thought Huningue ought to be, was -not better known, I felt pretty sure our coachman knew it; and having -persuaded my Scotch friend and his young lady to take a drive, we at -once started for the _etablissement de pisciculture_, where we were -all of us most hospitably received by the superintendent, who at once -conducted us over the whole place with great civility and attention. - -[Illustration: THE FISHMARKET AT BALE.] - -[Illustration: GROUND-PLAN OF THE PISCICULTURAL ESTABLISHMENT AT -HUNINGUE. -Showing the disposition of the buildings and the situation of the -experimental watercourses.] - -[Illustration: VIEW OF HUNINGUE.] - -The series of buildings which have been erected at Huningue are -admirably adapted to the purpose for which they have been designed. -The group forms a square, the entrance portion of which—two lodges—is -devoted to the _corps de garde_, and the centre has been laid out as -a kind of shrubbery, and is relieved with two little ponds containing -fish. The whole establishment, ponds and buildings, occupies a space -of eighty acres. The suite of buildings comprise at the side two great -hatching-galleries, 60 metres in length and 9 metres broad, containing -a plentiful supply of tanks and egg-boxes; and in the back part of the -square are the offices, library, laboratory, and residences of the -officers. Having minutely inspected the whole apparatus, I particularly -admired the aptitude by which the means to a certain end had been -carried out. The egg-boxes are raised in pyramids, the water flowing -from the one on the top into those immediately below. The eggs are -placed in rows on glass frames which fit into the boxes, as will be -seen by examining the drawings. The grand agent in the hatching of -fish-eggs being water, I was naturally enough rather particular in -making inquiry into the water supplies of Huningue, and these I found -were very ample: they are derived from three sources—the springs -on the private grounds of the establishment, the Rhine, and the -Augraben stream. The water of the higher springs is directed towards -the buildings through an underground conduit, whilst those rising -at a lower level are used only in small basins and trenches for the -experiments in rearing fish outside. Being uncovered, however, they -are easily frozen, and are besides frequently muddy and troubled. As -a general rule, fish are not bred at Huningue, the chief business -accomplished there being the collection and distribution of their eggs; -but there is a large supply of tanks or troughs for the purpose of -experimenting with such fish as may be kept in the place. The waters -of the Rhine, being at a higher level than the springs, can be at once -employed in the _appareils_ and basins. The waters of the Augraben -stream, which cross the grounds, are of very little use. Nearly dry -in summer, rapid and muddy after rain, they have only hitherto served -to supply some small exterior basins. Of course, different qualities -of water are quite necessary for the success of the experiments in -acclimatisation carried on so zealously at this establishment. Some -fish delight in a clear running stream, while others prefer to pass -their life in sluggish and fat waters. The engineering of the different -water-supplies, all of them at different levels, has been effectually -accomplished by M. Coumes, the engineer of this department of the -Rhine, who, in conjunction with Professor Coste, planned the buildings -at Huningue; indeed the machinery of all kinds is as nearly as possible -perfect. - -[Illustration: HALL OF INCUBATION.] - -[Illustration: BASINS FOR THE YOUNG FISH.] - -[Illustration: GUTTERS FOR HATCHING PURPOSES.] - -The course of business at Huningue is as follows:—The eggs are brought -chiefly from Switzerland and Germany, and embrace those of the various -kinds of trout, the Danube and Rhine salmon, and the tender ombre -chevalier. People are appointed to capture gravid fish of these -various kinds, and having done so to communicate with the authorities -at Huningue, who at once send an expert to deprive the fishes of -their spawn and bring it to the breeding or store boxes, where it is -carefully tended and daily watched till it is ready to be despatched -to some district in want of it. The mode of artificial spawning is -as follows, and I will suppose the subject operated upon to be a -salmon:—Well, first catch your fish; and here I may state that male -salmon are a great deal scarcer than female ones, but fortunately one -of the former will milt two or even three of the latter, so that the -scarcity is not so much felt as it might otherwise be. The fish, then, -having been caught, it should be seen, before operating, that the spawn -is perfectly matured, and that being the case, the salmon should be -held in a large tub, well buried in the water it contains, while the -hand is gently passed along its abdomen, when, if the ova be ripe, -the eggs will flow out like so many peas. The eggs must be carefully -roused or washed, and the water should then be poured off. The male -salmon may be then handled in a similar way, the contact of the milt -immediately changing the eggs into a brilliant pink colour. After being -again washed, the eggs may be ladled out into the breeding-boxes, -and safely left to come to maturity in due season. Very great care -is necessary in handling the ova. The eggs distributed from Huningue -are all carefully examined on their arrival, when the bad ones are -thrown out, and those that are good are counted and entered upon the -records of the establishment, which are carefully kept. The usual way -of ascertaining the quantity is by means of a little stamped measure, -which varies according to the particular fish-eggs to be counted. The -ova are watched with great care so long as they remain in the boxes -at Huningue, and any dust is removed by means of a fine camel-hair -brush, and from day to day all the eggs that become addled are removed. -The applications to the authorities at Huningue for eggs, both from -individuals and associations, are always a great deal more numerous -than can be supplied; and before second applications from the same -people can be entertained, it is necessary for them to give a detailed -account of how their former efforts succeeded. The eggs, when sent -away, are nicely packed in boxes among wet moss, and they suffer very -little injury if there be no delay in the transit. - -[Illustration: ARTIFICIAL MODE OF SPAWNING.] - -“How about the streams from which the eggs are brought?” I asked. “Does -this robbery of the spawn not injure them?” - -“Oh, no; we find that it makes no difference whatever. The fish are -so enormously fecund that the eggs can be got in any quantity, and no -difference be felt in the parent waters;what we obtain here are a mere -percentage of the grand totals deposited by the fish.” - -Of course, as the operations are pursued over a large district of two -countries, no immediate difference will be felt; but how if these -Huningue _explorateurs_ go on for years taking away tens of thousands -of eggs? Will that not ultimately prove a case of robbing Peter to pay -Paul? I know full well that all kinds of fish are enormously prolific, -and the reader would see from the figures given in a former section -that it is so; but suppose a river, with the breeding power of the Tay, -was annually robbed of a few million eggs, the result must some day -be a slight difference in the productive power of the water. I would -like to know with exactitude if, while the waters of France are being -replenished, the rivers in Switzerland and Germany are not beginning -to be in their turn impoverished? It surely stands to reason that if -the impoverishment of streams resulting from natural causes be aided -by the carrying away of the eggs by zealous _explorateurs_, they must -become in a short time almost totally barren of fish. The best plan, -in my opinion, is for each river to have its own breeding-ponds on the -plan of those of Stormontfield on the river Tay which I will by and by -describe.[1] - -It would scarcely pay to breed the commoner fishes of the lakes and -rivers, as pike, carp, and perch; the commonest fish bred at Huningue -is the _fera_, whilst the most expensive is the beautiful ombre -chevalier, the eggs of which cost about a penny each before they are -in the water as fish. The general calculation, however, appertaining -to the operations carried on at Huningue gives twelve living fish for -a penny. The _fera_ is very prolific, yielding its eggs in thousands; -it is called the herring of the lakes; and the young, when first born, -are so small as scarcely to be perceptible. The superintendent at -Huningue told me that several of them had escaped by means of the canal -into the Rhine, where they had never before been found. I inquired -particularly as to the Danube salmon, but found that it was very -difficult to hatch, especially at first, great numbers of the eggs, -as many sometimes as 60 or 70 per cent, being destroyed; but now the -manipulators are getting better acquainted with the _modus operandi_, -and it is expected that by and by the assistants at Huningue will be -as successful with this fish as they are with all others. Even allowing -for a very considerable loss in the artificially-manipulated ova—and -it is thought that two-thirds at least of the eggs of this fish are in -some way lost—it is certain that the artificial system of protection -is immensely more productive in fish than the natural one, for it has -been said, in reference especially to the salmon of the river Tay, that -hardly one in a thousand of the eggs ever reaches to maturity as a -proper table-fish, such is the enormous destruction of eggs and young -fry; and the percentage of destruction in Catholic countries is greatly -larger, because during the fast-days enjoined by the church fish _must_ -be obtained. - -Up to the season of 1863-64 the total number of fresh-water fish-eggs -distributed from Huningue was far above 110,000,000, and nearly the -half of these were of the finer kinds of fish, there being no less than -41,000,000 of eggs of salmon and trout. - -I have complied a tabular statement, which I insert at this place, of -the number of fish-eggs collected and distributed at Huningue for the -two years previous to my visit:— - - 1860-61. - - ┌──────────┬─────────────┬──────────┬───────────┬──────────┬─────────┐ - │ │ │ │ │ Quantity │Retained │ - │ Species │ Time of │ Ova │ │despatched│ for │ - │ │ Operations. │provided. │ Loss. │ from the │ Experi- │ - │ │ │ │ │Establish-│ ments at│ - │ │ │ │ │ ment. │Huningue.│ - ├──────────┼─────────────┼──────────┼───────────┼──────────┼─────────┤ - │ │ 1860-61. │ │ │ │ │ - │Common │ │ │ │ │ │ - │ trout}│ │ │ │ │ │ - │Salmon }│ │ │ │ │ │ - │ trout}│ │ │ │ │ │ - │Great lake│{Oct. 20 }│ │{1,943,100}│ │ │ - │ trout}│{to Mar. 17,}│ 5,729,100│{ 34 per }│ 3,153,500│ 632,500│ - │Rhine }│{149 days. }│ │{ cent. }│ │ │ - │ salmon}│ │ │ │ │ │ - │Ombre }│ │ │ │ │ │ - │chevalier}│ │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - │ │{Nov. 14 }│ │ │ │ │ - │Fera │{to Dec. 30,}│ 8,997,000│ 22,000 │ 5,573,000│3,402,000│ - │ │{ 46 days. }│ │ │ │ │ - ├──────────┼─────────────┼──────────┼───────────┼──────────┼─────────┤ - │ Total │ │14,726,100│ 1,965,100 │8,726,500 │4,034,500│ - └──────────┴─────────────┴──────────┴───────────┴──────────┴─────────┘ - - _Destination of the Ova despatched from the Establishment._ - - 278 demands for establishments in 70 departments of France, and 29 - demands from establishments in Belgium, Switzerland, Bavaria, and - Wurtemberg. - - - 1861-62. - - ┌──────────┬─────────────┬──────────┬───────────┬──────────┬─────────┐ - │ │ │ │ │ Quantity │Retained │ - │ Species │ Time of │ Ova │ │despatched│ for │ - │ │ Operations. │provided. │ Loss. │ from the │ Experi- │ - │ │ │ │ │Establish-│ ments at│ - │ │ │ │ │ ment. │Huningue.│ - ├──────────┼─────────────┼──────────┼───────────┼──────────┼─────────┤ - │ │ 1861-62. │ │ │ │ │ - │Common │ │ │ │ │ │ - │ trout}│ │ │ │ │ │ - │Salmon }│ │ │ │ │ │ - │ trout}│ │ │ │ │ │ - │Great lake│ { Oct. 24 }│ │ │ │ │ - │ trout}│ {to Mar. 7,}│ 6,382,900│ 2,602,400│ 3,360,000│ 420,500│ - │Rhine }│ {135 days. }│ │ │ │ │ - │ salmon}│ │ │ │ │ │ - │Ombre }│ │ │ │ │ │ - │chevalier}│ │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - │ │{ Nov. 16 }│ │ │ │ │ - │Fera │{to Dec. 25,}│11,995,000│ 12,000 │ 9,519,000│2,464,000│ - │ │{ 39 days. }│ │ │ │ │ - ├──────────┼─────────────┼──────────┼───────────┼──────────┼─────────┤ - │ Total │ │18,377,900│ 2,614,400 │12,879,000│2,884,500│ - └──────────┴─────────────┴──────────┴───────────┴──────────┴─────────┘ - 296 demands for establishments in 76 departments of France, and 39 - demands from other parts of Europe. - -So far as I could ascertain, the right of fishing in France is claimed -by the Government in all navigable rivers and canals, but private -persons can purchase the power to fish; and the rent payable by those -using nets varies from £1 to £4 per annum. In common streams that are -not navigable, and in lakes, the fishery belongs to the proprietors -of the surrounding land, and no person can fish in these without -permission. As to the larger river fisheries, they are so mapped out -as to prevent all possibility of dispute, no fisherman being permitted -to work his nets on a portion of water which does not belong to him. -Fishing of some kind goes on all the year round. - -The following figures will indicate the money rental and the value of -the produce of the whole of the French fisheries:— - - 4719 miles navigable rivers £23,025 - 3105 miles of canals 5,845 - 310 miles of estuaries of rivers 46,140 - 930 miles of rivers and canals belonging to individual - proprietors 2,700 - 114,889 miles of rivers and streams not navigable. - 493,750 acres of lakes and ponds. - -The money value of the fish caught in these waters may be stated as -follows:— - - From State Returns for rivers and canals £28,880 - The estuaries yield £46,140, of which the fresh - waters supply one-half, giving 23,080 - Rivers and canals belonging to private individuals 2,680 - 114,889 miles of watercourses 148,000 - 493,750 acres of lakes and ponds 400,000 - ———————— - Total £602,640 - -If the profits of the cultivators and expenses of the fishery be added -to the produce, we have— - - Canals and watercourses £400,000 - Lakes and ponds 400,000 - ———————— - Total production of profits and produce £800,000 - -[Illustration: PISCICULTURAL ESTABLISHMENT AT BUISSE.] - -The piscicultural establishment of M. de Galbert, one of the most -important of the kind which exists in France, is worthy of notice. It -is situated at Buisse in the canton of Voiron in Isere, a department on -the south-east frontier of France. The works, of which the accompanying -engraving is a plan, comprise four ponds for the reception of the fish -in various stages of growth. The first (1 in the plan) is about 100 -metres long by 3 m. 50 in breadth, with a mean depth of 1 metre. It -is almost divided into two parts, a sheet of water and a stream, by a -peninsula, and the division is completed by a grating which prevents -the mixing of the fish contained in each part, and also arrests the -ascent or descent of the fry. The sheet of water is supplied from -sources of an elevated temperature which diverge into the stream, and -thence into pond No. 2 at N. This basin (2) is 150 metres long, with -a mean breadth of 8 metres, and a depth varying from 1 to 2 metres. -Besides the waters from the first pond, this basin is supplied from -the springs, and from the mill-stream which rises from a rock situated -at a distance of 200 metres. This pond contains fish of the second -year. A sluice or water-gate (J), placed in the deepest part of the -pond, affords the means of turning the water and the fish contained -therein into the pond No. 3. Courses of rough stones and weeds line the -banks of the pond, and form places of shelter for the fish, besides -encouraging the growth of such shell-fish as shrimps, lobsters, etc. -The third pond (3) has a surface of about 5000 yards, with a depth -equal to that of the second pond. An underground canal (G) runs along -the eastern side, and at distances of 2 metres trenches lined with -stones loosely thrown together join the canal to the basin, and allow -the fish to circulate through these subterranean passages, where every -stone becomes a means of shelter and concealment. The adult trout can -conceal themselves in the submerged holes and crevices of the islands -(F) of which there are three in the pond. The narrowest part of the -basin is crossed by a viaduct of 8 metres (N), to the arch of which -is fitted an iron grating with rods in grooves to receive either a -sluice or a snare. The sluice, formed of fine wire, keeps out the -fish that would destroy the spawn at the time of fecundation. The -spawn is covered with a layer of fine round gravel, to the thickness -of 0 m. 30, which the trout can easily raise as fast as it bursts the -egg. The snare or netting encloses the fish destined for artificial -breeding without hurting them, and also secures the fish that are to -be consumed, and those which it is necessary to destroy because of -their voracity, as the pike. A floodgate placed at the lower end of -the pond permits the pond to be emptied when necessary, and an iron -grating prevents the escape of the fish. All the ponds are protected by -a double line of galvanised iron wire placed on posts armed with hooks, -and yet low enough to allow a boat to pass. The water of the ponds -finally passes into the Isere, where a permanent snare allows strange -fish to penetrate into the ponds. At spawning time a great many trout -deposit their spawn there. The small pond (4) fed by the mill-stream -is a sort of reservoir for large fish destined for sale or domestic -use. Throughout the year the fish caught in the nets of the third -pond are placed in this basin, so when the spawning season arrives it -is a vast nursery for the purpose of reproduction. In the house (O) -built near the bridge (N) of the third pond lodge the guard and the -hatching-apparatus. The _appareils_ are similar to those employed at -the Collége de France and are supplied from a spring. One particular -appareil, placed in a source of which the temperature never varies, -is slightly different from the other models: it is simply zinc boxes -pierced with very fine holes. This apparatus, which has been in use for -three years, has given great satisfaction. It may be added that the -establishment at Buisse can supply 40,000 or 50,000 young trout in the -year at five centimes each, a result which is mainly due to the care -and solicitude with which M. de Galbert has conducted his operations. - -What strikes us most in connection with the history of French -fish-culture is the essentially practical nature of all the experiments -which have been entered upon. There has been no toying in France with -this revived art of fish-breeding. The moment it was ascertained that -Remy’s discoveries in artificial spawning were capable of being carried -out on the largest possible scale, that scale was at once resolved -upon, and the government of the country became responsible for its -success, which was immediate and substantial. The discoverer of the art -was handsomely rewarded; and the great building at Huningue, used as -a place for the reception and distribution of fish-eggs, testifies to -the anxiety of France to make pisciculture one of the most practical -industries of the present day. Unceasing efforts are still being made -by the government to extend the art, so that every acre of water in -that country may be as industriously turned to profit as the acres of -land are. Why should not an acre of water become as productive as an -acre of land? We have an immensity of water space that is comparatively -useless. The area occupied by the water of our lakes and rivers may -be estimated from the Thames, which occupies a space of five thousand -square miles. The French people are now beginning thoroughly to -appreciate the value of their lakes and rivers. Think of the fish-ponds -of Doombes being of the extent of thirty thousand acres! No wonder that -in France pisciculture has become a government question, and been taken -under the protecting wing of the state. - -The different kinds of water in France are carefully considered, and -only fish suitable for them placed therein. In marshy places eels -alone are deposited, whilst in bright and rapid waters trout and -other suitable fish are now to be found in great plenty. Attention is -at present being turned to sea-fish, and the latest “idea” that has -been promulgated in connection with the cultivation of sea-animals -is turtle-culture. The artificial multiplication of turtle, on the -plan of securing the eggs and protecting the young till they are able -to be left to their own guidance, is advocated by M. Salles, who is -connected with the French navy, and who seems to have a considerable -knowledge of the nature and habits of the turtle. To some extent -turtle-culture is already carried on in the island of Ascension—so -far at least as the protection of the eggs and watching over the -young is concerned. M. Salles proposes, however, to do more than is -yet done at Ascension; he thinks that, to arrive quickly at a useful -result, it would be best to obtain a certain number of these animals -from places where they are still abundant, and transport them to such -parks or receptacles as might be established on the coasts of France -and Corsica, where, at one time, turtles were plentiful. Animals about -to lay would be the best to secure for the proposed experiments; and -these might be captured when seeking the sandy shores for the purpose -of depositing their eggs. Male turtles might at the same time be taken -about the islets which they frequent. A vessel of sufficient dimensions -should be in readiness to bring away the precious freight; and the -captured animals, on arriving at their destination, should be deposited -in a park chosen under the following considerations:—The formation -of the sides to be an inclosure by means of an artificial barrier of -moderate height, formed of stones, and perpendicular within, so as -to prevent the escape of the animals, but so constructed as to admit -the sea, and, at the same time, allow of a large sandy background for -the deposition of the eggs, which are about the size of those laid by -geese. As the turtles are herbivorous, the bottom of the park should be -covered with sea-weeds and marine plants of all kinds, similar to those -the animal is accustomed to at home. A fine southern exposure ought to -be chosen for the site of the park, in order to obtain as much of the -sunshine as possible, heat being the one grand element in the hatching -of the eggs. Turtles are very fond of sunshine, and float lazily about -in the tropical water, seldom coming to the shore except to lay. This -they do in the night-time: crawling cautiously ashore, and scraping a -large hole in a part of the sand which is never reached by the tide, -they deposit their eggs, and carefully cover them with the sand, -leaving the sun to effect the work of quickening them into life. - -It may be as well to state here that the French people eat all kinds of -fish, whether they be from the sea, the river, the lake, or the canal. -In Scotland and Ireland the salmon only is bred artificially as yet, -and chiefly because it is a valuable and money-yielding animal, and no -other fresh-water fish is regarded there as being of value except for -sport. In France large quantities of eels are bred and eaten; but in -Scotland, and in some parts of England, the people have such a horror -of that fish that they will not touch it. This of course is due to -prejudice, as the eel is good for food in a very high degree. In all -Roman Catholic countries there are so many fast-days that fish-food -becomes to the people an essential article of diet; in France this -is so, and the consequence is that a good many private amateurs in -pisciculture are to be found throughout the empire; but the mission of -the French Government in connection with fish-culture is apparently to -meddle only with the rearing and acclimatising of the more valuable -fishes. It would be a waste of energy for the authorities at Huningue -to commence the culture of the carp or perch. In our Protestant country -there is no demand for the commoner river or lake fishes except for -the purposes of sport; and with one or two exceptions, such as the -Lochleven trout, the charr, etc., there is no commerce carried on in -these fishes. One has but to visit the fishmarket at Paris to observe -that all kinds of fresh-water fish and river crustacea are there ranked -as saleable, and largely purchased. The mode of keeping these animals -fresh is worthy of being followed here. They are kept alive till wanted -in large basins and troughs, where they may at all times be seen -swimming about in a very lively state. - -As soon as the piscicultural system became known, it was rapidly -extended over the whole continent of Europe, and the rivers of Germany -were among the first to participate in the advantages of the artificial -system. In particular may be noticed the efforts made to increase the -supplies of the Danube salmon, a beautiful and excellent food-fish, -with a body similar to the trout, but still more shapely and graceful, -and which, if allowed time, is said to grow to an enormous size. The -young salmon of the Danube are always of a darker colour than those a -little older, but they become lighter in colour as they progress in -years. The mouth of this fish is furnished with very strong teeth; its -back is of a reddish grey, its sides and belly perfectly white; the -fins are bluish white; the back and the upper part of both sides are -slightly and irregularly speckled with black and roundish red spots. -This fish is also very prolific. Professor Wimmer of Landshut, the -authorities at Huningue mentioned, had frequently obtained as many as -40,000 eggs from a female specimen which weighed only eighteen pounds. -Our own _Salmo salar_ is not so fecund, it being well understood that a -thousand eggs per pound weight is about the average spawning power of -the British salmon. The ova of the Danube salmon are hatched in half -the time that our salmon eggs require for incubation—viz. in fifty-six -days—while the young fry attain the weight of one pound in the first -year; and by the third year, if well supplied with the requisite -quantity of food, they will have attained a weight of four pounds. -The divisions of growth, as compared with _Salmo salar_, are pretty -nearly as follows:—That fish, curiously enough, may at the end of two -years be eight pounds in weight, or it may not be half that number of -ounces. One batch of a salmon hatching go to the sea at the end of the -first year, and rapidly return as grilse, handsome four-pound fish, -whilst the other moiety remain in the fresh water till the expiry of -the second year from the time of birth, so that _they_ require about -thirty months to become four-pound fish, by which time the first moiety -are salmon of eight or ten pounds! These are ascertained facts. This -is rapid work as compared with the Danube fish, which, after the first -year, grows only at about the rate of eighteen ounces per annum. But -even at that rate, fish-cultivation must pay well. Suppose that by the -protected or piscicultural system a full third (_i.e._ 13,500) of the -40,000 eggs arrive in twelve months at the stage of pound fish, and -are sold at the rate of threepence per pound weight, a revenue of £162 -would thus result in one year’s time from a single pair of breeding -salmon! Two pairs would, of course, double the amount, and so on. - -A series of well-conducted operations in fish-culture has been carried -on for about twelve years on the river Tay about five miles from Perth; -and as these have attracted a great amount of attention, they merit a -somewhat lengthened description. The breeding-ponds at Stormontfield -are beautifully situated on a sloping haugh on the banks of the Tay, -and are sheltered at the back by a plantation of trees. The ground -has been laid out to the best advantage, and the whole of the ponds, -water-runs, etc., have been planned and constructed by Mr. Peter Burn, -C.E., and they have answered the purpose for which they were designed -admirably. The supply of water is obtained from a rapid mill-stream, -which runs in a line with the river Tay, as is shown by a small plan -on the next page. The necessary quantity of water is first run from -this stream into a reservoir, from which it is filtered through pipes -into a little watercourse at the head of the range of boxes from whence -it is laid on. These boxes are fixed on a gentle declivity, half-way -between the mill-race and the Tay, and by means of the slope the water -falls beautifully from one to another of the three hundred “procreant -cradles” in a gradual but constant stream, and collects at the bottom -of the range of boxes in a kind of dam, and thence runs into a small -lake or depôt where the young fish are kept. Until lately only one -such pond was to be found at Stormontfield, but another pond for the -smolts has now been added in order to complete the suite. A sluice -made of fine wire-grating admits of the superfluous water being run -off into the Tay, so that an equable supply is invariably kept up. It -also serves for an outlet to the fish when it is deemed expedient to -send them out to try their fortune in the greater deep near at hand, -and for which their pond experience has been a mode of preparation. -The planning of the boxes, ponds, sluices, etc., has been accomplished -with great ingenuity; and one can only regret that the whole apparatus -is not three times the size, so that the Tay proprietors might -breed annually a million of salmon, which would add largely to the -productiveness of that river, and of course aid in increasing the -rental. - -[Illustration: ORIGINAL BREEDING-POND AT STORMONTFIELD. - A. Mill-race. - B. Filtering-pond. - C. Hatching-boxes. - D. Rearing-pond. - E. Upper canal. - F. Lower canal. - G. Connecting stream of C and D. - H. By-run to river. - K. Pipe from mill-race to pond. - L. Pipe to empty pond. - M. Pipe from mill-race to filtering-pond. - _n n_. Discharge-pipes from do. - O. Do. do. to lower canal. - P. Sluices from pond. - R. Marking-box. - S. Keeper’s house. - T V. Sluices from lower canal. -] - -For the purpose of showing the level of the pond at Stormontfield I beg -to introduce what the French people call “a profile.” - -[Illustration: PROFILE OF STORMONTFIELD SALMON-BREEDING PONDS. - A. Source of water-supply. - B. Pond from which to filter water on boxes. - C. Egg-boxes. - D. Pond for young fish. - E. River Tay. -] - -The salmon-breeding operations at Stormontfield originated at a -meeting of the proprietors of the river Tay held in July 1852, -when a communication by Dr. Eisdale was read on the subject of -artificial propagation; and Mr. Thomas Ashworth of Poynton detailed -the experiments which had been conducted at his Irish fisheries. -This gentleman, who takes a great and practical interest in all -matters relating to fisheries and the breeding of fish—and to whom I -am greatly indebted for practical information—said that he had long -entertained the opinion that it would be quite as easy to propagate -salmon artificially in our rivers as it is to raise silkworms on -mulberry leaves, though the former were under water and the latter in -the open air; “indeed it has become an established fact,” said Mr. -Ashworth, “that salmon and other fish may be propagated artificially -in ponds in numbers amounting to millions, at a small cost, and thus -be protected from their natural enemies for the first year or two of -their existence, after which they will be much more able, comparatively -speaking, to take care of themselves, than can be the case in the -earlier stages of their existence.” Mr. Ashworth estimates the expense -of artificial propagation as about one pound for each thousand fish, or -one farthing per salmon. On the suggestion of Mr. Ashworth, a practical -pisciculturist was engaged to inaugurate the breeding operations at -Stormontfield, and to teach a local fisherman the art of artificial -spawning. The operation of preparing the spawn for the boxes was -commenced on the 23d of November 1853, and in the course of a month -300,000 ova were deposited in the 300 boxes, which had been carefully -filled with prepared gravel, and made all ready for their reception. -Mr. Ramsbottom, who conducted the manipulation, says the river Tay is -one of the finest breeding streams in the world, and thinks that it -would be presumptuous to limit the numbers of salmon that might be bred -in it were the river cultivated to the full extent of its capabilities. - -The date when the first of the eggs deposited was observed to be -hatched was on the 31st of March, a period of more than four months -after the stocking of the boxes; and during April and May most of -the eggs had started into life, and the fry were observed waddling -about the breeding-boxes, and were in June promoted to a place in the -reception-pond, being then tiny fish a little more than an inch long. -Sir William Jardine, who has taken a warm interest in the Stormontfield -operations, thought that the first year’s experiments were remarkably -successful in showing the practicability of hatching, rearing, -and maintaining in health, a very large number of young fish, at a -comparatively trifling cost. The artificial breeding of salmon is still -carried on at these ponds, and with very great success, when their -limited extent is taken into account. They have sensibly increased the -stock of fish in the Tay, and also, as I will by and by relate, under -the separate head of “The Salmon,” contributed greatly to the solution -of the various mysteries connected with the growth of that fish. The -fish, it is remarkable, suffer no deterioration of any kind by being -bred in the ponds, and can compare in every respect with those bred in -the river. - -[Illustration: DESIGN FOR A SERIES OF SALMON-BREEDING PONDS. - Source of supply at top. - Breeding-boxes next. - Parr-pond after. - Smolt-pond to the right. - Adult salmon pond to the left. - River at foot of plan. - Ornamental walks. - Clumps of trees, etc., according to taste. -] - -The plan of the ponds at Stormontfield, as originally constructed, -will be a better guide to persons desiring information than any written -description. The engraving, with the double pond, shows a design of my -own, founded on the Stormontfield suite it contains a separate pond -for the detention, for a time, of such large fish as may be taken with -their spawn not fully matured. Cottages for the superintendent of the -ponds and his assistants are also shown in the plan. - -The ponds at Stormontfield were originally designed with a view to -breed 300,000 fish per annum, but after a trial of two years it was -found, from a speciality in the natural history of the salmon elsewhere -alluded to, that only half that number of fish could be bred in each -year. Hence the necessity for the recently-constructed smolt-pond, -which will now admit of a hatching at Stormontfield of at least 350,000 -eggs every year. An additional reason for the construction of the new -pond was the fact of the old one being too small in proportion to the -breeding-boxes. Its dimensions were 223 feet by 112 feet at its longest -and broadest parts. The new pond is nearly an acre in extent, and is -well adapted for the reception of the young fish. - -The egg-boxes at Stormontfield, unlike those at Huningue, are in the -open air, and in consequence the eggs are exposed to the natural -temperature, and take, on an average of the seasons, about 120 days -to ripen into fish. For instance, the eggs laid down in November 1863 -had not come to life at the time of my visit to the ponds in the -second week of March 1864. The young fish, as soon as they are able to -eat—which is not for a good few days, as the umbilical bag supplies all -the food that is required for a time by the newly-hatched animal—are -fed with particles of boiled liver. On the occasion of my last visit -(December 22, 1864), Mr. Marshall threw a few crumbs into the pond, -which caused an immediate rising of the fry at that spot in great -numbers. It would, of course, have been a simple plan to turn each -year’s fish out of the ponds into the river as they were hatched, but -it was thought advisable rather to detain them till they were seized -with the migratory instinct and assumed the scales of smolthood, which -occurs, as already stated in other parts of this work, at the age of -one and two years respectively. Indeed, the experiments conducted at -the Stormontfield ponds have conclusively settled the long-fought -battle of the parr, and proved indisputably that the parr is the young -of the salmon, that it becomes transformed to a smolt, grows into a -grilse, and ultimately attains the honour of full-grown salmonhood. - -The anomaly in the growth of the parr was also attempted to be solved -at Stormontfield, but without success. In November and December -1857 provision was made for hatching in separate compartments the -artificially-impregnated ova of—1, parr and salmon; 2, grilse and -salmon; 3, grilse pure; 4, salmon pure. It was found, when the young of -these different matches came to be examined early in April 1859, that -the sizes of each kind varied a little, Mr. Buist, the superintendent -of fisheries, informing us that—“1st, the produce of the salmon with -salmon are 4 in. in length; 2d, grilse with salmon, 3½ in.; 3d, -grilse with grilse, 3½ in.; 4th, parr with grilse, 3 in.; 5th, smolt -from large pond, 5 in.” These results of a varied manipulation never -got a fair chance of being of use as a proof in the disputation; for, -owing to the limited extent of the ponds at the time, the experiments -had to be matured in such small boxes or ponds as evidently tended to -stunt the growth of the fish. Up to the present time the riddle which -has so long puzzled our naturalists in connection with the growth of -the salmon has not been solved. A visitor whom I met at the ponds was -of opinion that a sufficient quantity of milt was not used in the -fructification of the eggs, as the male fish were scarcer than the -female ones, and that those eggs which first came into contact with the -milt produced the stronger fish. - -“Peter of the Pools” (Mr. Buist) says that what strikes a stranger who -visits the ponds most is the great disparity in the size of fish of the -same age, the difference of which can only be that of a few weeks, as -all were hatched by the month of May. That there are strong and weak -fry from the moment that they burst the covering admits not of a doubt, -and that the early fish may very speedily be singled out from among -the late ones is also quite certain. In the course of a few weeks the -smolts that are to leave at the end of the first year can be noted. The -keeper’s opinion is that at feeding-time the weak are kept back by the -strong, and therefore are not likely to thrive so fast as those that -get a larger portion of the food; he lays great stress on feeding, and -his opinion on that subject is entitled to consideration. - -At the time of the visit alluded to one of the ponds (the original one) -was swarming with young salmon hatched out in March and April 1864, the -eggs having been placed in the boxes in November and December 1863. -Half of these would depart from the ponds as smolts during May 1865; -the other half, I suppose, would be transferred to the new pond, as -there is direct communication with both of the ponds from the canal at -the foot of the suite of breeding-boxes, which have been lately renewed -and improved. The requirements of spawning only once in two seasons -have not been strictly observed of late years, so that eggs were laid -down in both the years 1862 and 1863. In the former of those years the -ova laid down were 250,000, and in 1863 about 80,000; indeed, no more -could be obtained, in consequence of the river being in an unfavourable -state for capturing the gravid fish. - -The guiding of the smolts from the ponds to the river is easily managed -through the provision made at Stormontfield for that purpose, and -which consists of a runlet lined with wood, protected at the pond by -a perforated zinc sluice, and terminating near the river in a kind of -reception-chamber, about four feet square, which, is likewise provided -with a zinc sluice (also perforated), to keep the fish from getting -away till the arranged time, thus affording proper facilities for the -marking and examination of departing broods. [See plan.] The sluice -being lifted, the current of water is sufficiently strong to carry -the fish down a gentle slope to the Tay, into which they proceed in -considerable quantities, day by day, till all have departed; the parrs, -strange to say, evincing no desire to remove, although, of course, -being in the same breeding-ponds, they have a good opportunity of -reaching the river. - -It was a great drawback in former years at Stormontfield, during the -hatching seasons, that many fish were caught with their eggs not -sufficiently matured, and which could not be used in consequence. To -remedy this, a plan has been adopted of keeping all the salmon that -are caught, if they be so nearly ripe for spawning as to warrant -their detention. These are confined in the mill-race till they become -thoroughly ready for the manipulator, and are kept within bounds by -strong iron gratings, placed about 100 yards from each other. These -gravid fish are taken out as they are required, or rather as they -ripen, by means of a small sweep-net, and it is noteworthy that the -animals, after being once or twice fished for, become very cunning, and -hide themselves in such bottom holes as they can discover, in order -that the net may pass over them. I have no doubt that the Stormontfield -mill-race forms an excellent temporary feeding-place for these fish, as -its banks are well overhung with vegetation, and its waters are clear -as crystal, and of good flavour. It is a decided convenience to be able -thus to store the egg-and-milt-producing fish till they are wanted, -and will render the annual filling of the breeding-boxes a certainty, -which, even under the old two-year system, was not so, in consequence -of floods on the river Tay, and from many other causes besides. - -The latest has been the best spawning season experienced since the -commencement of the Stormontfield artificial spawning operations. On -the 22d of December (1865) I found that Peter Marshall, the resident -pisciculturist, had up to that date deposited in the breeding-boxes -more than 300,000 salmon eggs, and that he still had three adult fish -to spawn, from which he calculated upon obtaining something like 50,000 -additional eggs, and he told me that that number would complete the -total quantity required that season—viz. 350,000; indeed, the boxes -cannot conveniently hold many more, although another row has been -constructed. - -Upwards of a million of pond-bred fish have now been thrown into -the river Tay, and the result has been a satisfactory rise in the -salmon-rental of that magnificent stream. - -I have compiled the following summary of what has been achieved in -salmon-breeding at the Stormontfield ponds:— - -On the 23d November 1853 the stocking of the boxes commenced, and -before a month had expired 300,000 ova were deposited, being at the -rate of 1000 to each box, of which at that time there were 300. These -ova were hatched in April 1854, and the fry were kept in the ponds -till May 1855, when the sluice was opened, and one moiety of the fish -departed for the river and the sea. About 1300 of these were marked by -cutting off the dead or second dorsal fin. The smolts marked were about -one in every hundred, so that about 130,000 must have departed, leaving -more than that number in the pond. The second spawning, in 1854, was -a failure, only a few thousand fish being produced. This result arose -from the imperfect manipulation of the fish by those intrusted with the -spawning. The third spawning took place between the 22d November and -the 16th December 1855, and during that time 183,000 ova were deposited -in the boxes. These ova came to life in April 1856. The second -migration of the fry spawned in 1853 took place between the 20th April -and 24th May 1856. Of the smolts that then left the ponds, 300 were -marked with rings, and 800 with cuts in the tail. Many grilses having -the mark on the tail were re-taken, but none of those marked with the -ring. The smolts from the hatching of 1856 left the pond in April -1857. About 270 were marked with silver rings inserted into the fleshy -part of the tail; about 1700 with a small hole in the gill-cover; and -about 600 with the dead fin cut off in addition to the mark in the -gill-cover. Several grilses with the mark on the gill and tail were -caught and reported, but no fish marked with the ring. The fourth -spawning took place between the 12th November and the 2d December 1857, -when 150,000 ova were deposited in the boxes. These came to life in -March 1858. Of the smolts produced from the previous hatching, which -left the pond in 1858, 25 were marked with a silver ring behind the -dead fin, and 50 with gilt copper wire. Very few of this exodus were -reported as being caught. The smolts produced from the hatching of 1858 -left the pond in April 1859, and 506 of them were marked. The fifth -spawning, from 15th November to 13th December 1859, produced 250,000 -ova, which were hatched in April 1860. Of the smolts that left in 1860, -670 were marked, and a good many of them were reported as having been -caught on their return from the sea. The smolts of the hatching of 1860 -left the pond in May 1861, but none of them were marked.[2] The number -of eggs deposited in the breeding-boxes in the spawning season of 1862 -(November and December) was about 250,000; and in 1863 not more than -80,000 ova could be obtained, in consequence of the unfavourable state -of the river for capturing gravid salmon. Peter Marshall has proved a -most able pisciculturist. The loss of eggs under his management forms -an almost infinitesimal proportion of the total quantities hatched at -Stormontfield. - -Mr. Buist has favoured me with the following notes, which were compiled -from his day-books at an early stage of the Stormontfield experiments:— - -“1. Of the marked fish which were liberated from the pond at -Stormontfield, four out of every hundred were recaptured, either as -grilse or salmon. - -“2. We find that more than 300,000 fish were reared in the pond, and -allowed to go into the Tay. Thus forty fish out of every thousand were -recaptured; and as 300,000 were in all liberated, it follows that -12,000 of the salmon taken in the Tay were pond-bred fish. But as the -fish did not all go away in one year, this 12,000 must be distributed -over two years. - -“3. We find the average number of salmon and grilse taken in each year -is 70,000. It follows, then, if there be any truth in figures, that -nearly one-tenth of the fish taken in the Tay for the last two years -were artificially bred. This is equivalent to a rise of 10 per cent in -the rental of the fishings; and such we find is the result. - -“It may be urged that if the salmon from which the ova were taken had -been left at liberty, the result would have been the same; but this -we know could not have been the case, for, according to a careful -calculation made by Mr. Thomas Tod Stoddart and others, each pair of -salmon, although they produce upon an average 30,000 eggs, do not rear -above five fish. Three female fish, if every egg they deposit was to -produce a salmon, would produce all the fish in the Tay. When left in -their natural state, 30,000 ova produce four or five fish fit for the -table; whereas the same number of ova, when carefully protected in the -breeding-ponds, produce about 800. This is supposing that one-third of -the ova deposited in the boxes perishes—does not hatch, and comes to -nothing. Therefore the increase in the number of salmon taken within -the last year is accounted for. Had there been any increase in the -number of fish in the other rivers of Scotland, doubts might arise; but -there has been no such increase, last year being a bad one for every -river in Scotland with the exception of the Tay.” - -In addition to the group of salmon-breeding ponds at Stormontfield, -a very successful suite of breeding-boxes has been laid down on the -river Dee, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, by Messrs. Martin and -Gillone, the lessees of the river Dee salmon-fisheries. Mr. Gillone, -who is an adept in the art of fish-culture, was one of the earliest -to experiment on the salmon, and so long ago as 1830 had arrived at -the conclusion that parr were young salmon, and that that tiny animal -changed at a given period into a smolt, and in time became a valuable -table-fish. These early experiments of Mr. Gillone’s were not in any -sense commercial; they were conducted solely with a view to solve what -was then a curious problem in salmon-growth. In later years Mr. Gillone -and his partner have entered upon salmon-breeding as an adjunct of -their fisheries on the river Dee, for which, as tacksmen, they pay a -rental of upwards of £1200 per annum. The breeding-boxes of Messrs. -Martin and Gillone have been fitted up on a very picturesque part -of the river at Tongueland, and the number of eggs last brought to -maturity is considerably over 100,000. The present series of hatchings -for commercial purposes was begun in 1862-63 with 25,000 eggs, followed -in the succeeding year by a laying down of nearly double that number. -The hatchings of these seasons were very unsuccessful, the loss from -many causes being very great, for the manipulation of fish eggs during -the time of their artificial extraction and impregnation requires -great care—a little maladroitness being sufficient to spoil thousands. - -The last hatching (spring 1865) has been most successfully dealt with. -Messrs. Martin and Gillone’s breeding-boxes are all under cover, being -placed in a large lumber-store connected with a biscuit manufactory. -This chamber is seventy feet long, and there is a double row of boxes -extending the whole length of the place. These receptacles for the -eggs are made of wood; they are three feet long, one foot wide, and -four inches deep, and into the whole series a range of frames has -been fitted containing glass troughs on which to lay the eggs. The -edges of the glass are ground off, and they are fitted angularly -_across the current_ in the shape of a V. The eggs are laid down on, -or rather sown into, these troughs, from a store bottle, on to which -is fitted a tapering funnel. The flow of water, which is derived from -the river, and is filtered to prevent the admission of any impurity, -is very gentle, being at the rate of about fifteen feet per minute, -and is kept perfectly regular. The boxes are all fitted with lids, -in order to prevent the eggs from being devoured, as is often done, -by rats and other vermin, and also to assimilate the conditions of -artificial hatching as much as possible to those of the natural -breeding-beds—where, of course, the eggs are covered up with gravel and -are hatched in comparative darkness. - -It may be of some use, particularly to those who are interested in -pisciculture, to note a few details connected with the capturing of the -gravid fish and the plan of exuding the ova practised at Tongueland. -The river Dee is tolerably well stocked with fish, as may be surmised -from the rent I have named as being paid for the right of fishing. Mr. -Gillone adopts the plan, now also in use at Stormontfield, of capturing -his fish in good time—in fact, as a general rule, before the eggs are -ripe—and of confining them in his mill-race till they are thoroughly -ready for manipulation. Last season—_i.e._ in November and December -1864, and January 1865—as many as thirty-six female fish were taken for -their roe, the number of milters being twenty-five, the total weight of -the lot being 454 lbs., or, on the average, six and a half pounds each -fish. According to rule, the weight of the female fish taken having -been 283 lbs., these ought to have yielded 283,000 eggs, but as several -of the fish were about ripe at the time they were caught, they spawned -naturally in the mill-race, where the eggs in due time came to life. -The plan of spawning pursued at Tongueland is as follows:—Whenever the -fish are supposed to be ripe for that process, the water is shut out -of the dam, and the animal is first placed in a box filled with water -in order to its examination; if ready to be operated upon, it is then -transferred to a trough filled with water about three feet and a half -long, seven inches in breadth, and of corresponding depth, and the -roe or milt is pressed out of the fish just in the position in which -it swims. As soon as the eggs are secured, a portion of the water is -poured out of the wooden vessel, and the male fish is then similarly -treated. The milt and roe are mixed by hand stirring, and the eggs then -being washed are distributed into the boxes. - -Mr. Gillone carries on all his operations with the greatest possible -precision. He has a large clear glass bottle marked off in divisions, -each of which contains 800 eggs, and he numbers the divisions allotted -to each particular fish, which are sown into a similarly numbered -division in his box, so that by referring to his index-book he can -trace out any peculiarity in the eggs, etc. - -Although pisciculture has been shown by means of what has been achieved -on the Continent and at Stormontfield to be eminently practical, yet -nothing beyond a few toy experiments, so to speak, have been made in -England; indeed, we have had a great deal of “toying” with the subject; -but all honour to Messrs. Buckland and Francis—they are evidently -doing their best to create public opinion on the subject. Lectures -have been delivered on fish-culture, and letters have been thickly sent -to the daily papers, advocating the extension of the art; but no great -movement has been made beyond stocking the upper waters of the Thames -with a few thousand trout and some fancy fish. Salmon also have been -hatched; but can they reach the sea in the present state of the river? - -[Illustration: PISCICULTURAL APPARATUS.] - -In order that gentlemen who have a bit of running water on their -property may try the experiment of artificial hatching, I give a -drawing of an apparatus invented by M. Coste suitable for hatching out -a few thousand eggs—it could be set up in a garden or be placed in any -convenient outhouse. I may state that I am able to hatch salmon eggs -in the saucer of a flower-pot; it is placed on a shelf over a fixed -wash-hand basin, and a small flow of water regulated by a stopcock -falls into it. The vessel is filled with small stones and bits of -broken china, and answers admirably. Out of a batch of about two -hundred eggs brought from Stormontfield, only fifteen were found to -have turned opaque in the first five weeks. Eggs hatched in this homely -way are very serviceable, as one can examine them day by day and note -how they progress, and in due time observe the development of the fish -for a few days. The young animals can only be kept in the saucer about -ten or twelve days, and should then be placed in a larger vessel or be -thrown into a river. - -As regards England, I should like to see one of the great rivers of -that country turned into a gigantic salmon “manufactory.” Ponds might -be readily constructed on one or two places of the Severn, or on some -of the other suitable salmon streams of England or Wales, capable of -turning out a million fish per annum, and at a comparatively trifling -cost. The formation of the ponds would be the chief expense; a couple -of men could watch and feed the fry with the greatest ease. The size -adopted might be three times that of the ponds on the river Tay, and -the original cost of these was less than £500. I would humbly submit -that the ponds should be constructed after the manner of the plan I -have elsewhere given. Except by the protecting of the spawn and the -young fish from their numerous enemies, there is no way of meeting -the present great demand for salmon, which, when in season, is in the -aggregate of greater value than the best butchers’ meat. The salmon is -an excellent fish to work with in a piscicultural sense, because it is -large enough to bear a good deal of handling, and it is very accessible -to the operations of mankind, because of the instinct which leads it to -spawn in the fresh water instead of the sea. It is only such a fish as -this monarch of the brook that would individually pay for artificial -breeding, for, having a high money value as an animal, it is clear that -salmon-culture would in time become as good a way of making money as -cattle-feeding or sheep-rearing. - -There are waste places in England—the Essex marshes, for instance, or -the fens of Norfolk—where it would be profitable to cultivate eels -or other fish after the manner of the inhabitants of Comacchio. I -observed lately some details of a plan to rescue a quantity of land -in Essex from the water; it would perhaps pay as well to convert -the broad acres in question, from their being near the great London -market, into a fish-farm. The English people are fond of eels, and -would be able to consume any quantity that might be offered for sale, -and the place being in such close proximity to the Thames, other fish -might be cultivated as well. All the best portions of the hydraulic -apparatus of Comacchio might be imitated, and to suit the locality, -such other portions as might be required could be invented. The art -of pisciculture is but in its infancy, and we may all live in the -hope of seeing great water farms—but, to be profitable, they must be -gigantic—for the cultivation of fish, in the same sense as we have -extensive grazing or feeding farms for the breeding and rearing of -cattle. - -In Ireland, Mr. Thomas Ashworth, of the Galway fisheries, finds it as -profitable and as easy to breed salmon as it is to rear sheep. His -fisheries are a decided success; and, if we except the cost of some -extensive engineering operations in forming fish-passes to admit of -a communication with the sea, the cost of his experiments has been -trifling and the returns exceptionally large. Mr. Ashworth put into -his fisheries no less than a million and a half of salmon eggs in -the course of two seasons—viz., 659,000 eggs in 1861, and 770,000 in -1862.[3] I am anxious to obtain a consecutive and detailed account of -the operations carried out by the Messrs. Ashworth, but have not been -able to get correct particulars. Mr. Ashworth has lately visited the -oyster-farms of the Isle of Re, and has a high opinion of the efforts -made for the multiplication of that favourite mollusc. He has very -obligingly communicated to me a number of interesting statistics as to -French oyster-culture, which I have incorporated into my account of the -shell-fish fisheries. - -Two recent achievements in the art of fish-culture, or at any rate in -the art of acclimatisation, deserve to be chronicled in this division -of the “Harvest of the Sea.” I allude to the successful introduction -into Australia of the British salmon, and the equally successful -bringing to this country of a foreign fish—the _Silurus glanis_. - -Grave doubts at one time prevailed among persons interested in -acclimatisation and pisciculture as to whether or not it were possible -to introduce the British salmon into the waters of Australia; and an -interesting controversy was about three years ago carried on in various -journals as to the best way of taking out the fish to that country. -Those very wise people who never do anything, but are largely endowed -with the gift of prophecy, at once proclaimed that it could not be -done; that it was impossible to take the salmon out to Australia, etc. -etc. But happily for the cause of progress in natural science, and the -success of this particular experiment, there were men who had resolved -to carry it out and who would not be put down. Mr. Francis Francis, -Mr. Frank Buckland, and Mr. J. A. Youl, took a leading part in the -achievement; but before they fell upon their successful plan of taking -out the ova in ice, hot discussions had ensued as to how the salmon -could be introduced into the rivers of the Australian Continent. Many -plans were suggested: some for carrying out the young fish in tanks, -and others for taking out the fructified ova, so that the process of -hatching might be carried on during the voyage. One ingenious person -promulgated a plan of taking the parr in a fresh-water tank a month -or two before it changed into a smolt, saying that after the change -it would be easy to keep the smolts supplied with _fresh_ salt water -direct from the sea as the ship proceeded on her voyage. - -The mode ultimately adopted was to pack up the ova in a bed of ice, -experiments having first been made with a view to test the plan. For -that purpose a large number of ova were deposited in an ice-house in -order to ascertain how long the ripening of the egg could be deferred—a -condition of the experiment of course being that the egg should remain -quite healthy. The Wenham Lake Ice Company were so obliging as to allow -boxes containing salmon and trout ova, packed in moss, to be placed -in their ice vaults, and to afford every facility for the occasional -examination of the eggs. Satisfactory results being obtained—in other -words, it having been proved that the eggs of the salmon could with -perfect safety be kept in ice for a period exceeding the average time -of a voyage to Australia—it was therefore resolved that a quantity -of eggs, properly packed in ice, should be sent out. The result of -this experiment is now well known, most of the daily papers having -chronicled the successful exportation of the ova, and announced that -the fish had come to life and were thriving in their foreign home. - -I do not wish to weary my readers, but must crave their indulgence -while I give a few of the more interesting details connected with this -important experiment. - -The number of ova sent out to Australia was 100,000 salmon and 3000 -trout. The vessel selected for the conveyance of the eggs was the -_Norfolk_, which on one or two occasions had made very rapid voyages. -The ova were procured from the Tweed, the Severn, the Ribble, and the -Dovey rivers; thus England, Scotland, and Wales contributed to this -precious freight. One hundred and sixty-four boxes, containing about -90,000 ova, were placed at the bottom of the ice-house, with a solid -mass of ice nine feet thick on the top, so that every particle of this -mass must melt before the ova would suffer. Sixteen boxes, containing -above 13,000 ova, were placed in other parts of the ice-house, with ice -below and above, as well as all round the boxes. The ova were taken -between the 13th and 15th January, placed on board the ship on the -18th, and the _Norfolk_ left the docks on the morning of the 21st, and -Plymouth on the 28th January. Thirty tons of Wenham Lake ice were used -in the experiment. - -The ship arrived at Hobson’s Bay, Melbourne, on the 15th of April, -having been seventy-seven days on the voyage. A few of the boxes -containing the eggs were at once opened and placed in a suitable -hatching apparatus, but the larger portion were sent off to Tasmania -and reached Hobart Town on the 20th of April, where they were at once -deposited in the pond which had been carefully prepared for them on -the river Plenty. The following extract from a letter, written by the -Hon. Dr. Officer, Speaker of the House of Assembly, will show what -was done on the arrival of the eggs:—“Soon after the arrival of the -first half of the boxes, the process of opening them and depositing -the ova in their watery beds commenced, and you may be sure an anxious -process it was. In the first two boxes that were opened by far the -greater number of the ova had perished, but as we proceeded much more -fortunate results were obtained, and in many of the packages the living -predominated over the dead. I could not attempt to state to you, even -approximately, at the present moment, the actual number of healthy ova -that were found in the moss and placed in the hatching-boxes, beyond -saying that they amount to many thousands, and are amply sufficient, -if they should all continue to thrive and should become living fish, -to insure the complete success of our experiment. All the boxes have -now been opened except fifteen, and the ova first taken out have been -about twenty-four hours in the water. Among these some of them can -be observed with the eyes quite prominent, and visibly indicating the -near approach of hatching, so that not many days will elapse until the -ultimate result of the experiment is known. The remnant of the ice, -amounting to about eight tons, obtained from the _Norfolk_, was brought -up here with very little loss, and has of course been used in cooling -the water in the hatching-boxes. Mr. Ramsbottom thinks it will last -as long as he will require its aid, although it melts very quickly. -The water of the Plenty, which had fallen below 50 degrees, had been -again raised by a week of warm sunny weather to 54 degrees, which was -its temperature yesterday, but it was reduced to 45 degrees by the -introduction of ice. To-day the weather has been more suitable, and -the natural temperature is not much over 50 degrees, and will in all -probability soon decline several degrees lower. One or two of the ova -which were deposited in the water in apparently sound health have been -observed to become opaque and die, while some others have been seen to -retain all their clearness. These observations have necessarily been of -very limited extent. In one of the two boxes of trout ova, nearly all -were dead; in the other nearly all alive, and of a remarkably clear and -brilliant appearance. These have been placed in a compartment separated -from the salmon-boxes.” - -The commissioners appointed to receive the ova sent to Tasmania made a -formal report to the Government of the colony. One of the local papers -supplies a summary of what was reported, which is as follows:—“They -state that upon examination of the cases on arrival, it was found that -a close and almost unvarying relation existed between the fate of -the ova and the condition of the moss in which they were enveloped. -Where the moss retained its natural green hue and elasticity, there -a large proportion of the ova retained a healthy vitality; where, -on the contrary, the moss was of a brown colour, and in a collapsed -or compressed form, few of the ova were found alive, and all were -more or less entangled in a network of fungus. The smallest amount of -mortality was invariably found to have taken place in those boxes in -which the moss had been most loosely packed and the ova subjected to -the least amount of pressure. On the 4th of May the first trout made -its appearance, followed on the succeeding day by the first salmon that -had ever been seen in Australia, or south of the equator. The further -hatching of the trout and salmon proceeded very slowly for some days, -but then became more rapid—especially among the trout. Among these the -process was completed about the 25th May, producing upwards of two -hundred healthy fish. The hatching of the salmon is more protracted, -and was not concluded until the 8th June, on which day the last little -fish was observed making its escape from the shell. As they continued -to make their appearance from day to day, their numbers were counted by -Mr. Ramsbottom with tolerable accuracy up to about 1000, after which -it was no longer possible to keep any reckoning. The great undertaking -of introducing the salmon and trout into Tasmania has now, the -commissioners believe, been successfully accomplished. Few countries of -the same extent possess more rivers suited to the nature and habits of -this noble fish than Tasmania. A stranger acquainted with the salmon -rivers of Europe could scarcely behold the ample stream and sparkling -waters of the Derwent without fancying that they were already the home -of the king of fish. And the Derwent is but one of many other large and -ever-flowing rivers almost equally suited to become the abode of the -salmon. When these rivers have been stocked, they cannot fail to become -a source of considerable public revenue, and of profit and pleasure to -the people.” - -Mr. Ramsbottom, a son of the well-known English practical -pisciculturist, went out in charge of the eggs, and aided in their -accouchement, watching over the progress of the experiment with much -zeal. Very great anxiety was evinced by those interested for the -proper hatching out of the eggs, and the mortality which was soon -visible among the ova—it was at one time at the rate of one hundred -each day—was viewed with great alarm. The first eggs were hatched in -the ponds of Tasmania. Of the Victoria consignment, the first egg was -hatched at an ice company’s establishment on the 7th of May, twenty-two -days after the arrival of the ship. In a letter, dated 11th May 1864, -Dr. Officer communicates many interesting details of the experiment, as -the following extract will show:—“By our last out-going mail I reported -the hatching of the first trout and the first salmon on May 4 and 5. -We have now forty trout and nine salmon, but of the latter two are -deformed, and, therefore, not likely to survive long. The first-born -salmon is now nine days old, and is quite healthy and visibly grown. -The mortality among the ova, which had been about one hundred per diem -for some days, has very much decreased again, and for the last two days -has been quite trifling. The weather and temperature of the water have -continued favourable. The temperature of the Plenty and ponds has not -exceeded 49 degrees, nor descended below 46 degrees. This equality is -of course highly conducive to the health and progress of our charge. -We expected to have seen more salmon by this time, but our impatience -has outrun probability and the teachings of experience. The authorities -tell us that a few always precede the great body of fish by a good many -days, and are not usually so vigorous as those that are hatched at a -later period. As to the trout we may, I think, regard them as safe. -Only one out of the whole number hatched has died. As I looked at their -box this afternoon, I observed several in the act of escaping from the -shell. Mr. Ramsbottom’s attentions are indefatigable, and, I believe, -nothing has been neglected that could insure success.” - -The process of hatching was much more protracted than was anticipated; -it was not till the 8th of June that the last of the eggs gave forth -its little tenant. An account of the daily hatching was kept up till -the time that 1000 of the eggs had arrived at maturity, but after that -the hatching went on with such rapidity as to render it impossible to -keep a correct record. Up to the 16th of June the trout had not been -artificially fed, but for all that they looked healthy and grew fat. -Mr. Ramsbottom computed that he had at least 3000 healthy salmon, -rather a small percentage certainly to obtain out of the 30,000 eggs, -but quite sufficient to solve the grand problem of whether or not it -were possible to introduce the British salmon into Australian waters. -The latest accounts tell us that the young parr are doing well, though -they are not growing so fast as the trout.[4] The further progress of -the experiment will be watched with great anxiety both at home and -abroad. The Tasmanian Legislature have voted a further sum of £800 -for the purpose of introducing another batch of ova; this sum will be -augmented by £400 voted by the Victorian Acclimatisation Society; so -that no means will be left untried to bring to a successful conclusion -this great experiment—the ultimate result of which, I have no doubt, -will be, that the salmon will become as valuable a fish in the waters -of the great Australian Continent as it is in the waters of our own -islands. - -The naturalisation of fish, to which a brief reference has already been -made, is a subject that is not very well understood; but so far as -practical experience goes, I have seen nothing to prevent our breeding -in England some of the most productive foreign kinds. Among the fishes -of China, for instance, in addition to the golden carp—now quite -common here, and bred in thousands in nearly every factory pond, and -which is looked upon as simply an ornamental fish—there is the lo-in, -or king of fish, which frequently measures seven feet in length, and -weighs from fifty to two hundred pounds, the flesh being excellent; -the lien-in-wang and the kan-in, almost as good, and even larger than -the other. Then there is the li-in, the usual weight of which is about -fifteen pounds, and is said to be of a much finer flavour than our -European carp. There are many other choice fishes of exquisite flavour, -which it is unnecessary to enumerate; but I have no doubt that, besides -these natives of Chinese seas, there are numerous other fine fish that -might be acclimatised in our rivers and firths. The seir fish of Ceylon -may be named: it is a kind of scomberoid, and in shape and size is -similar to the British salmon. We must not, however, build ourselves -much on the acclimatisation of foreign fish, especially tropical fish, -as—although fish can bear great extremes of temperature—it would be -no easy matter to habituate them to our climate. Indeed some writers -think it will be found impossible to habituate tropical fish, however -valuable, to our cold waters, but the experiment is, I believe, being -tried in France. The bass of Lake Wennern may also be mentioned as a -suitable fish for British waters, as well as the ombre chevalier of -the Lake of Geneva, a few of which latter are now, I believe, along -with some other varieties, being tried in the river Thames. So great is -the increasing interest of pisciculture becoming, that new ideas are -being daily thrown out regarding it. A few months ago a writer in the -_Times_ suggested the introduction of a white fish from the Canadian -lakes to our fresh waters:—“This fish (_Coregonus albus_), of the -salmon family, is from three to four pounds weight, as delicious as a -Dublin Bay haddock when fresh, and when barrelled considered a luxury -in the Central and Southern States of America and the West Indies, -bringing 50 per cent over the price of barrelled trout. Different from -our fresh-water fish, it is a vegetarian, living on weeds and moss. It -is a great article of food in the North-Western States of America and -Canada, the exports of it being $464,479 in 1861 from the states on the -lakes; but I have no return from Canada, which may be about one-half -more, making a total of over $700,000, or £140,000 a year.” - -The latest achievement in pisciculture has been the introduction to -this part of Europe of “the Wels” (_Silurus glanis_), an interesting -account of which lately appeared in the _Field_ newspaper. Great -expectations have been formed that this gigantic fish may be -successfully reared in England. It is, I believe, the largest European -fresh-water fish, commonly attaining a weight of from fifty to -eighty pounds, and individuals have been found of the extraordinary -size of four cwts.! Dr. Gunther, the eminent ichthyologist, remarks -that this is the only foreign fish which it would be worth while to -introduce into this country; and thinks that, in several of our lakes, -particularly those in peat soil, it might be usefully placed. - -[Illustration: SILURUS GLANIS.] - -The following particulars regarding this new food fish have been -printed by the Acclimatisation Society, to whom the greatest praise -is due for its introduction:—Its appearance is not pleasant, the -large flattened head having a capacious mouth, which is capable of -seizing the largest kind of prey; so that if this fish be successfully -propagated in our streams and lakes, the pike, the water-wolf of the -British waters, will meet with more than its match. The habits of -the _Silurus glanis_ are said to be most ferocious, and its growth, -provided there be a sufficient supply of food, very rapid. The body -is less elongated than the eel, and there are, stretching from the -head, long tapering barbels; the eyes are frog-like, and there are many -other points of resemblance to the frog. The new fish is like the eel -in its habits, being a wallowing fish, fond of burrowing in the mud, -and hiding amongst the rotten roots of trees. There are dark charges -made against some of the largest specimens of the _Silurus glanis_, -in the stomachs of which it is reported that portions of human bodies -have been found. However, this is probably an exaggeration. There can, -however, be no doubt of the extraordinary appetite and fierceness of -this fish. In the floods of the Danube the silurus finds plentiful -prey in the multitude of frogs which pass into the river; but at other -times, fish, small animals, worms, indeed anything which comes near, -afford a supply of food; and there may be fear that, notwithstanding -the valuable qualities of the silurus as a means of supply to our -tables, it may more than balance its value in this way by the immense -destruction of fish which is needed for its support. It is said that -the silurus, when the prey is plentiful, will attain over fifty-six -pounds in four years; and Englishmen who have tasted it report that -in flavour it is superior to the salmon. Specimens of the wels have -been brought alive from a distance of nearly two thousand miles to the -station of the society at Twickenham by the exertions of Sir Stephen -Lakeman and Mr. Lowe, a gentleman who takes a great interest in all -questions of natural science. In all, fourteen of these young fish were -brought from Kapochien, in Wallachia, where Sir Stephen Lakeman has an -estate. The Argich river, which flows past there, abounds in these and -other valuable fish, which are found more or less throughout central -Europe and in Scandinavia. In the Danube and many of its tributaries -the number is abundant; and in those wide waters the _Silurus glanis_ -is said to reach the enormous weight of three hundred pounds. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -ANGLERS’ FISHES. - - Fresh-Water Fish not of much Value—The Angler and his - Equipment—Pleasures of the Country in May—Anglers’ Fishes—Trout, Pike, - Perch, and Carp—Gipsy Anglers—Angling Localities—Gold Fish—The River - Scenery of England—The Thames—Thames Anglers—Sea Angling—Various Kinds - of Sea-Fish—Proper kinds of Bait—The Tackle Necessary—The Island of - Arran—Corry—Goatfell, etc. - - -Although it may be deemed necessary in a work like the present to -devote some space to the subject, I do not set much store by the common -anglers’ fishes, so far, at least, as their food value is concerned; -for although we were to cultivate them to their highest pitch, and by -means of artificial spawning multiply them exceedingly, they would -never (the salmon, of course, excepted) form an article of any great -commercial value in this beef-eating country. In France, where the -Church enjoins so many fasts and has such strict sumptuary laws, the -people are differently situated, and require, especially in the inland -districts, to have recourse to the meanest produce of the rivers -in order to carry out the injunctions of their priests. The fresh -waters are therefore assiduously cultivated in nearly all continental -countries; but the fresh-water fishes of the British Islands have at -present but a very slight commercial value, as they are not captured, -either individually or in the aggregate, for the purposes of commerce; -but to persons fond of angling they afford sport and healthful -recreation, whether they are pursued in the large English or Scottish -lakes, or caught in the small rivulets that feed our great salmon -streams. - -Although Britain is possessed of a seabord of 4000 miles, and a large -number of fine rivers and lakes, the total number of British fishes is -comparatively small (about 250 only), and the varieties which live in -the fresh water are therefore very limited; those that afford sport -may be numbered with ease on our ten fingers. Fishers who live in -the vicinity of large cities are obliged in consequence to content -themselves with the realisation of that old proverb which tells them -that small fish are better than no fish at all; hence there is a race -of anglers who are contented to sit all day in a punt on the Thames, -happy when evening arrives to find their patience rewarded with a -fisher’s dozen of stupid gudgeons. But in the north, on the lakes of -Cumberland or on the Highland lochs of Scotland, such tame sport would -be laughed at. Are there not charr in the Derwent and splendid trout -in Loch Awe? and these require to be pursued with a zeal, and involve -an amount of labour not understood by anglers who punt for gudgeon or -who haunt the East India Docks for perch, or the angler who only knows -the usual run of Thames fish—barbel, roach, dace, and gudgeon. To kill -a sixteen-pound salmon on a Welsh or Highland stream is to be named -a knight among anglers; indeed, there are men who never lift a rod -except to kill a salmon; such, however, like the Duke of Roxburghe, -are the giants of the profession. For sport there is no fish like the -monarch of the brook, and great anglers will not waste time on any -fish less noble. An angler, with a moderate-sized fish of the salmon -kind at the end of his line, is not in the enjoyment of a sinecure, -although he would not for any kind of reward allow his work to be done -by deputy. I have seen a gentleman play a fish for four hours rather -than yield his rod to the attendant gillie, who could have landed the -fish in half-an-hour’s time. It is a thrilling moment to find that, -for the first time, one has hooked a salmon, and the event produces a -nervousness that certainly does not tend to the speedy landing of the -fish. The first idea, naturally enough, is to haul our scaly friend -out of the water by sheer force; but this plan has speedily to be -abandoned, for the fish, making an astonished dash, rushes away up -stream in fine style, taking out with it no end of “rope;” then when -once it obtains a bite of its bridle away it goes sulking into some -rocky hiding-place. In a brief time it comes out again with renewed -vigour, determined as it would seem to try your mettle; and so it -dashes about till you become so fatigued as not to care whether you -land it or not. It is impossible to say how long an angler may have to -“play” a salmon or a large grilse; but if it sinks itself to the bottom -of a deep pool, it may be a business of hours to get it safe into the -landing-net, if the fish be not altogether lost, as in its exertions to -escape it may so chafe the line as to cause it to snap and thus regain -its liberty; and during the progress of the battle the angler has -certainly to wade, aye and be pulled once or twice through the stream, -so that he comes in for a thorough drenching, and may, as many have -to do, go home after a hard day’s work without being rewarded by the -capture of a single fish. - -There is abundance of good salmon-angling to be had in the season -in the north of Scotland, where there are always a great variety of -fishings to be let at prices suitable for all pockets; and there -is nothing better either for health or recreation than a day on a -salmon stream. There are one or two places on Tweed frequented by -anglers who take a fishing as a sort of joint-stock company, and who, -when they are not angling, talk politics, make poetry, bandy about -their polite chaff, and generally “go in” as they say for any amount -of amusement. These societies are of course very select, and not -generally accessible to strangers, being of the nature of a club. The -plan which every angler ought to adopt on going to a strange water -is to place himself under the guidance of some shrewd native of the -place, who will show him all the best pools and aid him with his advice -as to what flies he ought to use, and give him many useful hints on -other points as well. Anglers, however, must divide their attention, -for it is quite as interesting (not to speak of convenience) for some -men to spend a day on the Thames killing barbel or roach as it is to -others to kill a ten-pound salmon on the Tweed or the Spey. It is good -sport also to troll for pike in the Lodden or to capture grayling in -beautiful Dovedale. And so pleasant has of late years become the sport -that it is no uncommon sight to see a gentle-born lady handling a -salmon-rod with as much vigour as grace on some one of our picturesque -Highland streams. In fact, angling is a recreation that can be made to -suit all classes, from the child with his stick and crooked pin to the -gentleman with his well-mounted rod and elaborate tackle, who hies away -in his yacht to the fiords of Norway in search of salmon that weigh -from twenty to forty pounds and require a day to capture. For those, -however, who desire to stay at home there is abundant angling all the -year round. From New-Year’s Day to Christmas there needs be no stoppage -of the sport; even the weather should never stop an enthusiastic -angler; but on very bad days, when it is not possible to go out of -doors, there is the study of the fish, and their natural and economic -history, which ought to be interesting to all who use the angle, and -to the majority of mankind besides; and there is spread out around -the angler the interesting book of nature inviting him to perusal. He -can see the white seal of winter opened, and observe the balmy spring -put forth its vernal power; note the turbid streams of winter as they -are slackening their volume of water; see the swelling buds and the -bursting leaves; admire the cowslip and the primrose grow into blossom -almost as he looks at them; hear the sweet notes of the cuckoo, and the -unceasing carol of noisier birds; watch the sportive lamb or the timid -hare; and chronicle the ever-changing seasons as they roll away on -their everlasting journey of progress. - -Without pretending to rival the hundred and one guides to angling -that now flood the market, I shall take a glance at a few of the more -popular of the anglers’ fishes; not, however, in any scientific or -other order of precedence, but beginning with the trout, seeing that -the salmon is discussed in a separate division of this work. - -Of all our fresh-water fishes, the one that is most plentiful, and -the one that is most worthy of notice by anglers, is the trout. It -can be fished for with the simplest possible kind of rod in the most -tiny stream, or be captured by elaborate apparatus on the great lochs -of Scotland. There are so many varieties of it as to suit all tastes; -there are well-flavoured burn trout, not so large as a small herring, -and there are lake giants that, when placed in the scales, will pull -down a twenty pound weight with the greatest ease. The usual run of -river trout are about six or eight ounces in weight; a pound trout is -an excellent reward for the patient angler. Where a trouting stream -flows through a rich and fertile district of country, with abundant -drainage, the trout are usually well-conditioned and large, and of good -flavour; but when the country through which the stream flows is poor -and rocky, with no drains carrying in food to enrich the stream, the -fish will, as a matter of course, be lanky and flavourless; they may be -numerous, but they will be of small size. It is curious, too, to note -the difference of the fish of the same stream: some of the trout taken -in Tweed, and in other rivers as well, are sharp in their colour, have -fine fat plump thick shoulders, great depth of belly, and beautiful -pink flesh of excellent flavour; others again are lean and flavourless. -The colour of trout is of course dependent on the quality and -abundance of its food; those are best which exist on ground-feeding, -living upon worms and such fresh-water crustaceans as are within reach. -Fly-taking fish—those that indulge in the feed of ephemeræ that takes -place a few times every day—are comparatively poor in flesh and weak in -flavour. As to where fishers should resort, must be left to themselves. -I was once beguiled out to the Dipple, but it was a hungry sort of -river, where the trout were on the average about three ounces and -scarce enough; although I must say that for a few minutes, when “the -feed” was on the water, there was an enormous display of fish, but they -preferred to remain in their native stream, a tributary of the Clyde I -think. The mountain streams and lochs of Scotland, or the placid and -picturesque lakes of Cumberland and Westmorland, are the paradise of -anglers. - -For trout-fishing we would name Scotland as being before all other -countries. “What,” it has been asked, “is a Scottish stream without -its trout?” Doubtless, if a river has no trout it is without one of -its greatest charms, and it is pleasant to record that, except in -the neighbourhood of very large seats of population, trout are still -plentiful in Scotland. It is true the railway, and other modes of -conveyance, have carried of late years a perfect army of anglers into -its most picturesque nooks and corners, and therefore fish are not -quite so plentiful as they were thirty years ago, in the old coaching -days, when it was possible to fill a washing-tub in the space of half -an hour with lovely half-pound trout from a few pools on a burn near -Moffat. But there are still plenty of trout; indeed there is a noted -fisher who can fill his basket even in streams that, being near the -large cities, have been too often fished; but then it is given to him -to be a man of great skill in his vocation, and moreover capable of -instructing others, for he has written a work that in some degree has -revolutionised the art of angling. - -The place to try an angler is a fine Border stream or a grand Highland -loch; but I shall not presume to lay down minute directions as to _how_ -to angle, for an angler, like a poet, must be born, he can scarcely be -bred, and no amount of book lore will confer upon a man the magic power -of luring the wary trout from its crystalline home. The best anglers, -and I may add fish-poachers, are the gipsies. A gipsy will raise fish -when no other human being can move them. If encamped near a stream, a -gipsy band are sure to have fish as a portion of their daily food; and -how beautifully they can broil a trout or boil a grilse those only who -have had the fortune to dine with them can say. Your gipsy is a rare -good fisher, and with half a rod can rob the river of a few dozens of -trout in a very brief space of time, and he can do so while men with -elaborate “fishing machines,” fitted up with costly tackle, continue -to flog the water without obtaining more than a questionable nibble, -just as if the fish knew that they were greenhorns, and took a pleasure -in chaffing them. Mr. Cheek, who wrote a capital book for the guidance -of what I may call Thames anglers, says that the best way to learn -is to see other anglers at work—which is better than all the written -instructions that can be given, one hour’s practical information going -farther than a folio volume of written advice. It is all in vain for -men to fancy that a suit of new Tweeds, a fair acquaintance with -Stoddart or Stewart, and a large amount of angling “slang,” will make -them fishers. There is more than that required. Besides the natural -taste, there is wanted a large measure of patience and skill; and the -proper place to acquire these best virtues of the angler is among the -brawling hill streams of Scotland, or on the expansive bosom of some of -the great Cumberland lakes, while trying for a few delicious charr. A -congregation of fish brought together by means of a scatter of food and -an angler’s taking advantage of the piscine convention over its diet -of worms, is no more angling than a battue is sport. An American that -I have heard of has a fish-manufactory in Connecticut, where he can -shovel the animals out by the hundred; but then he does not go in for -sport, his idea—a thoroughly American one—is money! But despite this -exceedingly commercial idea, there are a few anglers in America, and as -there are much water and many game fishes, there is plenty of sport. -In North America there are to be found in large quantities both the -true salmon and the brook trout; and as a great number of the American -fishes visit the fresh and salt water alternately, they, by reason of -their strength and size, afford excellent employment either to the -river or sea angler. One of the best of the American fishes is called -the Mackinaw salmon. - -[Illustration: ANGLERS’ FISHES. - 1. Great lake trout (_Salmo ferox_). - 2. _Salmo fario._ - 3. Trout. -] - -To come back, in the meantime, to Scotland and the trout, and where -to find them, I may mention that that particular fish is the stock in -trade of the streams and lochs of Scotland,—Scotland, the “land of -the mountain and the flood,”—and there is an ever-abiding abundance -of water, for the lochs and streams of that country are numberless. -One county alone (Sutherland, to wit) contains a thousand lochs, and -one parish in that county has in it two hundred sheets of water, -and all of these abounding with fine trout, affording rich sport to -the angler—rewarding all who persevere with full baskets. As I have -already hinted, the fisher must study his locality and glean advice -from well-informed residents. The gipsies of a district can usually -give capital advice as to the kind of bait that will please best. Many -a time have anglers been seen flogging away at a stream or lake that -was troutless, or at their wit’s end as to which of their flies would -please the dainty palate of my lord the resident trout. But I shall -not further dogmatise on such matters; most people who are given to -angling are quite as wise as the writer of these remarks; and there are -as fine trout in England, I daresay, as there are in Scotland; indeed -there are a thousand streams in this Great Britain, Ireland, and Wales -of ours, where we can find fish—there are splendid trout even in the -Thames. Then there are the Dove and the Severn, as well as rivers that -are much farther away, so that on his second day from London an active -angler may be whipping the Spey for salmon, or trolling on Loch Awe for -the large trout that inhabit that sheet of water. The change of scene -is of itself a delight, no matter what river the visitor may choose. At -the same time the physical exertion undergone by the angler flushes his -cheek with the hue of health, and imparts to his frame a strength and -elasticity known only to such as are familiar with country scenes and -pure air. May and the Mayfly are held to inaugurate the angler’s year; -for although a few of the keenest sportsmen keep on angling all the -year round, most of them lay down their rod about the end of October, -and do not think of again resuming it till they can smell the sweet -fragrance of the advancing summer. Although few of our busy men of law -or commerce are able to forestall the regular holiday period of August -and September, yet a few do manage a run to the country at the charming -time of May, when the days are not too hot for enjoyment nor too -short for country industry. In August and September the landscape is -preparing for the sleep of winter, whilst in May it is being robed by -nature for the fêtes of summer, and, despite the sneers of some poets -and naturalists, is new and charming in the highest degree. Town living -people should visit the country in May, and see and feel its industry, -pastoral and simple as it is, and at the same time view the charms of -its scenery in all its vivid freshness and fragrance. - -Some anglers delight in pike-catching, others try for perch; but -give me the trout, of which there is a large variety, and all worth -catching. In Loch Awe, for instance, there is the great lake trout, -which, combined with the beauty of the scenery, has sufficed to draw -to that neighbourhood some of our best anglers. The trout of Loch Awe, -as is well known, are very ferocious, hence their scientific name of -_Salmo ferox_. This trout attains to great dimensions; individuals -weighing twenty pounds have been often captured; but its flavour is -indifferent and the flesh is coarse, and not of a prepossessing colour. -This kind of trout is found in nearly all the large and deep lochs -of Scotland. It was discovered scientifically about the end of last -century by a Glasgow merchant, who was fond of sending samples of -it to his friends as a proof of his prowess as an angler. The usual -way of taking the great lake trout is to engage a boat to fish from, -which must be rowed gently through the water. The best bait is a small -trout, with at least half-a-dozen strong hooks projecting from it, and -the tackle requires to be prodigiously strong, as the fish is a most -powerful one, although not quite so active as some others of the trout -kind, but it roves about in these deep waters enacting the parts of -the bully and the cannibal to all lesser creatures, and driving before -it even the hungry pike. Persons residing near the great lochs capture -these large trout by setting night lines for them. As has been already -mentioned, they are exceedingly voracious, and have been known to be -dragged for long distances, and even after losing hold of the bait to -seize it again with great eagerness, and so have been finally captured. -These great lake trout are also to be found in other countries. - -In Lochleven, at Kinross, in the county of Fife, twenty-two miles from -Edinburgh, there will be found localised that beautiful trout which is -peculiar to this one loch, and which I have already referred to as one -of the mysterious fishes of Scotland. This fish—although its quality -is said to have been degenerated by the drainage of the lake in 1830, -at which period it was reduced by draining to a third of its former -dimensions—is of considerable commercial value; it cannot be bought in -Edinburgh under two shillings a pound weight; and if it was properly -cultivated might yield a large revenue. I have not been able to obtain -recent statistics of “the take” of Lochleven trout, but in former years -during the seven months of the fishing season it used to range from -fifteen thousand to twenty thousand pounds weight, and at the time -referred to all trout under three-quarters of a pound in weight were -thrown back into the water by order of the lessee. Eighty-five dozen of -these fine trout have been known to be taken at a single haul, while -from twenty to thirty dozen used to be a very common take. As to perch, -they used to be caught in thousands. Little has or can be said about -Lochleven trout, except that they are a speciality. Some learned people -(but I take leave to differ from them) consider the Lochleven fish to -be identical with _Salmo fario_, but never in any of my piscatorial -wanderings have I found its equal in colour, flavour, or shape. It -has been compared with the _Fario Lemanus_ of the Lake of Geneva, and -having handled both fishes I must allow that there is very little -difference between them; but still there are differences. Boats can be -hired at Kinross for an hour or two’s fishing on Lochleven. Mr. Barnet, -the editor of the local paper, himself a keen fisher, will, I have -no doubt, put gentlemen in the way of enjoying a day’s pike or trout -fishing on the loch. - -I need not go over all the varieties of fresh-water trout _seriatim_, -for their name is legion, and every book on angling contains lists of -those that are peculiar to the districts treated upon. If anglers’ -fishes ever become valuable as food, it will be by the cultivation of -our great lochs. With such a vast expanse of water as is contained in -some of these lakes, and having ample river accommodation at hand for -spawning purposes, there could be no doubt that artificial breeding, -if properly gone about, would be successful. The Lochleven trout in -particular might be made a subject of piscicultural experiment; it is -already of great money value commercially, and could be cultivated so -as to become a considerable source of revenue to the proprietor of the -lake and amusement to the angler. - -[Illustration: JACK IN HIS ELEMENT.] - -There are some pretty big pike in Lochleven; I lately examined a -very large one, weighing sixteen pounds, that had been feeding very -industriously on the dainty trout of the loch. As every angler knows, -the pike affords capital sport, and may be taken in many different -ways. Pike spawn in March and April, when the fish leaves its -hiding-place in the deep water and retires for procreative purposes -into shallow creeks or ditches. The pike yields a very large quantity -of roe on the average, and the young fish are not long in being -hatched. Endowed with great feeding power, pike grow rapidly from the -first, attaining a length of twenty-two inches. Before that period a -young pike is called a jack, and its increase of weight is at the rate -of about four pounds a year when well supplied with food. The appetite -of this fish is very great, and, from its being so fierce, it has been -called the pirate of the rivers. It is not easily satisfied with food, -and numerous extraordinary stories of the pike’s powers of eating and -digesting have been from time to time related. I remember, when at -school at Haddington (seventeen miles from Edinburgh), of seeing a pike -that inhabited a hole in the “Lang Cram” (a part of the river Tyne), -which was nearly triangular in shape, supposed to be the exact pattern -of its hiding-place, and which devoured every kind of fish or animal -that came in its way. It was caught several times, but always managed -to escape, and must have weighed at least twenty-five pounds. Upon -one occasion it was hooked by a little boy, who fished for it with a -mouse, when it rewarded him for his cleverness by dragging him into -the water; and had help not been at hand the boy would assuredly have -been drowned, as the water at that particular spot was deep. As to the -voracity of this fish many particulars have been given. Mr. Jesse, -in one of his works, says that a pike of the weight of five pounds -has been known to eat a hundred gudgeon in three weeks; and I have -myself seen them killed in the neighbourhood of a shoal of parr, and, -notwithstanding their rapidity of digestion, I have seen four or five -fish taken out of the stomach of each. Mr. Stoddart, one of our chief -angling authorities, has calculated the pike to be amongst the most -deadly enemies of the infant salmon. He tells us that the pike of the -Teviot, a tributary of the Tweed, are very fond of eating young smolts, -and says that, in a stretch of water ten miles long, where there is -good feeding, there will be at least a thousand pike, and that these -during a period of sixty days will consume about a quarter of a million -of young salmon! - -One would almost suppose that some of the stories about the voracity -of pike had been invented; if only half of them be true, this fish has -certainly well earned its title of shark of the fresh water. There -is, for instance, the well-known tale of the poor mule, which a pike -was seen to take by the nose and pull into the water; but it is more -likely I think that the mule pulled out the pike. Pennant, however, -relates a story of a pike that is known to be true. On the Duke of -Sutherland’s Canal at Trentham, a pike seized the head of a swan that -was feeding under water, and gorged as much of it as killed both. A -servant, perceiving the swan with its head below the surface for a -longer time than usual, went to see what was wrong, and found both -swan and pike dead. A large pike, if it has the chance, will think -nothing of biting its captor; there are several authentic instances -of this having been done. The pike is a long-lived fish, grows to a -large size, and attains a prodigious weight. There is a narrative -extant about one that was said to be two centuries and a half old, -which weighed three hundred and fifty pounds, and was seventeen feet -long. There is abundant evidence of the size of pike: individuals -have been captured in Scotland, so we are told in the Scots Magazine, -that weighed seventy-nine pounds. In the London newspapers of 1765 an -account is given of the draining of a pool, twenty-seven feet deep, at -the Lilishall Limeworks, near Newport, which had not been fished for -many years, and from which a gigantic pike was taken that weighed one -hundred and seventy pounds, being heavier than a man of twelve stone! -I have seen scores of pike which weighed upwards of half a stone, and -a good many double that weight, but, as in the case of the salmon, the -weight is now on the descending ratio, the giants of the tribe having -been apparently all captured. Formerly there used to be great hauls -of this fish taken out of the water. Whether or not a pike be good -for food depends greatly on where it has been fed, what it has eaten, -and how it has been cooked. In fact, as I have already endeavoured -to show, the animals of the water are in respect of food not unlike -those of the land—their flavour is largely dependent on their feeding; -and pike that have been luxuriating on Lochleven trout, or feeding -daintily for a few months on young salmon, cannot be very bad fare. -As a general rule, however, pike are not highly esteemed as a dish -even when cooked _à la Walton_, who recommended them to be roasted, -and basted during the process with claret, anchovies, and butter. Old -Isaac says a dish of pike so prepared is too good for any but anglers -or very honest men. The pike is a comparatively ugly fish as regards -its shape, but at certain seasons is very brilliant in colour. It is -extensively distributed, and is found over the greater part of Europe, -and also in America and Asia. The mascalogne, _Esox estor_, is the -name of the largest American pike; it is found only in the great lakes -and waters of the St. Lawrence basin, and grows to a very large size, -thirty pounds being a common enough weight, but individuals have been -captured ranging from sixty to eighty pounds. The mascalogne, like all -its tribe, is a bold and voracious fish. There is also the northern -pickerel, another American pike, which does not grow so large as the -above, but is quite as fierce and bold as our own pike; and as the fish -is not good for food, although an excellent game fish, affording no -end of sport, I need not recommend the acclimatisation of any of these -American savages. - -The carp family (Cyprinidæ) is very numerous, embracing among its -members the barbel, the gudgeon, the carp-bream, the white-bream, the -red-eye, the roach, the bleak, the dace, and the well-known minnow. -There is one of the family which is of a beautiful colour, and with -which all are familiar—I mean the golden carp, which may be seen -floating in its crystal prison in nearly every home of taste, and which -swarms in the ponds at Hampton Court and in the tropical waters of the -Crystal Palace at Sydenham. The gold and silver fish are natives of -China, whence they were introduced into this country by the Portuguese -about the end of the seventeenth century, and have become, especially -of late years, so common as to be hawked about the streets for sale. In -China, as we can read, every person of fashion keeps gold-fish by way -of having a little amusement. They are contained either in the small -basins that decorate the courts of the Chinese houses, or in porcelain -vases made on purpose; and the most beautiful kinds are taken from a -small mountain-lake in the province of Che-Kyang, where they grow to a -comparatively large size, some attaining a length of eighteen inches -and a comparative bulk, the general run of them being equal in size to -our herrings. These lovely fish afford great delight to the Chinese -ladies, who tend and cultivate them with great care. They keep them in -very large basins, and a common earthen pan is generally placed at the -bottom of these in a reversed position, and so perforated with holes as -to afford shelter to the fish from the heat and glare of the sun. Green -stuff of some kind is also thrown upon the water to keep it cool, and -it (the water) must be changed at least every two days, and the fish, -as a general rule, must never be touched by the hand. Great quantities -of gold-fish are often bred in ponds adjacent to factories, where the -waste steam being let in the water is kept at a warmish temperature. -At the manufacturing town of Dundee they became at one time a complete -nuisance in some of the factories, having penetrated into the steam and -water pipes, and occasionally brought the works to a complete stand. -In England the golden carp usually spawns between May and July, the -particular time being greatly regulated by the warmth of the season. -The time of spawning may be known by the change of habit which occurs -in this fish. It sinks at once into deep water instead of basking on -the top, as usual; previous to which the fish are restive and quick in -their movements, throwing themselves out of the water, etc. It may be -stated here, to prevent disappointment, that golden carp never spawn in -a transparent vessel. When the spawn is hatched the fish are very black -in colour, some darker than others: these become of a golden hue, while -those of a lighter shade become silver-coloured. As is the case with -the salmon, it is some time before this change occurs, some colouring -at the end of one year, and others not till two or three seasons have -come and gone. These beautiful prisoners seldom live long in their -crystal cells, although the prison is beautiful enough, one would -fancy:— - - “I ask, what warrant fixed them (like a spell - Of witchcraft fixed them) in the crystal cell; - To wheel with languid motion round and round, - Beautiful, yet in mournful durance bound? - Their peace, perhaps, our slightest footstep marr’d, - Or their quick sense our sweetest music jarr’d; - And whither could they dart, if seized with fear? - No sheltering stone, no tangled root was near. - When fire or taper ceased to cheer the room, - They wore away the night in starless gloom; - And when the sun first dawned upon the streams, - How faint their portion of his vital beams! - Thus, and unable to complain, they fared, - While not one joy of ours by them was shared.” - -Gold-fish ought not to be purchased except from some very respectable -dealer. I have known repeated cases where the whole of the fish bought -have died within an hour or two of being taken home. These golden carp, -which are reared for sale, are usually spawned and bred in warmish -water, and they ought in consequence to be acclimatised or “tempered” -by the dealer before they are parted with. Parties buying ought to be -particular as to this, and ascertain if the fish they have bought have -been _tempered_. - -Returning to the common carp, I may speak of it as being a most useful -pond-fish. It is a sort of vegetarian, and it may be classed among the -least carnivorous fishes; it feeds chiefly upon vegetables or decaying -organic matter, and very few of them prey upon their kind, while some, -it is thought, pass the winter in a torpid state. There is a rhyme -which tells us that - - Turkeys, carp, hops, pickerel, and beer, - Came into England _all_ in one year. - -But this couplet must, I think, be wrong, as some of these items were -in use long before the carp was known; indeed, it is not at all certain -when this fish was first introduced into England, or where it was -brought from, but I think it extremely possible that it was originally -brought here from Germany. In ancient times there used to be immense -ponds filled with carp in Prussia, Saxony, Bohemia, Mecklenburg, and -Holstein, and the fish was bred and brought to market with as much -regularity as if it had been a fruit or a vegetable. The carp yields -its spawn in great quantities, no fewer than 700,000 eggs having been -found in a fish of moderate weight (ten pounds); and, being a hardy -fish, it is easily cultivated, so that it would be profitable to breed -in ponds for the fishmarkets of populous places, and the fish-salesmen -assure us that there would be a large demand for good fresh carp. It -is necessary, according to the best authorities, to have the ponds in -suites of three—viz., a spawning-pond, a nursery, and a receptacle for -the large fish—and to regulate the numbers of breeding fish according -to the surface of water. It is not my intention to go minutely into -the construction of carp-ponds; but I may be allowed to say that it -is always best to select such a spot for their site as will give the -engineer as little trouble as possible. Twelve acres of water divided -into three parts would allow a splendid series of ponds—the first to -be three acres in extent, the second an acre more, and the third to be -five acres; and here it may be again observed that, with water as with -land, a given space can only yield a given amount of produce, therefore -the ponds must not be overstocked with brood. Two hundred carp, twenty -tench, and twenty jack per acre is an ample stock to begin breeding -with. A very profitable annual return would be obtained from these -twelve acres of water; and, as many country gentlemen have even larger -sheets than twelve acres, I recommend this plan of stocking them with -carp to their attention. There is only the expense of construction to -look to, as an under-keeper or gardener could do all that was necessary -in looking after the fish. A gentleman having a large estate in Saxony, -on which were situated no less than twenty ponds, some of them as large -as twenty-seven acres, found that his stock of fish added greatly -to his income. Some of the carp weighed fifty pounds each, and upon -the occasion of draining one of his ponds, a supply of fish weighing -five thousand pounds was taken out; and for good carp it would be no -exaggeration to say that sixpence per pound weight could easily be -obtained, which, for a quantity like that of this Saxon gentleman, -would amount to a sum of £125 sterling. Now, I have the authority of -an eminent fish-salesman for stating that ten times the quantity here -indicated could be disposed of among the Jews and Catholics of London -in a week, and, could a regular supply be obtained, an unlimited -quantity might be sold. - -I have been writing about Highland streams and northern lochs; but the -river scenery of England is, in its way, equally beautiful, and no -river is more charming than the Thames. It is a classic stream, and its -praises have been sung by the poets and celebrated by the historian. -After Mrs. S. C. Hall and Thorne, it were vain to repeat its praises:— - - “Glide gently, thus for ever glide, - O Thames! that anglers all may see - As lovely visions by thy side, - As now, fair river, come to me. - Oh, glide, fair stream, for ever so - Thy quiet soul on all bestowing, - Till all our minds for ever flow - As thy deep waters are now flowing.” - -The Thames takes its rise in Gloucestershire, about three miles from -the town of Cirencester; and at that place, and for some miles of its -course, it is known as the Isis, and not till the waters of the Thame -join it in Oxfordshire is it known as the _Thames_. This celebrated -river is small at first, and flows through some beautiful scenery and -highly-cultivated country; its banks are studded with castles and -palaces, beautiful towns and snug villages; while well-stored gardens -and cultivated fields give smiling evidence of plenty all along its -course. When we consider that the Thames flows past Windsor, Hampton -Court, and Richmond; that it laves the grassy lawns of Twickenham, -waters the gardens of Kew, and that it bears upon its bosom the -gigantic commerce of London—we can at once realise its importance, and -can understand its being called the king of British rivers, although it -is neither so long, nor does it contain so voluminous a body of water -as some other of our British streams. The total length of the river -Thames is 215 miles, and the area of the country it waters is 6160 -square miles. It has as affluents a great many fine streams, including -the river Lodden, as also the Wey and the Mole. I am not entitled to -consider it here in its picturesque aspects—my business with it is -piscatorial, and I am able to certify that it is rich in fish of a -certain kind— - - “The bright-eyed perch with fins of Tyrian dye, - The silver eel in shining volumes rolled, - The yellow carp in scales bedropp’d with gold, - Swift trout diversified with crimson stains, - And pike, the tyrants of the watery plains.” - -Considering that all its best fishing points are accessible to an -immense population, many of whom are afflicted with a mania for -angling, it is quite wonderful that there is a single fish of any -description left in it; and yet but a year or two ago, the “pen of the -war” bagged a seven-pound trout near Walton Bridge! I may be allowed -just to run over a few Thames localities, and note what fish may be -taken from them. Above Teddington at different places an occasional -trout may be pulled out, but, although the finest trout in the world -may be got in the Thames, they are, unfortunately, so scarce in the -meantime, that it is hardly worth while to lose one’s time in the -all but vain endeavour to lure them from their home. Pike fishing or -trolling will reward the Thames angler better than trouting. There are -famous pike to be taken every here and there—in the deep pools and at -the weirs: and, as the pike is voracious, a moderately good angler, -with proper bait, is likely to have some sport with this fish. But -the speciality of the Thames, so far at least as most anglers are -concerned, is the quantity of fish of the carp kind which it contains, -as also perch. This latter fish may be taken with great certainty about -Maidenhead, Cookham, Pangbourne, Walton, Labham, and Wallingford Road; -and a kindred fish, the pope, in great plenty, may be sought for in the -same localities. Then the bearded barbel is found in greater plenty in -the Thames than anywhere else, and, as it is a fish of some size and -of much courage, it affords great sport to the angler. The best way to -take the barbel is with the “Ledger,” and the best places for this kind -of fishing are the deeps at Kingston Bridge, Sunbury Lock, Halliford, -Chertsey Weir, and in the deeps at Bray, where many a time and oft have -good hauls of barbel been taken. The best times for the capture of -this fish are late in the afternoon or very early in the morning. Chub -are also plentiful in the Thames; and Mr. Arthur Smith, who wrote a -guide to Thames anglers, specially recommended the island above Goring -for chub, also Marlow and the large island below Henley Bridge. This -fish can be taken with the fly, and gives tolerable sport. The roach -is a fish that abounds in all parts of the Thames, especially between -Windsor and Richmond; and in the proper season—September and October—it -will be found in Teddington Weir, Sunbury, Blackwater, Walton Bridge, -Shepperton Lock, the Stank Pitch at Chertsey, and near Maidenhead, -Marlow, and Henley Bridges. At Teddington I may state that the dace is -abundant, and there is plenty of little fish of various kinds that can -be had as bait at most of the places we have named. In fact, in the -Thames there is a superabundance of sport of its kind, and plenty of -accommodation for anglers, with wise fishermen to teach them the art; -and although the best sport that can be enjoyed on this lovely stream -is greatly different from the trout-fishing of Wales or Scotland, it -is good in its degree, and tends to health and high spirits, and an -anxiety to excel in his craft, as one can easily see who ventures by -the side of the water about Kew and Richmond. - - “With hurried steps, - The anxious angler paces on, nor looks aside, - Lest some brother of the angle, ere he arrive, - Possess his favourite swim.” - -[Illustration: THAMES ANGLERS.—FROM AN OLD PICTURE.] - -I come now to the perch, a well-known because common fish, about -which a great deal has been written, and which is easily taken by the -angler. There are a great number of species of this fish, from the -common perch of our own canals and lochs to the “lates” of the Nile, -or the beautiful golden-tailed mesoprion, which swims in the seas of -Japan and India and flashes out brilliant rays of colour. The perch was -assiduously cultivated in ancient Italy, in the days when pisciculture -was an adjunct of gastronomy, and was thought to equal the mullet in -flavour. In Britain, the fish, left to its natural growth and no care -being taken to flavour it artificially, is surpassed for table purposes -by the salmon and the trout; but perch being abundant afford plenty of -good fishing. The perch usually congregate in small shoals, and delight -in streams, or water with a clear bottom and with overhanging foliage -to shelter them from the overpowering heats of summer. These fish do -not attain any considerable weight, the one recorded as being taken in -the Serpentine, in Hyde Park, which weighed nine pounds, being still -the largest on record. Perch of three and four pounds are by no means -rare, and those of one pound or so are quite common. The perch is a -stupid kind of fish, and easily captured. Many of the foreign varieties -of perch attain an immense weight. Some of the ancient writers tell us -that the “lates” of the Nile attained a weight of three hundred pounds; -and then there is the vacti of the Ganges, which is often caught five -feet long. The perch, after it is three years old, spawns about May. It -may be described as rather a hardy fish, as we know it will live a long -time out of water, and can be kept alive among wet moss, so that it -may be easily transferred from pond to pond. Its hardy nature accounts -for its being found in so many northern lochs and rivers, as in the -olden times of slow conveyances it must have taken a long time to send -the fish to the great distances we know it must have been carried -to. On the Continent, living perch are a feature of nearly all the -fishmarkets. The fish, packed in moss and occasionally sprinkled with -water, are carried from the country to the cities, and if not sold are -taken home and replaced in the ponds. This particular fish, which is -very prolific, might be “cultivated” to any extent. We do not see why -a fish-pond should not be as much a portion of a country gentleman’s -commissariat as his kitchen-garden or his cow-paddock. Perch are -useful in more ways than are generally known. The Laplanders make glue -and also jelly out of their skins. Exquisite dishes for fastidious -gourmets can be concocted from their milts, and choice ornaments can -be formed out of their scales. The sea-perch, as it is called (the -basse), may be mentioned here. Some varieties of it are very plentiful -on the coast of America, where they grow to a large size, and are -much esteemed for their flavour. Another variety of the perch is the -common pike-perch, which might be acclimatised with advantage in our -seas, where it is at present unknown. It is common in the Danube and -the Elbe, as also in the Caspian and Black Seas. It is a fish that -grows rapidly and attains a considerable weight, and its flesh is most -agreeable. It is surprising that no pains are taken to acclimatise new -varieties of fish in Britain, although it could be easily accomplished. -There is, for instance, the black basse of the Huron, which might be -advantageously introduced; and there are many other fishes, both of the -salt and fresh water, which would flourish in this country and add to -our commissariat. I have chronicled in another place the introduction -of the _Silurus glanis_, and I would have been only too glad to have -recorded the introduction of a dozen other fish. - -As I have said so much about the Scottish lochs, it would be but -fair to say a few words about those of England; but in good honest -truth it would be superfluous to descant at the present day on the -beauties of Windermere, or the general lake scenery of Cumberland and -Westmorland: it has been described by hundreds of tourists, and its -praises have been sung by its own poets—the lake poets. It is with its -fish that we have business, and honesty compels us to give the charr a -bad character. It is not by any means a game fish, so far as sport is -concerned; nor is it great in size or rich in flavour. But potted charr -is a rare breakfast delicacy. This fish, which is said by Agassiz to be -identical with the ombre chevalier of Switzerland, is rarely found to -weigh more than a pound; specimens are sometimes taken exceeding that -weight, but they are scarce. The charr is found to be pretty general -in its distribution, and is found in many of the Scottish lochs. It -spawns about the end of the year, some of the varieties depositing -their eggs in the shallow parts of the lake, while others proceed a -short way up some of the tributary streams. In November great shoals of -charr may be seen in the rivers Rothay and Brathay, particularly the -latter, with the view of spawning. The charr, we are told by Yarrell, -afford but scant amusement to the angler, and are always to be found in -the deepest parts of the water in the lochs which they inhabit. “The -best way to capture them is to trail a very long line after a boat, -using a minnow for a bait, with a large bullet of lead two or three -feet above the bait to sink it deep in the water; by this mode a few -charr may be taken in the beginning of summer, at which period they are -in the height of perfection both in colour and flavour.” - -As I am on the subject of anglers’ fishes, the reader will perhaps -allow me to suggest that “no end of sport” may be obtained in the sea; -that capital sea-angling may be enjoyed all the year round, and all -round the British coasts; and that there are fighting fishes in the -waters of the great deep that will occasionally try both the cunning -and the nerve of the best anglers. The greatest charm of sea-angling, -however, lies in its simplicity, and the readiness with which it can -be engaged in, together with the comparatively homely and inexpensive -nature of the instruments required. A party living at the seaside -can either fish off the rocks or hire a boat, and purchase or obtain -the loan (for a slight consideration) of such simple tackle as is -necessary; though it must not be too simple, for even sea-fish will -not stand the insult of supposing they can be caught as a matter of -course with anything; and as the larger kinds of hooks are often scarce -at mere fishing villages, it is better to carry a few to the scene of -action. - -“Well then, what sport does the sea afford?” will most likely be the -first question put by those who are unacquainted with sea-angling. I -answer, anything and everything in the shape of fish or sea-monster, -from a sprat to a whale. This is literally true. It is not an -unfrequent occurrence for tourists in Orkney, or other places in -Scotland, to assist at a whale-battue; and some of my readers may -remember a very graphic description of an Orcadian whale-hunt, given -in _Blackwood’s Magazine_ a few years ago, by the late Professor -Aytoun, who was Sheriff and Admiral of Orkney. The kind of sea-fish, -however, that are most frequently taken by the angler, both on the -coasts of England and Scotland, are the whiting, the common cod, the -beautiful poor or power cod, and the mackerel; there is also the -abundant coal-fish, or sea-salmon as I call it, from its handsome -shape. This fish is taken in amazing quantities, and in all its stages -of growth. It is known by various names, such as sillock, piltock, -cudden, poddly, etc.; indeed most of our fishes have different names -in different localities; but I shall keep to the proper name so as to -avoid mistakes. The merest children are able, by means of the roughest -machinery, to catch any quantity of young coal-fish; they can be taken -in our harbours, and at the sea-end of our piers and landing-places. -The whiting is also very plentiful, so far as angling is concerned, as -indeed are most of the Gadidæ. It feeds voraciously, and will seize -upon anything in the shape of bait; several full-grown pilchards -have been more than once taken from the stomach of a four-pound -fish. Whiting can be caught at all periods of the year, but it is of -course most plentiful in the breeding season, when it approaches the -shores for the purpose of depositing its spawn—that is in January -and February. The common codfish is found on all parts of our coast, -and the sea-anglers, if they hit on a good locality—and this can be -rendered a certainty—are sure to make a very heavy basket. - -[Illustration: THE ANGLER FISH.] - -The pollack, or, as it is called in Scotland lythe, also affords -capital sport; and the mackerel-herring and conger-eel can also -be taken in considerable quantities. I can strongly recommend the -lythe-fishing to gentlemen who are _blasés_ of salmon or pike, or who -do not find excitement even among the birds of lone St. Kilda. Then, -as will afterwards be described, there is the extensive family of the -flat fish, embracing brill, plaice, flounders, soles, and turbot. -The latter is quite a classic fish, and has long been an object of -worship among gastronomists; it has been known to attain an enormous -size. Upon one occasion an individual, which measured six feet across, -and weighed one hundred and ninety pounds, was caught near Whitby. -The usual mode of capturing flat fish is by means of the trawl-net, -but many varieties of them may be caught with a handline. A day’s -sea-angling will be chequered by many little adventures. There are -various minor monsters of the deep that vary the monotony of the day -by occasionally devouring the bait. A tadpole-fish, better known as -the sea-devil or “the angler,” may be hooked, or the fisher may have -a visit from a hammer-headed shark or a pile-fish, which adds greatly -to the excitement; and if “the dogs” should be at all plentiful, it is -a chance if a single fish be got out of the sea in its integrity. So -voracious are this species of the Squalidæ, that I have often enough -pulled a mere skeleton into the boat, instead of a plump cod of ten or -twelve pounds weight. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -I shall now say a few words about the machinery of capture. The tackle -in use for handline sea-fishing is much the same everywhere, and that -which I describe will suit almost any locality. It consists of a frame -of four pieces of woodwork about a foot and a half in length, fastened -together in the shape of such a machine as ladies use for certain -worsted work. Round this is wound a thin cord, generally tanned, of -from ten to twenty fathoms in length. To the extreme end of this line -is attached a leaden sinker, the weight of which varies according -as the current of the tide is slow or rapid. About two feet above -the sinker is a cross piece of whalebone or iron, to the extremities -of which the strings on which the hooks are dressed are attached. -Sometimes a third hook is affixed to an outrigger, about two feet above -the other hooks. The length of the cords to which the lower hooks are -attached should be such as to allow them to hang about six inches -higher than the bottom of the sinker. In some parts of the Western -Highlands a rod consisting of thin fir is used, but from the length of -line required it is rather a clumsy instrument, as after the fish has -been struck the rod has to be laid down in the boat, and the line to be -hauled in by hand. - -As to bait, it is quite impossible to lay down any strict rule. The -bait which is the favourite in one bay or bank is scouted by the fish -of other localities. At times almost anything will do: numbers of -mackerel have been taken with a little bit of red cloth attached to the -hook; on certain occasions the fish are so voracious that they will -swallow the naked iron! On the English coasts, and among the Western -Islands of Scotland, the most deadly bait that is used is boiled -limpets, which require to be partially chewed by the fisher before -placing them on the hooks; in other places mussels are the favourites, -and in others the worms procured among the mud of the shore. The -limpet has this one advantage, that it is easily fixed on the hook, -and keeps its hold tenaciously. A very excellent bait for the larger -kinds of fish is the soft parts of the body of small crabs, which -are gathered for that purpose at low tide under the stones; a good -place for procuring them is a mussel-bed. The best time for fishing -is immediately before ebb or flow. The hooks being baited, the line -is run over the side of the boat until the lead touches the bottom, -when it is drawn up a little, so as to keep the baits out of reach of -the crabs, who gnaw and destroy both bait and tackle. The line is held -firmly and lightly outside the boat, the other hand, inside the boat, -also having a grip of the line. The moment a fish is felt to strike, -the line is jerked down by the hand inside, thus bringing it sharply -across the gunwale and fixing the hook. A little experience will soon -enable the angler to determine the weight of the fish, and according -as it is light or heavy must he quickly or slowly haul in his line. -When the fish reaches the surface, he should, if practicable, seize it -with his hand, as it is apt, on feeling itself out of water, to wriggle -off. A landing-clip or gaff, such as is used in salmon-fishing, is -useful, as, in the event of hooking a conger or a ray, there is much -difficulty, and even some danger. - -In fishing for lythe—the most exciting of all sea-angling—a very strong -cord is used, on which, in order to prevent the fouling of the line, -one or two stout swivels are attached. The hooks also cannot be too -strong; those used for cod or ling fishing are very suitable. The -baits in general use are the body of a small eel, about half a foot in -length, skinned and tied to the shaft; or a strip of red cloth, or a -red or white feather similarly attached. A piece of lead is fixed on -the line at a short distance above the hook. - -[Illustration] - -The boat must be rowed or sailed at a moderate rate, and from five or -ten fathoms of the line allowed to trail behind. The boat end of the -line should be turned once or twice round the arm, and held tightly in -the hand; if the line were fastened to the boat, there is every chance -that a large lythe—they are frequently caught upwards of thirty pounds -weight—would snap the tackle. The fish, when hooked, gives considerable -play, and rather strongly objects to being lifted into the boat. The -clip or gaff is in this case always necessary. In fishing for lythe, -mackerel and dogfish are not unfrequently caught. The best place for -prosecuting this sport is in the neighbourhood of a rocky shore; and -the best times of the day are the early morning and evening. This fish -will also take readily during any period of a dull but not gloomy day. - -The most amusing kind of sea-angling is fly-fishing for small lythe and -saithe (coal-fish). The tackle is exceedingly simple: a rod consisting -of a pliant branch about eight feet in length; a line of light cord of -the same length, and a small hook roughly busked with a small white, -red, or black feather. The fly is dragged on the surface as the boat -is rowed along, and the moment the fish is struck it is swung into -the boat. The fry of the lythe and saithe may also be fished for from -rocks and pier-heads, using the same tackle. A very ingenious plan for -securing a number of these little fish is carried on in the Firth of -Clyde and elsewhere. A boat similar in shape to a salmon-coble, with -a crew of two—one to row and one to fish—goes out along the shore in -the evening, when the sea is perfectly calm or nearly so. The fisher -has charge of half-a-dozen rods or more, similar to the one already -mentioned. These rods project across the square stern of the boat, and -their near ends are inserted into the interstices of a seat of wattled -boughs, on which the fisher sits, not steadily, but bumping gently up -and down, communicating a trembling motion to the flies. The course of -the coble is always close in shore, and, if the fish are taking well, -the same ground may be fished over many times during the course of the -evening. - -As to set-line-fishing, it can only be practised in places where the -tide recedes to a considerable distance. The cord used is of no defined -length, and at certain distances along its entire extent are affixed -corks to prevent the hooks sinking in the sand or mud. The shore-end -is generally anchored to a stone, and the further end fastened to the -top of a stout staff firmly fixed in the beach, and generally attached -also to a stone to prevent it drifting ashore in the event of being -loosened from its socket. From the staff almost to the shore, hooks -are tied along the line at distances of a yard. The hooks are baited -at low tide, and on the return of next low tide the line is examined. -This is neither a satisfactory nor sure method of fishing, as many of -the fish wriggle themselves free, and clear the hook of the bait, and -many, after being caught, fall a prey to dogfish, etc., so that the -disappointed fisher, on examining his line, too often finds a row of -baitless hooks, alternating with the half-devoured bodies of haddocks, -flounders, saithe, and other shore fish. - -[Illustration] - -I may just name another mode of obtaining sport, which is by spearing -flat fish, such as flounders, dab, plaice, etc. No rule can be laid -down on this method of fishing. It has been carried on successfully -by means of a common pitchfork, but some gentlemen go the length of -having fine spears made for the purpose, very long and with very sharp -prongs; others, again, use a three-pronged farm-yard “graip,” which has -been known to do as much real work as more elaborate utensils specially -contrived for the purpose. The simplest directions I can give to those -who try this style of fishing are just to spear all the fish they can -see, but the general plan is to stab in the dark with the kind of -instrument delineated above. At the mouths of most of the large English -rivers there is usually abundance of all the minor kinds of flat fish. - -[Illustration] - -Lobsters and crabs can be taken at certain rocky places of the coast; -mussels can be picked from the rocks, and cockles can be dug for in -the sand. Shrimps can also be taken, and various other wonders of the -sea and its shores may be picked up. After a storm a great number of -curious fishes and shells may be gathered, and some of these are very -valuable as specimens of natural history. The apparatus for capturing -lobsters and crabs is like a cage, and is generally made of wicker -work, with an aperture at the top or the side for the animal to enter -by; it can be baited with any sort of garbage that is at hand. Having -been so baited, the lobster-pot is sunk into the water, and left for -a season, till, tempted by the mess within, the game enters and is -caged. Those who would induce crabs to enter their pots must set them -with fresh bait; lobsters, on the other hand, will look at nothing but -garbage. Very frequently rock-cod, saithe, and other fish, are found to -have entered the pots, intent both on foul and fresh food. Shell-fish -for bait can be taken by means of a wooden box or old wicker basket -sunk near a rocky place, and filled with garbage of some kind; the -whelks and small crabs are sure to patronise the mass extensively, and -can thus be obtained at convenience. It is impossible to tell in the -limits of a brief chapter one-half of the fishing wonders that can be -accomplished during a sojourn at the seaside. A visit to some quaint -old fishing town, on the recurrence of “the year’s vacation sabbath,” -as some of our poets now call the annual month’s holiday, might be made -greatly productive of real knowledge; there are ten thousand wonders of -the shore which can be studied besides those laid down in books. - -As will be noted, I have avoided as much as possible the naming of -localities, preferring to state the general practice. In all seaside -towns and fishing villages there are usually three or four old -fishermen who will be glad to do little favours for the curious in -fish lore—to hire out boats, give the use of tackle, and point out -good localities in which to fish. For such as have a few weeks at -their disposal, I would suggest the western sea-lochs of Scotland as -affording superb sport in all the varieties of sea-angling. Fish of -all kinds, great and small, are to be found in tolerable quantity, -and there is likewise the still greater inducement of fine scenery, -cheap lodgings, and moderate living expenses. But the entire change -of scene is the grand medicine; nothing would do an exhausted London -or Manchester man more good than a month on Lochfyne, where he could -not only angle in the great water for amusement, but also watch the -commercial fishers, and enjoy the finely-flavoured herring of that loch -as a portion of his daily food. If persons in search of sea-angling -wish to combine the enjoyment of picturesque scenery with their -pleasant labours on the water, they cannot do better than select, as I -did, the rural village of Corry, on the Island of Arran, as a centre -from which to conduct their operations. - -May I be allowed to say a few words about this wonderful island, just -by way of a whet to the eye-appetite of those who have never seen -it? Our angler, having arrived at Glasgow, can go down the Clyde by -steamboat direct to Arran. There is another and a quicker way—viz. -by railway to Ardossan and steamboat to Brodick, but most strangers -prefer the river; and let me say here, without fear of contradiction, -there is no pleasure river equal to the Clyde, especially as regards -accessibility. The steamers from Glasgow peer at stated intervals into -every nook and cranny of the water, and, on the Saturdays especially, -deposit perfect armies of people at various towns and villages below -Greenock, who are thus enabled to pass the Sunday in the bright open -air by the clear waters of this great stream. Any kind of lodging is -put up with for the sake of being “down the water;” and all sorts of -people—merchants even of high degree and “Glasgow bodies” of lower -social standing—are contented, chiefly no doubt at the instigation of -their better halves, to sojourn in places that when at home they would -think quite unsuitable for even the Matties of their households. The -banks of the Clyde have become wonderfully populous within the last -twenty-five years—villages have expanded into towns, hamlets have grown -into villages, and single cottages into hamlets. Now the railway to -Greenock is insufficient as a daily travelling aid to persons whose -half hours are of large commercial value; and as a consequence, a new -line of rails has been constructed to come upon the water at Wemyss -Bay, about twelve miles below Greenock. To your thorough business man -time is money, and if he is alternately able to leave his place of -business and his place of pleasure half an hour later each way, he is -all the better pleased with both. To speculators in want of an idea I -would say: Rush to the Clyde, and buy up every inch of land that can -be had within a mile of the water, build upon it, and from the half -million of human beings who tenant Glasgow and the surrounding towns -I will engage to find two competing occupants for every house that -can be put up. Building has progressed even in Arran, and this too in -despite of the late Duke of Hamilton’s dislike to strangers, so that -there is now a population on the island of about 6000. A friend of mine -says that such an important entity as a duke has no right to do as he -likes with his own, and consequently that Arran ought to be built upon, -and the blackcocks and other game birds be left to take their chance. -Even with such limited accommodation as can be now obtained, Arran is -a delightful summer residence; were it to be generally built upon, it -would realise from ground-rents alone an annual fortune to his Grace -the Duke of Hamilton, who owns the greater part of it, and he might -have capital shooting into the bargain. - -Arran, I may state to all who are ignorant of the fact, is a very -paradise for geologists; and amateur globe-makers—persons who think -they are better at constructing worlds than the Great Architect who -preceded them all—are particularly fond of that island, being, as -they suppose, quite able to find upon it _materiel_ sufficient for -the erection of the largest possible “theories.” Figures, it is -said, can be made to prove either side of a cause; so can stones. -Each geologist can build up his own pet world from the same set of -rocks; and so active geologists proceed to stucco over with their own -compositions—“adumbrate” a friend calls the process—the sublime works -of the greatest of all designers. None of the sciences have given rise -to so much controversy as the science of geology. I make no pretensions -to much geologic knowledge, although I do know a little more than the -man who wondered if the granite boulders which he saw on a brae-side -were on their way up or down the hill, and argued that it was a moot -point. What I would like to see would be a good work on geology, -divested entirely of the learned and scientific slang which usually -make such books entirely useless to ninety-nine out of every hundred -persons who attempt to read them. I would like, moreover, a work that -would not bully us with a ready-made theory. - -Arran is a rugged island, and, as I have said, is full of interesting -and almost unique geologic features. There is a mountain upon it which -it is a kind of necessity for all visitors to ascend. It is called -Goatfell—its proper name being Goath-Bhein, or hill of winds. At Corry -I was told of persons who had ascended Goatfell and come down again—the -mountain is 2865 feet high—in less than three hours; but I very soon -found that I could not do the going up from Corry in that period of -time, not to speak of the coming down, which to some people, especially -if, like myself, they carry about with them a solid weight of fourteen -stones, is still more fatiguing; but then I had the disadvantage of a -wet forenoon, necessitating an occasional sojourn beneath a granite -boulder in order that _we_—that is, myself and a friend who essayed the -ascent with me—might keep ourselves tolerably dry. It was toilsome, -too, wading up to the knees in heather, even although the heather was -in its fullest bloom; but by perseverance and the good guiding of an -intelligent shepherd whom we took with us as a guide, and who knew the -best paths, we did in time reach the top, and must confess that we -obtained upon our arrival an exceeding rich reward, the view from the -summit being very grand and extensive, embracing what I may be allowed -to call a sublimely-painted diorama of portions of the three kingdoms. - -It would be commonplace indeed to say of the view from the top of -Goatfell that it was either beautiful, picturesque, or sublime, -for it is grand—I might say a mysterious combination of all these -qualities; for it cannot be contemplated without a certain feeling of -awe gradually becoming incidental to the situation. We obtain, first -of all, in the distance, a faint and dreamlike view of mountains in -Ireland,—away, however, over a far expanse of sea. Nearer at hand, -looking another way, the giant crag of Ailsa rises perpendicular from -the water, and we can almost hear the screaming of the myriads of wild -fowl which float over it like a cloud. Then at our feet lie in rich -profusion the green islands of the Clyde—Bute and the Cumbraes close -at hand; Argyle, with its lovely bays of glassy water, farther away; -and more distant still, the cragged peaks of Skye. Opening up from all -parts of the river, which glitters brilliantly in the sun, there may be -discovered glimpses of lovely scenery—hill-tops melting into clouds, -and lofty mountains so abundantly clothed with wood that the very -branches dip into the water. Here and there, distance no doubt lending -enchantment to the view, we can see deep glens and gloomy ravines, with -trickling brooks and a rare wealth of foliage, penetrated ever and anon -by flashing sunbeams that light up the picture for a moment and then -leave it darker and grander than before. Pastoral hill-sides too we can -see covered with kine; while every here and there steamboats dot the -water and show their hazy trail of smoke. Lochfyne, covered with tiny -skiffs, is in view, the waters yielding up their wealth of nourishment -to the industrious fisherman. There too are the winding Kyles of Bute, -as much worthy of being immortalised in verse as the well-sung Isles -of Greece. The eye loves to linger on the soft-looking waters of the -inland seas; and again and again we gaze upon the Cobbler as he keeps -watch over the waters of Loch Long, or scan the placid expanse of -Lochfyne. - -The late Miss Catharine Sinclair very happily said that a portion -of Lochfyne is fine only in name, and I can well agree with her -while looking at the rocky sides of Cantyre; but giving reins to the -imagination, we can fill up the scene and picture the savages of a few -thousand years ago fishing from the rocks with their bone-tipt spears, -and hauling the produce of their skill out of the waters with rough -branches of trees; and, as time flies onward, we can note in our mind’s -eye the rude canoes as they progress into ships becoming instruments of -commerce and tokens of civilisation. At our very feet are the immense -masses of granite that form the mountain on which we stand; and near at -hand, towering up alongside, are the cones of two other hills, forming -with Goatfell a silent council of three that seem to be ever engaged in -mysterious communing. The silence on the mountain-tops is wonderful, -indeed oppressive: there is not a sound to relieve the ear except -perhaps a roar of water, howling and hissing and boiling in endless -torture in one of the valleys; and as the wind fitfully moans as it -soughs adown some weird vale, half hidden from us by the clouds that -float over it, the scene looks - - “So wondrous wild, the whole might seem - The scenery of a fairy dream.” - -Looking around, one could feel that the island has a history, if we -could but ascertain it. Books have been written about Arran, and -the stone period and the metallurgic period, as illustrated by the -antiquities of the place, have been canvassed with a keen zest; in -fact, Arran is, if that be possible, more interesting to the antiquary -than the geologist. Its chambered cairns and cromlechs are silent -monuments of great events, as also are its standing-stones; and the -place is rich in those grey monoliths that would speak to us, if we -could but interpret their silent eloquence, of deeds achieved ages ago -by the valiant warriors of a long past time. There are vestiges of a -prehistoric age in Arran that indicate a population as long before the -Celtic period as that age preceded our own. There have doubtless been -heroes on Mauchrie Moor worthy to have their praises sung in Ossianic -strains; for scattered all over the island there are marks and tokens -and scathed ruins that give rise to profound speculations as to the -past history of this dark and mountainous island. And the irresistible -conclusion of any amount of imagining is, that Arran is not alone the -paradise of the geologist, but is the heaven of the botanist as well, -while the antiquary may find in its moors and glens rich memorials -indicating even in the present age the great and troubled life which -the huge mass of rock and its gigantic and peaked protuberances have -passed through as time with an invisible pencil was recording its -history. - -Having sufficiently studied the changing scenery, and rested and -refreshed ourselves with some oat cakes and whisky, my friend proposed -that we should do our speculation on the geology and history of the -island at home over the dinner-table, or under the mild influence of -the cup that not inebriates. This was a sensible proposal, especially -as the rain was becoming more than a mere indication, and the shepherd, -who knew the dangers of the hill-top in wet clothes, impatient; so I -gave way, the more especially as beautiful views do not last for ever: -the bright scene fades and the colours deaden—the sea looks gloomy, -the mists gather, the rain falls, and the wind dashes the falling -water rudely in our face, giving us warning to hurry away before worse -befalls us. - -When we again reached the plateau from which the rocky dome of -Goatfell takes its rise, the fair sun once more shone out, and we had -to note the botanical wealth of the island, and especially how rich -in heaths and ferns are the slopes of the mountain. Indeed the same -may be said of all the Clyde islands. Cantyre is rich in ferns also. -A botanical friend, while I was lingering on a recent occasion in a -bend of Lochfyne, waiting for that prince of river steamers the newest -_Iona_, picked up in a few minutes seven different varieties, and told -me that he had no doubt of finding double that number had we had time -to look for them. Our shepherd guide, while descending with us from -the mountain, seemed to hint that the reason why Arran was not more -generally allowed to be built upon by the late duke was because of the -game. I had heard before that the duke thought of keeping the Island -of Arran as a gigantic game-preserve; indeed it is admirably suited -for such a purpose, having an area of 165 square miles, and being -entirely isolated from any poaching population. Our guide, on being -asked, was quite of my opinion as to the declining grouse supplies: we -are overshooting our game birds in the very same way as we have been -overfishing our salmon. Where are the grouse? can only be answered -by the death-dealing brigade of sportsmen, gamekeepers, and gillies, -who every “twelfth” assemble on the hills and moors to perform their -annual shooting task. The grand brag over all the cohort of guns is -who will have the biggest bag; and now, what with overshooting and the -mysterious disease that ever and anon attacks the birds, we are likely -to run out of grouse. What a calamity! not only to real sportsmen, but -to all others who have extensive tracts of moor or mountain land, the -only wealth of which has hitherto been the stock of game. Once upon -a time the capercailzie abounded in the Island of Arran, and in many -places of Scotland besides; but that bird has long been very scarce, -and renewed attempts to breed it have not as yet resulted in any great -success. The wild boar was at one time also to be found on the island, -and there are still a few wild deer that rush with fleet steps about -the mountainsides; and on rare occasions, although not very lately, -eagles have been seen on the mountain-tops, where ptarmigan are yet -occasionally found. Arran is lavishly populated with grouse and black -game, while on the lowland parts partridges and pheasants have been -bred by the duke. - -We were exceedingly glad, after our hot and toilsome forenoon’s work, -to refresh our bodies with cold water, and then to sit down to our -homely dinner of stewed mutton and well-boiled potatoes, which, it is -needless to say, we ate with decided relish. During this rest we became -still better acquainted with our landlady. She had passed nearly all -her life on the island as a domestic servant, and now, when she had -fallen into “the sere the yellow leaf,” she had, by “good speaking,” -and the payment of a rent of one pound a year, obtained permission to -reside in her present little cottage, which, when it was handed over -to her, was ruined and roofless: she had, therefore, to put on a straw -roof, and is bound to keep it in repair. “How did she live?” my friend -asked. “Well, sir, I don’t live very well; I’m not in good health and -can’t see to do much with my needle. I have some sewing work at which -I can earn a penny a day. It is called ‘veining,’ and is used to trim -ladies’ underclothing. Occasionally I let my bit place to Glasgow -gentlemen, who come down by the Saturday steamboat. The few shillings -that I will get from you, if you stay out the week, will be money to -me. A gentleman living in Edinburgh is kind enough to pay my rent, and -when my beds are let, I sleep in the garret.” Such are the short and -simple annals of the poor; and I could not help being impressed with -this example of patient womanhood, who, rather than be a recipient of -parish relief, would toil on from day to day, acting over again Hood’s -song of the shirt, in order to the earning of a “sair-won penny fee.” - -I have just indicated by the little story of this woman the one -drawback of the island—the scarcity of house accommodation, and -consequently of good lodgings. To give my readers a practical idea of -how matters stand, let me relate the experience of my last visit, -when, accompanied by the same friend, I made a hurried run down to the -island one Saturday evening to make some inquiries anent the Western -herring-fishery. - -[Illustration: CORRY HARBOUR.] - -We had been landed from the steamboat on a massive grey boulder, on -the sides of which, thick as was the atmosphere, we observed dozens of -limpets and crowds of “buckies,” and other sea-ware, giving us token of -ample employment when we could obtain leisure for a more minute survey -of the rocks and stray stones which sprinkle the sea-beach of Corry. -In the meantime, that is just after landing, the great, the momentous -question on this and every other Saturday night is—is _the_ inn full? -A hurried scramble over the jagged stones, and a rush past the very -picturesque residence of Mr. Douglas’ pigs, brought us to the inn, and -at once decided the question. Mrs. Jamison, the landlady, shook her -lawn-bedizened head—the inn, alas, _was_ full, overflowing in fact, -for a gentleman had engaged the coach-house! It was feared, too, that -every house in the village was in a like predicament, and further -inquiry soon confirmed this to us rather awful statement, and so I was -left standing at the inn-door, with a bitingly shrewd companion, to -solve this problem—Given the barest possible accommodation throughout -all Corry for only forty-eight strangers, how to shake fifty into the -village, so that each might have somewhere to lay his head? This is -a problem, I suspect, that few can answer. What was to be done? The -steamboat had gone! Were we then to tramp on to Brodick, with more -than a suspicion of a rainy night in the moist atmosphere, or try a -shake-down of clean straw in a lime quarry? It might have come to -that, and as both of us had before then camped out for a night by the -sheltered side of a haystack, we might have arranged, fortified by the -aid of a dram, or perhaps two, to pass a tolerable night in the lime -cavern beside a very canny-looking horse-of-all-work that we caught a -glimpse of through the gloom of the place while peeping into it. - -But a Douglas to the rescue! And who is Douglas? it will be asked. -Well, the ever-active Douglas in his own person combines the offices -of boatman, quarrier, postman, butcher, grocer, and general merchant, -and is, in fact, to use a Scotch phrase, the “Johnny A’things” of the -village—a dealer in— - - “Meal, barley, butter, and cheese; - Soap, starch, blue, and peas; - Train-oil, tobacco, pipes, and teas; - And whisky and loch leeches.” - -It fortunately occurred that a modest maiden lady, a very -“civil-spoken” woman indeed, by name Grace Macalister, had been -disappointed of two Glasgow gentlemen, who had engaged her whole -house, and so the two benighted travellers from the east were accepted, -at the instigation of the aforesaid Mr. Douglas, in lieu of them. -Taking possession of our lodgings at once, we formed ourselves into a -committee of supply, which resulted in a prompt expenditure of a sum -of six shillings and threepence, the particulars of which, for the -benefit of my readers, and to show how primitive we had all at once -become, I beg to subjoin—namely, bread, 7d.; mutton, 2s. 4d.; butter, -6½d.; tea, 6d.; sugar, 3d.; milk, ½d.; herring, 2d. This sum, -with eighteenpence added for whisky, threepence for potatoes, and one -penny for a candle, represented the total commissariat expenses of two -persons in Corry for five wholesome but homely meals. Our bed cost -us one shilling each per night, and our attendance and washing were -charged at the rate of a shilling a day, so long as we used the Hotel -Macalister, but even this did not very much swell the grand total of -the bill, which, at such rates, was by no means heavy at the end of -our holiday ramble over Arran, especially when it is considered that -the Arran season does not very greatly exceed one hundred days. Our -quarters were certainly primitive enough—namely, half of a thatched -cottage, or rather hut we may call it, consisting of one apartment -containing two beds, four chairs, a small table, and a little cupboard. -The beds were curtained by a series of blue striped cotton fragments -of three different patterns of an old Scotch kind, and the walls were -papered with five different kinds of paper; but the low roof was the -greatest treat of all—it was covered with old numbers of the _Witness_ -newspaper, at the time when it was edited by Hugh Miller, and these -had, no doubt, been left in the cottage by previous travellers. The -floor was covered with fragments of canvas laid down as a carpet. Many -tourists would perhaps turn up their noses at this humble cottage, but -to my friend and myself it was a delightful change. - -I have not space in which to particularise all the beauties of Arran, -but I must say a word or two about Glen Sannox. Near the golden beach -of Sannox Bay is situated the solitary churchyard of Corry, with its -long grass waving rank over the graves, and its borders of fuchsias -laden with brilliant blossoms. There was, we observed, on peeping over -the wall, a new-made grave, that of an orphan girl who had been drowned -while bathing. Passing the churchyard—there was once a church at the -place, but all trace of it, save one stone built into the wall of the -churchyard, has long passed away—we came upon a brawling stream, which -led us up to the ruins of what had been a barytes-mill. The stones lay -around in great masses, as if they had been suddenly undermined by the -passing stream, and had fallen cemented as they stood. In a year or -two they will be grown over with weeds, and in a century hence some -persons may ingeniously speculate on the ruins, and give a learned -disquisition as to what building once stood there, and its uses. My -friend and I wondered what it had been, but an old man told us all -about it; and, strange to say, in the course of conversation, we found -this old resident reciting scraps of Ossian’s poems. He told us, too, -that the bard had died in the very parish in which we were standing. He -believed Ossian to have been a great priest and teacher of the people, -and this was an idea that was quite new to us. We had heard before, or -rather read, that the poet was by some esteemed a great warrior, and by -others a necromancer—perhaps to esteem him a teacher is right enough; -his poems, at any rate, were at one time as familiar in the mouths of -the West Highlanders as household words. - -The scenery of Arran would certainly inspire a poet. As we penetrated -into Glen Sannox it became most interesting, whether we noted the -brawling and bubbling brook, or the rich carpet of heath and wild -flowers upon which we trod. The luxuriance of its wild flowers is -remarkable, and of its rabbits equally so. As we proceed up the glen, -the lofty hills with their granitic scars frown down upon us, and -one with a coroneted brow looks kingly among the others, as the mist -floats upon their shoulders, like a waving mantle, and with their bold -and rugged precipices they seem as if they had just been suddenly -shot out from the bosom of the earth. Glen Sannox is sublime indeed; -its magnitude is remarkable, and it is so hemmed in with hills as -to look at once, even without any details, or the aid of history, a -fitting hiding-place for the gallant Bruce and his devoted followers. -About three miles north from this glen we can view—and, we venture -to say, not without astonishment—the falling fragments of the broken -mountain; a stream of large stones that lie crowded on the declivity -of the hill, till they in one long trail reach the ocean. But to -enumerate a tithe even of the scenic and antiquarian beauties of -the island would require—nay, it has obtained, and more than once—a -volume. I could dwell upon the blue rock near Corry, and picture the -overhanging cliffs of the neighbourhood mantled o’er with ivy. The -visitor might enter some of the caves which have been scooped out by -the sea, or wander among the rock pools of the indented shore, rich -with treasures wherewith to feed the greedy eye of the naturalist, and -view the ladies, with kilted coats, doing their daily lessons from -Glaucus, collecting pretty shells, bottling anemones, or gathering -sea-weeds wherewith to ornament their botanic albums. At last, after -a long day’s work of wandering and climbing, we long for a quiet seat -and a refreshing cup of tea, and by and by, when the night shuts us -out from active labour, we hie us to our box bed, in order to stretch -our wearied limbs in Miss Macalister’s well-lavendered sheets; and, -as we are just attempting to coax the balmy goddess to close our eyes -with her soft fingers, we hear the landlady in her garret reading her -nightly chapter from her Gaelic Bible, with that genuine droning sound -incidental to the West Highland voice. - -I have more than once after nightfall passed a quiet half-hour at our -cottage door inhaling the saline breath of the mighty sea. The look-out -at midnight is very beautiful: the Cumbrae light looked like a monitor -telling us that even at that dread hour we were watched over. On the -opposite coast of Ayr a huge ironwork threw a lurid glare upon the -bosom of the sea, and almost at my feet the restless waves were playing -a mournful dirge on the boulder-crowded beach. I could see along the -water to Holy Island, and could almost feel the silence that at that -moment would render the cave of old Saint Molio a wondrous place for -holding a feast of the imagination, the viands being brought forward -from a far-back time, and the island again peopled with the quaint -races that had passed a brief span of life upon its shores—who had been -warmed by the same sun as had that day shone upon me, and whose nights -had been illumined by the same moon that was now shimmering its soft -radiance upon the liquid bosom of the sparkling waters. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE NATURAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE SALMON. - - The Salmon our best-known Fish—Controversies and Anomalies—Food - of Salmon—The Parr Controversy—Experiments by Shaw, Young, and - Hogg—Grilse: its Rate of Growth—Do Salmon make Two Voyages to the Sea - in each Year?—The Best Way of marking Young Salmon—Enemies of the - Fish—Avarice of the Lessees—The Rhine Salmon—Size of Fish—Killing of - Grilse—Rivers Tay, Spey, Tweed, Severn, etc.—The Tay Fisheries—Report - on English Fisheries—Upper and Lower Proprietors. - - -So many books have been written during the last few years about this -beautiful and valuable animal that I do not require to occupy a very -large portion of this work with either its natural or economic history; -for of the two hundred and fifty kinds of fish which inhabit the rivers -and seas of Britain, the salmon (_Salmo salar_) is the one about which -we know more than any other, and chiefly for these reasons:—It is of -greater value as property than any other fish; its large size better -admits of observation than smaller members of the fish tribe; and, -in consequence of its migratory instinct, we have access to it at -those seasons of its life when to observe its habits is the certain -road to information. And yet, with all these advantages, or rather in -consequence of them, there has been a vast amount of controversy, oral -and written, as to the birth, breeding, and growth of the salmon. -There have been controversies as to the impregnation of its eggs, as -to the growth of the fish from the parr to the smolt stage; also as -to the kind of food it eats, how long it remains in the salt water, -and whether it makes one or two voyages to the sea per annum. There -has likewise been a grilse controversy, as well as a rate-of-growth -quarrel. These scientific and literary combats have been fought at -intervals, and, to speak generally, have exhibited the temper and the -learning of the combatants in about equal proportions. The dates of -these controversies are not so easily fixed as might be desired, seeing -that they are either scattered at intervals throughout the Transactions -of learned societies, buried in heavy encyclopædias, or altogether lost -in the columns of newspapers. It is scarcely an exaggeration to say -that during the past quarter of a century there has been a committee of -inquiry either in the House of Lords or Commons, a royal commission, a -blue book, or an Act of Parliament, every year on behalf of the salmon, -besides numerous publications by private individuals. - -Although no person now believes the assertion of the Billingsgate -naturalist, that salmon-eggs come to maturity in a period of -forty-eight hours, or that other authority who told the world that as -soon as the fish burst from the ovum—a smolt six inches long coming out -of a pea!—it was conducted to the sea by its parents, there is much of -the romantic in the history of this monarch of the brook, and about the -manner in which the varied disputed points have been solved, if indeed -some of these points be yet completely settled. - -I shall not again enter into the impregnation theory, having said as -much as was necessary about that portion of my subject in a previous -division of this work; but will proceed at once to give a summary of -the parr controversy, and a few statements about the grilse and the -full-grown fish as well. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -According to the state of knowledge some five-and-thirty years ago—and -I need not go further back at present—the smolt was said to be the -first stage of salmon-life, and the abounding parr was thought to be -a distinct fish. Now we know better, and are able to regulate our -salmon-fisheries accordingly. The spawn deposited by the parent fish in -October, November, and December, lies in the river till about April or -May, when it quickens into life. I have already described the changes -apparent in the salmon-egg from the time of its fructification till -the birth of the fish. The infant fry are of course very helpless, and -are seldom seen during the first week or two of their existence, when -they carry about with them as a provision for food a portion of the egg -from whence they emanated. At that time the fish is about half an inch -in size, and presents such a very singular appearance that no person -seeing it would ever believe that it would grow into a fine grilse or -salmon. About fifty days is required for the animal to assume the shape -of a perfect fish; before that time it might be taken for anything -else than a young salmon. The engravings on this and the succeeding -pages, which are exactly half the size of life, show the progress of -the salmon during the first two years of its existence, at the end of -which time it is certain to have changed into a smolt. After eating -up its umbilical bag, which it takes a period of from twenty to forty -days to accomplish, the young salmon may be seen about its birthplace, -timid and weak, hiding about the stones, and always apparently of the -same colour as the surroundings of its sheltering place. The transverse -bars of the parr very speedily become apparent, and the fish begins -to grow with considerable rapidity, especially if it is to be a -twelvemonth’s smolt, and this is very speedily seen at such a good -point of observation as the Stormontfield ponds. The smallest of the -specimens given in the preceding page represents a parr at the age of -two months; the next in size shows the same fish two months older; and -the remaining fish is six months old. The young fish continue to grow -for a little longer than two years before the whole number make the -change from parr to smolt and seek the salt water. Half of the quantity -of any one hatching, however, begin to change at a little over twelve -months from the date of their coming to life; and thus there is the -extraordinary anomaly, as I shall by and by show, of fish of the same -hatching being at one and the same time parr of half an ounce in weight -and grilse weighing four pounds. The smolts of the first year return -from the sea whilst their brothers and sisters are timidly disporting -in the breeding shallows of the upper streams, having no desire for -change, and totally unable to endure the salt water, which would at -once kill them. The sea-feeding must be favourable, and the condition -of the fish well suited to the salt water, to ensure such rapid -growth—a rapidity which every visit of the fish to the ocean serves -but to confirm. Various fish, while in the grilse stage, have been -marked to prove this; and at every migration they returned to their -breeding stream with added weight and improved health. What the salmon -feeds upon while in the salt water is not well known, as the digestion -of that fish is so rapid as to prevent the discovery of food in their -stomachs when they are captured and opened. Guesses have been made, and -it is likely that these approximate to the truth; but the old story of -the rapid voyage of the salmon to the North Pole and back again turns -out, like the theory upon which was built up the herring-migration -romance, to be a mere myth. - -None of our naturalists have yet attempted to elucidate that mystery of -salmon life which converts one-half of the fish into sea-going smolts -while as yet the other moiety remain as parr. It has been investigated -so far at the breeding-ponds at Stormontfield, but without resolving -the question. There is another point of doubt as to salmon life which -I shall also have a word to say about—namely, whether or not that fish -makes two visits annually to the sea; likewise whether it be probable -that a smolt remains in the salt water for nearly a year before it -becomes a grilse. As a salmon only stays, as is popularly supposed, a -very short time in the salt water, and as it is one of the quickest -swimming fishes we have, so that it is able to reach a distant river in -a very short space of time, it is most desirable that we should know -what it does with itself when it is not migrating from one water to the -other; because, according to the opinion of some naturalists, it would -speedily become so deteriorated in the river as to be unequal to the -slightest exertion. - -The mere facts in the biography of the salmon are not very numerous; it -is the fiction and mystery with which the life of this particular fish -has been invested by those ignorant of its history that has made it a -greater object of interest than it would otherwise have become. This -will be obvious as I briefly trace the amount of controversy and state -the arguments which have been expended on the three divisions of its -life. - -THE PARR CONTROVERSY.—None of the controversies concerning the growth -of the salmon have been so hotly carried on or have proved so fertile -in argument as the parr dispute. At certain seasons of the year, -most notably in the months of spring and early summer, our salmon -streams and their tributaries become crowded, as if by magic, with -a pretty little fish, known in Scotland as the parr, and in England -as the brandling, the peel, the samlet, etc. The parr was at one -time so wonderfully plentiful, that farmers and cottars who resided -near a salmon river used not unfrequently, after filling the family -frying-pan, to feed their pigs with the dainty little fish! Countless -thousands were annually killed by juvenile anglers, and even so lately -as twenty years ago it never occurred either to country gentlemen or -their farmers that these parr were young salmon. Indeed, the young of -the salmon, as then recognised, was only known as a smolt or smout. -Parr were thought, as I have already said, to be distinct fish of the -minor or dwarf kind. Some large-headed anglers, however, had their -doubts about the little parr, and naturalists found it difficult to -procure specimens of the fish with ova or milt in them. Dr. Knox, -the anatomist, asserted that the parr was a hybrid belonging to no -particular species of fish, but a mixture of many; and it is curious -enough that although this fish was declared over and over again to be a -separate species, no one ever found a female parr containing roe. The -universal exclamation of naturalists for many a long year was always: -It is a quite distinct species, and not the young of any larger fish. -The above drawing represents a parr, the engraving being exactly half -the size of life. - -[Illustration: PARR ONE YEAR OLD. - Half the natural size.] - -This “distinct-species” dogma might have been still prevalent, had not -the question been taken in hand and solved by practical men. Before -mentioning the experiments of Shaw and Young, it will be curious -to note the varieties of opinion which were evoked during the parr -controversy, which has existed in one shape or another for something -like two hundred years. As a proof of the difficulty of arriving at -a correct conclusion amidst the conflict of evidence, I may cite the -opinion of Yarrell, who held the parr to be a distinct fish. “That the -parr,” he says, “is not the young of the salmon, or, indeed, of any -other of the large species of Salmonidæ, as still considered by some, -is sufficiently obvious from the circumstance that parr by hundreds -may be taken in the rivers all the summer, long after the fry of the -year of the larger migratory species have gone down to the sea.” Mr. -Yarrell also says, “The smolt or young salmon is by the fishermen of -some rivers called ‘a laspring;’” and explains, “The laspring of some -rivers is the young of the true salmon; but in others, as I know from -having had specimens sent me, the laspring is really _only a parr_.” -Mr. Yarrell further states the prevalence of an opinion “that parrs -were hybrids, and all of them males.” Many gentlemen who would not -admit that parr were salmon in their first stage have lived to change -their opinion. - -My friend Mr. Robert Buist, the intelligent and very obliging -conservator of the Stormontfield breeding-ponds, is one of the -gentlemen who now finds, from the results of most accurate experiments -conducted under his own personal superintendence, that he was in error -in holding the parr to be a distinct fish. A very eminent living -naturalist, who has now seen all the stages of the question, said at -one time that the parr had no connection whatever with the migratory -salmon; and also that “males are found so far advanced as to have the -milt flow on being handled; but at the same time, and indeed all the -females which I have examined, had the roe in a backward state, and -they have not been discovered spawning in any of the shallow streams -or lesser rivulets, like the trout.” Such extracts could be multiplied -to almost any extent, but I can only give one more, and it is from -the same writer. After minutely describing the anatomy of the fish, -he thus sums up: “In this state, therefore, I have no hesitation in -considering the parr not only distinct, but one of the best and most -constantly marked species we have.” - -The first person who “took a thought about the matter”—_i.e._ as to -whether the parr was or was not the young of the salmon—and arrived -at any solid conclusion, was James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, who, -in his usual eccentric way, took some steps to verify his opinions. -He had, while herding his sheep, many opportunities of watching -the fishing-streams, and, like most of his class, he wielded his -fishing-rod with considerable dexterity. While angling in the -tributaries of some of the Border salmon-streams he had often caught -the parr as it was changing into the smolt stage, and had, after close -observation, come to the conclusion that the little parr was none -other than the infant salmon. Mr. Hogg did not keep his discovery a -secret, and the more his facts were controverted by the naturalists -of the day the louder became his proclamations. He had suspected all -his life that parr were salmon in their first stage. He would catch -a parr with a few straggling scales upon it; he would look at this -fish and think it queer; instantly he would catch another a little -better covered with silver scales, but all loose, and not adhering -to the body. Again he would catch a smolt, manifestly a smolt, all -covered with the white silver scales, yet still rather loose upon -its skin, and these would come off in his hand. On removing these he -found the parr, with the blue finger marks below the new scales; and -that these were young salmon then became as manifest to the shepherd -as that a lamb, if suffered to live, would become a sheep. Wondering -at this, he marked a great number of the lesser fish, and offered -rewards (characteristically enough of whisky) to the peasantry to -bring him any fish that had evidently undergone the change predicted -by him. Whenever this conclusion was settled in his mind, the -Shepherd at once proclaimed his new-gained knowledge. “What will the -fishermen of Scotland think,” said he, “when I assure them, on the -faith of long experience and observation, and on the word of one -who can have no interest in instilling an untruth into their minds, -that every insignificant parr with which the Cockney fisher fills -his basket is a salmon lost?” These crude attempts of the impulsive -shepherd of Ettrick—and he was hotly opposed by Mr. Buist, now of -Stormontfield—were not without their fruits; indeed they were so -successful as quite to convince him that parr were young salmon in -their first stage. - -As I have had occasion to mention the opinions of James Hogg on the -salmon question, I may be allowed to state here that the following -amusing bit of dialogue on the habits of the salmon once took place -between the Ettrick Shepherd and a friend:— - -_Shepherd_—“I maintain that ilka saumon comes aye back again frae the -sea till spawn in its ain water.” - -_Friend_—“Toots, toots, Jamie! hoo can it manage till do that; hoo, in -the name o’ wonder, can a fish, travelling up a turbid water frae the -sea, know when it reaches the entrance to its birthplace, or that it -has arrived at the tributary that was its cradle?” - -_Shepherd_—“Man, the great wonder to me is no hoo the fish get back, -but hoo they find their way till the sea first ava, seein’ that they’ve -never been there afore!” - -The parr question, however, was determined in a rather more formal -mode than that adopted by the author of “Bonny Kilmenny.” Mr. Shaw, a -forester in the employment of the Duke of Buccleuch, took up the case -of the parr in 1833, and succeeded in solving the problem. In order -that he might watch the progressive growth of the parr, Mr. Shaw began -by capturing seven of these little fishes on the 11th of July 1833; -these he placed in a pond supplied by a stream of excellent water, -where they grew and flourished apace till early in April 1834, between -which date and the 17th of the following May they became smolts; and -all who saw them on that day when they were caught by Mr. Shaw were -thoroughly convinced that they were true salmon smolts. In March 1835 -Mr. Shaw repeated his experiments with twelve parrs of a larger size, -taken also from the river. On being transferred to the pond, these -so speedily acquired the scales of the smolt that Mr. Shaw assumed -a period of two years as being the time at which the change took -place from the parr to the smolt. The late Mr. Young of Invershin, a -well-known authority on salmon life, was experimenting at the same time -as Mr. Shaw, and for the same purpose—namely, to determine if parr were -the young of the salmon, and, if so, at what period they became smolts -and proceeded to the sea. Well, Mr. Shaw said two years, and Mr. Young, -who was at that time manager of the Duke of Sutherland’s fisheries, -said the change took place in twelve months; others, again, who took -an interest in the controversy, said that three years elapsed before -the change was made. The various parties interested held each their -own opinion, and it may even be said that the disputation still goes -on; for although a numerous array of facts bearing on the migration -have been gathered, we are still in ignorance of any regulating -principle on which the migratory change is based, or to account for the -impulse which impels a brood of fish to proceed to sea divided into -two moieties. Mr. Shaw watched his young fry with unceasing care, and -described their growth with great minuteness, for a period extending -over two years, when his parrs became smolts. Mr. Young, in a letter -from Invershin, dated January 1853, says, pointedly enough—“The fry -remain in the river one whole year, from the time they are hatched to -the time they assume their silvery coat and take their first departure -for the sea. All the experiments we have made on the ova and fry of the -salmon have exactly corresponded to the same effects, and none of them -have taken longer in arriving at the smolt than the first year.” - -Mr. Buist, in one of his letters on the progress of artificial breeding -at the Stormontfield ponds, says: “There is at present a mystery as -regards the progress of the young salmon. There can be no doubt that -all in our ponds are really and truly the offspring of salmon; no other -fish, not even the seed of them, could by any possibility get into -the ponds. Now we see that about one half have gone off as smolts, -returning in their season as grilses; the other half remain as parrs, -and the milt in the males is as much developed, in proportion to the -size of the fish, as their brethren of the same age seven to ten pounds -weight, whilst these same parrs in the ponds do not exceed one ounce -in weight. This is an anomaly in nature which I fear cannot be cleared -up at present. I hope, however, by proper attention, some light may -be thrown upon it from our experiments next spring. The female parrs -in the pond have their ova so undeveloped that the granulations can -scarcely be discovered by a lens of some power. It is strange that -both Young’s and Shaw’s theories are likely to prove correct, though -seemingly so contradictory, and the much-disputed point settled, that -parrs (such as ours at least) are truly the young of the salmon.” - -It is quite certain that parr are young salmon, and that a parr -becomes a smolt and goes to the sea, although there are still to be -found, no doubt, a few wrong-headed people who will not be convinced -on the point, but pridefully maintain all the old salmon theories and -prejudices. With them the parr is still a distinct fish, the smolt is -the true young of _Salmo salar_ in its first stage, and a grilse is -just a grilse and nothing more. However, these old-world people will -in time pass away (there is no hope of convincing them), and then the -modern views of salmon biography, founded as they are on laborious -personal investigation, will ultimately prevail. - -THE SMOLT AND GRILSE.—But the great parr mystery is still unsolved—that -is to say, no one knows on what _principle_ the transformation is -accomplished; how it is that only half of a brood ripen into smolts -at the end of a year, the other moiety taking double that period to -arrive at the same stage of progress. Some scientific visitors to the -Stormontfield ponds say that this anomaly is natural enough, and that -similar ratios of growth may be observed among all animals; but it -is curious that just exactly the half of a brood—and the eggs be it -remembered all from adult salmon, and therefore similar in ripeness -and other conditions—should change into smolts at the end of a year, -leaving a moiety in the ponds as parr for another twelvemonth. - -The most remarkable phase in the life of the salmon is its -extraordinary instinct for change. After the parr has become a smolt, -it is found that the desire to visit the sea is so intense, especially -in pond-bred fish, as to cause them to leap from their place of -confinement, in the hope of attaining at once their salt-water goal; -and of course the instinct of river-bred fish is equally strong on -this point—they all rush to the sea at their proper season. There are -various opinions as to the cause of the migratory instinct in the -salmon. Some people say it finds in the sea those rich feeding-grounds -which enable it to add so rapidly to its weight. It is quite certain -that the fish attains its primest condition while it is in the salt -water; those caught in the estuaries by means of stake or bag nets -being richer in quality, and esteemed far before the river fish. The -moment the salmon enters the fresh water it begins to decrease in -weight and fall from its high condition. It is a curious fact, and -a wise provision of nature, that the eel, which is also a migratory -fish, descends to spawn in the sea as the salmon is ascending to the -river-head for the same purpose; were the fact different, and both -fish to spawn in the river, the roe of the salmon would be completely -eaten up. In due time then, we find the silver-coated host leaving the -rippling cradle of its birth, and adventuring on the more powerful -stream, by which it is borne to the sea-fed estuary, or the briny ocean -itself. And this picturesque tour is repeated year after year, being -apparently the grand essential of salmon life. - -[Illustration: SMOLT TWO YEARS OLD. - Half the natural size.] - -It is pleasant, rod in hand, on a breezy spring day, while trying to -coax “the monarch of the brook” from his sheltering pool, to watch -this annual migration, and to note the passage of the bright-mailed -army adown the majestic river, that hurries on by busy corn-mill and -sweeps with a murmuring sound past hoar and ruined towers, washing -the pleasant lawns of country magnates or laving the cowslips on the -village meadow, and as it rolls ceaselessly ocean-ward, giving a -more picturesque aspect to the quaint agricultural villages and farm -homesteads which it passes in its course. During the whole length -of its pilgrimage the army of smolts pays a tribute to its enemies -in gradual decimation: it is attacked at every point of vantage; -at one place the smolts are taken prisoners by the hundred in some -well-contrived net, at another picked off singly by some juvenile -angler. The smolt is greedily devoured by the trout, the pike, and -various other enemies, which lie constantly in waiting for it, sure -of a rich feast at this annually-recurring migration. But the giant -and fierce battle which this infantile tribe has to fight is at the -point where the salt water begins to mingle with the stream, where are -assembled hosts of greedy monsters of the sea of all shapes and sizes, -from the porpoise and seal down to the young coal-fish, who dart with -inconceivable rapidity upon the defenceless shoal and play havoc with -the numbers. - -Many naturalists dispute most lustily the assertion that the smolt -returns to the parental waters as a grilse the same year that it visits -the sea; and some writers have maintained that the young fish makes -a grand tour to the North Pole before it makes up its mind to “hark -back.” It has been pretty well proved, however, that the grilse may -have been the young smolt of the same year. A most remarkable fact in -the history of grilse is, that we kill them in thousands before they -have an opportunity of perpetuating their kind; indeed on some rivers -the annual slaughter of grilse is so enormous as palpably to affect -the “takes” of the big fish. It has been asserted, likewise, that the -grilse is a distinct fish, and not the young of the salmon in its early -stage. There has been a controversy as to the rate at which the salmon -increases in weight; and there have been numerous disputes about what -its instinct had taught it to “eat, drink, and avoid.” - -It has been authoritatively settled, however, that grilse become -salmon; and, notwithstanding a recent opening up of this old sore, I -hold the experiments conducted by his Grace the Duke of Athole and -the late Mr. Young of Invershin to be quite conclusive. The latter -gentleman, in his little work on the salmon, after alluding to various -points in the growth of the fish, says:—“My next attempt was to -ascertain the rate of their growth during their short stay in salt -water, and for this purpose we marked spawned grilses, as near as we -could get to four pounds weight; these we had no trouble in getting -with a net in the pools below the spawning-beds, where they had -congregated together to rest, after the fatigues of depositing their -seed. All the fish above four pounds weight, as well as any under that -size, were returned to the river unmarked, and the others marked by -inserting copper wire rings into certain parts of their fins: this was -done in a manner so as not to interrupt the fish in their swimming -operations nor be troublesome to them in any way. After their journey -to sea and back again, we found that the four pound grilses had grown -into beautiful salmon, varying from nine to fourteen pounds weight. I -repeated this experiment for several years, and on the whole found the -results the same, and, as in the former marking, found the majority -returning in about eight weeks; and we have never among our markings -found a marked grilse go to sea and return a grilse, for they have -invariably returned salmon.” - -The late Duke of Athole took a considerable interest in the grilse -question, and kept a complete record of all the fish that he had caused -to be marked; and in his Journal there is a striking instance of -rapidity of growth. A fish marked by his Grace was caught at a place -forty miles distant from the sea; it travelled to the salt water, fed, -and returned in the short space of thirty-seven days. The following is -his entry regarding this particular fish:—“On referring to my Journal, -I find that I caught this fish as a kelt this year, on the 31st of -March, with the rod, about two miles above Dunkeld Bridge, at which -time it weighed exactly ten pounds; so that, in the short space of -five weeks and two days, it had gained the almost incredible increase -of eleven pounds and a quarter; for, when weighed here on its arrival, -it was twenty-one pounds and a quarter.” There could be no doubt, Mr. -Young thinks, of the accuracy of this statement, for his Grace was most -correct in his observations, having tickets made for the purpose, and -numbered from one upwards, and the number and date appertaining to each -fish was carefully registered for reference. - -As the fish grew so rapidly during their visit to the salt water, -people began to wonder what they fed on, and where they went. A -hypothesis was started of their visiting the North Pole; but it was -certain, from the short duration of their visit to the salt water that -they could proceed to no great distance from the mouth of the river -which admitted them to the sea. Hundreds of fish were dissected in -order to ascertain what they fed upon; but only on very rare occasions -could any traces of food be found in their stomachs. What, then, do the -salmon live upon? was asked. It is quite clear that salmon obtain in -the sea some kind of food for which they have a peculiar liking, and -upon which they rapidly grow fat; and it is very well known that after -they return to the fresh water they begin to lose their flesh and fall -off in condition. The rapid growth of the fish seems to imply that its -digestion must be rapid, and may perhaps account for there never being -food in its stomach when found; although I am bound to mention that -one gentleman who writes on this subject accounts for the emptiness of -the stomach by asserting that the salmon vomits at the moment of being -taken. The codfish again is frequently found with its stomach crowded; -in fact, I have seen the stomach of a large cod which formed quite a -small museum, having a large variety of articles “on board,” as the -fisherman said who caught it. Salmon seldom now attain a weight of more -than from fifteen to eighteen pounds. Long ago sixty-pound fish were -by no means rare, and twelve years back salmon weighing thirty and -forty pounds used frequently to be seen on our fishmongers’ counters. -In the golden age of the fisheries salmon are said to have been very -plentiful, and attainable for food by all classes of the community, -the price being a mere trifle; but railways now carry away our sea -produce with such rapidity to far-off cities and populous towns, where -there is an increasing demand that the price has risen to such a point -as to make this fish a luxury for the rich, and so induce the capture -of salmon of all weights. On all these points there has been a great -amount of disputation, chiefly carried on in the Transactions of -learned societies, and not therefore accessible to the general reader. - -It is supposed by some writers that the salmon makes two voyages -in each year to the sea, and this is quite possible, as we may -judge from the data already given on this point; but sometimes the -salmon, although it can swim with great rapidity, takes many weeks to -accomplish its journey because of the state of the river. If there is -not sufficient water to flood the course, the fish have to remain in -the various pools they may reach till the state of the water admits -of their proceeding on their journey either to or from the sea. The -salmon, like all other fish, is faithful to its old haunts; and it is -known, in cases where more than one salmon-stream falls into the same -firth, that the fish of one stream will not enter another, and where -the stream has various tributaries suitable for breeding purposes, the -fish breeding in a particular tributary invariably return to it. - -But, in reference to the idea of a double visit to the salt water, may -we not ask—particularly as we have the dates of the marked fish for -our guidance—what a salmon that is known to be only five weeks away -on its sea visit does with itself the rest of the year? A salmon, for -instance, spawning about “the den of Airlie,” on the Isla, some way -beyond Perth, has not to make a very long journey before it reaches -the salt water, and travelling at a rapid rate would soon accomplish -it; but supposing the fish took forty days for its passage there and -back, and allowing a period of six weeks for spawning and rest, there -are still many months of its annual life unaccounted for. It cannot, -according to the ideas of some writers, remain in the river forty-seven -weeks, because it would become so low in condition from the want of -a proper supply of nourishing food that it would die. It is this -fact that has led to the supposition of a double journey to the sea. -The Rev. Dugald Williamson, who wrote a pamphlet on this subject, -entertains no doubt about the double journey. “Salmon migrate twice -in the course of the year, and the instinct which drives them from -the sea in summer impels them to the sea in spring. Let the vernal -direction of the propensity be opposed, let a salmon be seized as it -descends and confined in a fresh-water pond or lake, and what is its -fate? Before preparing to quit the river it had suffered severely in -strength, bulk, and general health, and, imprisoned in an atmosphere -which had become unwholesome, it soon begins to languish, and in the -course of the season expires: the experiment has been tried, and the -result is well known. This being an ascertained and unquestionable -fact, is it a violent or unfair inference that a similar result obtains -in the case of those salmon that are forced back, from whatever cause, -to the sea, that the salt-water element is as fatal to the pregnant -fish of autumn as the fresh-water element is to the spent fish in -spring?... If there is any truth in these conjectures, they suggest -the most powerful reasons for _resisting_ or _removing_ obstructions -in the estuary of a river.” The riddle of this double migration of the -salmon is likely still to puzzle us. It is said that the impelling -force of the migratory instinct is, that the fish is preyed upon in -the salt water by a species of crustaceous insect, which forces it to -seek the fresh waters of its native river; again, that while the fresh -water destroys these sea-lice a new kind infests it in the river, -thus necessitating a return to the sea. My own experience leads me to -believe that salmon can exist perfectly well in the fresh water for -months at a time, suffering but little deterioration in weight, but -never, so far as I could ascertain, growing while in the fresh streams, -although it is certain they feed. It is a well-known fact that the parr -cannot live in salt water. I have both tried the experiment myself and -seen it tried by others; the parr invariably die when placed in contact -with the sea-water. - -Mr. William Brown, in his painstaking account of _The Natural History -of the Salmon_, also bears his testimony on this part of the salmon -question:—“Until the parr takes on the smolt scales, it shows no -inclination to leave the fresh water. It cannot live in salt water. -This fact was put to the test at the ponds, by placing some parrs in -salt water—the water being brought fresh from the sea at Carnoustie; -and immediately on being immersed in it the fish appeared distressed, -the fins standing stiff out, the parr-marks becoming a brilliant -ultramarine colour, and the belly and sides of a bright orange. The -water was often renewed, but they all died, the last that died living -nearly five hours. After being an hour in the salt water, they appeared -very weak and unable to rise from the bottom of the vessel which -contained them, the body of the fish swelling to a considerable extent. -This change of colour in the fish could not be attributed to the colour -of the vessel which held them, for on being taken out they still -retained the same brilliant colours.” - -All controversies relating to the growth of salmon may now be held -as settled. It has been proved that the parr is the young of the -salmon; the various changes which it undergoes during its growth have -been ascertained, and the increase of bulk and weight which accrues -in a given period is now well understood. But we still require much -information as to the “habits” of fish of the salmon kind. - -In a recent conversation with Mr. Marshall of Stormontfield, while -comparing notes on some of the disputed points of salmon growth, we -both came to the conclusion that the following dates, founded on the -experiments conducted at Stormontfield, might be taken as marking -the chief stages in the life of a salmon. An egg deposited in the -breeding-boxes say in December 1852 yielded a fish in April 1853; that -fish remained as a parr till a little later than the same period of -1854, when, being seized with its migratory instinct, and having upon -it the protecting scales of the smolt, it departed from the pond into -the river Tay on its way to the sea, having previously had conferred -upon it a certain mark by which it could be known if recaptured on its -return. It was recaptured as a grilse within less than three months -of its departure (July), and weighed about four pounds. Being marked -once more, it was again sent away to endure the dangers of the deep; -and lo! was once more taken, this time a salmon of the goodly weight -of ten pounds! But there comes in here the question if it was the same -fish, for it is said that the smolt in some cases remains a whole -winter in the sea, and therefore that the fish I have been alluding to -was a smolt that had never come back as a grilse. I have a theory that -half of the brood of smolts sent to sea do remain over the winter and -come back as salmon, while the others come back almost immediately as -grilse. It is possible, however, that any particular fish may lose its -river for a season, and be in some other water for a time as a grilse, -and then finding its birth-stream come once again to its “procreant -cradle.” The rapidity of salmon growth, however, I consider to be -undoubtedly proved. - -A good deal has been said in various quarters about the best way of -marking a young salmon so that at some future stage of its life it may -be easily identified. Cutting off the dead fin is not thought a good -plan of marking, because such a mark may be accidentally imitated and -so mislead those interested, or it may be wilfully imitated by persons -wishing to mislead. Of the smolts sent away from the Stormontfield -ponds during May 1855, 1300 were marked in a rather common way—viz. -by cutting off the second dorsal fin—and twenty-two of these marked -fish were taken as grilse during that same summer, the first being -caught on the 7th of July, when it weighed three pounds. Mr. Buist, -who took charge of the experiments, was quite convinced that a much -larger number of the marked fish than twenty-two was caught, but many -of the fishermen, having an aversion to the system of pond-breeding, -took no pains to discover whether or not the grilse they caught had the -pond-mark, and so the chance of still further verifying the rate of -salmon growth was lost. A reward offered by Mr. Buist of 2s. per pound -weight for each grilse that might be brought to his office, led to an -imitation of the mark and the perpetration of several petty frauds -in order to get the money. The mark was frequently imitated, and one -or two fish were brought to Mr. Buist which almost deceived him into -the belief of their being some of the real marked fish. As Mr. Buist -says—“So cunningly had this deception been gone about, that a casual -observer might have been deceived. When the fin was cut off the recent -wound was far too palpable; and to hide this the man cut a piece of -skin from another fish and fixed it upon the wounded part. I examined -this fish, which was lying alongside of an undoubted pond-marked fish, -which had the skin and scales grown over the cut, and I am satisfied -that it would be impossible to imitate the true mark by any process -except by marking the fish while young.”[5] Peter Marshall and also Mr. -Buist agree with me in saying that the number of fish taken, each being -minus the dead fin, was a sufficient proof that these fish were really -the pond-bred ones returned as grilse. It is impossible that twenty -or thirty grilse could have all been accidentally maimed within a few -weeks, and each present the same—the very same appearance. Various -other plans of marking were tried by the authorities at Stormontfield, -some of which were partially successful, and added another link to the -chain of evidence, which proves at any rate that many individual fish -have grown from the smolt to the grilse state in the course of a very -few weeks. - -[Illustration: FISHES OF THE SALMON FAMILY. - 1. Salmon. - 2. Grilse. - 3. Sea-trout. - 4. Herling. -] - -Leaving the salmon as an object of natural history, and looking at it -as an article of commerce, I find that there exists a considerable -dread of its speedy extinction, which, taking into account the state -of the fisheries, is not at all to be wondered at. The English -salmon-fisheries have utterly declined; the Irish fisheries are -decaying; and the eagerness with which the Scotch people are rushing to -Parliament for new laws indicates a fear of a similar fate overtaking -the fisheries of the North. The “breeches-pocket” view of the question -has recently become of considerable importance, in consequence of -this fear of failing supplies; for the commerce carried on in this -particular fish has been at the rate of over £100,000 a year; and -although our salmon-fisheries are not nearly equal in value to the -herring and white fisheries, still the individual salmon is our most -tangible fish, and brings to its owner a larger sum of money than any -other member of the fish family. Indeed, of late years this “monarch of -the brook” has become emphatically the rich man’s fish; its price for -table purposes, at certain seasons of the year, being only compatible -with a large income; and liberty to play one’s rod on a salmon river -is a privilege paid for at a high figure per annum. Such facts at once -elevate _Salmo salar_ to the highest regions of luxury: certainly, -salmon can no longer find a place on the tables of the poor; for we -shall never again hear of its selling at twopence per pound, or of -farm-servants bargaining not to be compelled to eat it oftener than -twice a week. - -At every stage of its career the salmon is surrounded by enemies. -At the very moment of spawning, the female is watched by a horde of -devourers, who instinctively flock to the breeding-grounds in order -to feast on the ova. The hungry pike, the lethargic perch, the greedy -trout, the very salmon itself, are lying in wait, all agape for the -palatable roe, and greedily swallowing whatever quantity the current -carries down. Then the water-fowl eagerly pounces on the precious -deposit the moment it has been forsaken by the fish; and if it -escape being gobbled up by such cormorants, the spawn may be washed -away by a flood, or the position of the bed may be altered, and the -ova be destroyed perhaps for want of water. As an instance of the -loss incidental to salmon-spawning in the natural way, I may just -mention that a whitling of about three-quarters of a pound weight -has been taken in the Tay with three hundred impregnated salmon ova -in its stomach! If this fish had been allowed to dine and breakfast -at this rate during the whole of the spawning season it would have -been difficult to estimate the loss our fisheries sustained by his -voracity. No sooner do the eggs ripen, and the young fish come to life, -than they are exposed, in their defenceless state, to be preyed upon by -all the enemies already enumerated; while as parr they have been taken -out of our streams in such quantities as to be made available for the -purposes of pig-feeding and as manure! Some economists estimate that -only one egg out of every thousand ever becomes a full-grown salmon. -Mr. Thomas Tod Stoddart calculated that one hundred and fifty millions -of salmon ova are annually deposited in the river Tay; of which only -fifty millions, or one-third, come to life and attain the parr stage; -that twenty millions of these parrs in time become smolts, and that -their number is ultimately diminished to 100,000; of which 70,000 are -caught, the other 30,000 being left for breeding purposes. Sir Humphrey -Davy calculates that if a salmon produce 17,000 roe, only 800 of these -will arrive at maturity. It is well, therefore, that the female fish -yields 1000 eggs for each pound of her weight; for a lesser degree of -fecundity, keeping in view the enormous waste of life indicated by -these figures, would long since—especially taking into account the -various very destructive modes of fishing that used a few years ago to -be in use—have resulted in the utter extinction of this valuable fish. - -[Illustration: SALMON-WATCHER’S TOWER ON THE RHINE.] - -The root of the evil as regards the scarcity of salmon is to be found -in the avarice of the lessees of fisheries, who have overfished the -rivers to an alarming extent. The increased value of all kinds of fish -food during late years has engendered in these parties a greed of money -that leads to the capture and sale of almost everything that bears the -shape of fish. The tenant of a salmon-fishery has but one desire, and -that is to clear his rent and get as much profit as he can. To achieve -this end he takes all the fish that come to his net, no matter of what -size they may be. It is not his interest to let a single one escape, -because if he did so his neighbour above or below him on the water -would in all probability capture it. As a general rule, the tenant has -no care for future years; he has no personal interest in stocking the -upper waters with breeding fish. He is forced by the competition of -his rivals to do all he can in the way of slaughter; and were there -not a legal pause of so many hours in the course of the week, and a -close-time of so many days in the year, it is questionable if a score -of fish would make their way past the engines devoted to their capture. -A watcher can stand on the bridge of Perth, and at certain seasons can -signal or count every fish that passes in the water below him, and -every fish passing can be caught by those on the look-out; and I have -seen the same watch kept on the Rhine,[6] and on other salmon rivers. -The accompanying sketch of a salmon-watcher’s tower on the great -German river may interest some of my readers who have never been on -that beautiful water. - -This unhealthy competition will always continue till some new system -be adopted, such as converting each river into a joint-stock property, -when the united interests of the proprietors, both upper and lower, -would be considered. The trade in fresh salmon, which has culminated -in some rivers by the total extermination of the fish, dates from the -time of Mr. Dempster’s discovery of packing in ice. Half-a-century ago, -when we had no railways, and when even _fast_ coaches were too slow for -the transmission of sea-produce, the markets were exceedingly local. -Then salmon was so very cheap as to be thought of no value as food, and -was only looked upon by the population with an eye of good-humoured -toleration—nobody ever expected to hear of it as a luxury at five -shillings a pound weight. No Parisian market existed then for foul -fish, and fifty years ago people only poached for amusement. But in -the excessive poaching which now goes on during close-time we have a -minor cause nearly as productive of evil as the primary and legal one; -for of course it is _legal_ for the tacksman of the station to kill -all the fish he can. Add to these causes the extraordinary quantities -of infant fish which are annually killed, coupled with that phase of -insanity which leads to the capture of grilse (salmon that have never -spawned), and we obtain a rough idea of the progress of destruction as -it goes on in our salmon rivers. Fifty or sixty years ago men caught -a salmon or shot a pheasant for mere sport, or at most for the supply -of an individual want. Now poaching is a trade or business entered -into as a means of securing a weekly or annual income; it has its -complex machinery—its nets, guns, and other implements. There are men -who earn large wages at this illicit work, who take to “the birds” in -autumn and the fish in winter with the utmost regularity; and there are -middlemen and others who encourage them and aid them in disposing of -the stolen goods. A few men will band themselves together, and in the -course of a night or two sweep fish from off the spawning-beds which -are totally unfit for human food. There is a ready market always to be -found even for spawning fish. Few of my readers can have any idea of -the immense number of salmon which are destroyed by this cause, and -at the very time when they are at their greatest value, intent on the -propagation of their kind. Indeed, on the very spawning-bed itself, -the “deadly leister” is hurled with unerring aim and mighty force; and -the slain fish, safely hidden in the poacher’s bag, is carried off to -be kippered and sold for the English market. A party will start at -nightfall, and, dividing into two companies, sweep the Tweed with a net -from shore to shore, and capture everything of the salmon kind that -comes within reach. The takes upon such occasions average from ten to -forty fish. The first night upon which my informant—a weaver—went out, -the result was seventeen large fish, three of which weighed ninety -pounds. Upon the second occasion the take was much larger, thirty-eight -salmon of a smaller size being the reward of their iniquity, weighing -in the aggregate four hundred and forty pounds, and producing in cash -£8 sterling, divided among eleven people. These stolen fish pass -through numerous hands. A person comes at a given time and takes away -the spoil; all that the actual poacher obtains as his share is a few -pence per pound weight. They are bought from the thieves by middlemen, -who again dispose of them to certain salesmen—each party, of course, -obtaining a profit. - -In former times, as at present, there were more ways of killing a -salmon than by angling for it. Parties used to be made up for the -purpose of “burning the water,” a practice which prevailed largely -on the Tweed, and which afforded good rough sport. The burning took -place a little after sunset, when an old boat was commissioned for -the purpose, and flaming torches of pinewood were lighted to lure the -fish to their destruction. The leister, a sharp iron fork, was used on -these occasions with deadly power; rude mirth and song were usually the -order of the night; and the practice being illegal was not without a -spice of danger, or at least a chance of a ducking. Burning the water, -it must, however, be confessed, was more a picturesque way of poaching -than a means of adding legitimately to the produce of the fisheries as -a branch of commerce. It would have been well for the salmon-fisheries -had the arts of poaching never extended beyond the rude practice here -alluded to; but now poaching, as I have endeavoured to show, has become -a business, and countless thousands of the fish are swept off the -breeding-beds and sold to dealers. There is on most rivers an organised -system of taking and disposing of the fish; France, till very lately, -affording the chief outlet for this kind of food—an outlet, however, -which a recent Act of Parliament has done much to close up. Legislation -on the salmon question has of late been greatly extended, some powerful -Acts of Parliament having been passed for the better regulation of the -various British salmon-fisheries.[7] - -It is recorded that at one time great hauls of salmon could be taken -either in the rivers of Scotland or Ireland, and that in England -salmon were also quite plentiful. One miraculous draught is mentioned -as having been taken out of the river Thurso, on which occasion the -enormous number of two thousand five hundred fish were captured. We -shall never again see such a haul, unless we give the rivers a rest for -a space of five years or so. A jubilee would greatly help to restore -the _status quo_. The discovery of packing in ice by Mr. Dempster led, -as was to be expected, to so large a trade in fresh salmon between -Scotland and England, that it at once effected a great rise in the -price of the fish. High prices had their usual consequence with the -producer. Every device was put in requisition to catch fish for London -and the Continent; and if this was the case at the beginning, it will -be readily understood how rapidly the fish-trade rose in importance -as new modes of transit became common. The demand and supply at once -assumed such enormous proportions as to tell with fatal effect on the -fisheries; and the high prices led at the same time to such extensive -and organised poaching as I have attempted to describe, and which, -notwithstanding much police organisation, still exists. - -At one time there were famous salmon in the Thames, and hopes are -entertained of fish being successfully cultivated in that river. It -is certain that much deleterious matter has been allowed to get into -that stream and also into that famous salmon river the Severn; and in -the rivers of Cornwall I believe the hope of ever breeding salmon has -been entirely given up in consequence of the poisonous matters which -flow from the mines. Many rivers which were known to contain salmon in -abundance in the golden age of the fisheries are now tenantless from -matter by which they are polluted, such as the refuse of gasworks, -paper-mills, etc. - -Another fertile source of harm to the salmon-fisheries are the fixed -engines of capture which so many people think it right to use, and -which the Lord Advocate’s Salmon Bill of 1862 left almost _in statu -quo_, except that a little power on this part of the salmon question -is given to the commissioners appointed to carry out the Act. Stake and -bag nets in Scotland are known to have been very destructive, as have -the putchers, butts, and trumpets of the English and Welsh rivers. It -would be tedious to describe the different fixed engines invented for -the capture of salmon; what I desire to show is that they have injured -the fisheries. A controversy has been raging in Scotland for some years -back on this point of the salmon question, which, there can be no -doubt, will ultimately result in their _entire_ extinction. That they -have been a most fruitful cause of injury to the fisheries has been -proved by a long array of facts and figures. A striking example of the -effect of bag-nets occurred with regard to the Tay. The system having -been extended to that river, the productiveness of the upper portions -of the stream was very speedily affected; and again, shortly after -their removal, the fisheries became greatly more productive, as will -be seen by and by when it becomes necessary to deal with the figures -denoting the rental of that river. - -Although I have already referred to it, it is most important to note -here much more particularly the fact that, with probably the solitary -exception of the Tweed (and there the deterioration has only recently -been arrested), the size and weight of salmon are annually diminishing, -and, as some fishermen think, their condition and flavour also. There -can be no doubt that in the golden age of the fisheries they attained -much larger proportions than they do now. I need scarcely quote in -support of this opinion the fish mentioned by Yarrell, which was -exhibited by Mr. Groves, and weighed eighty-three pounds; nor that -alluded to by Pennant, which was only ten pounds lighter; nor the fact -that in all virgin salmon-rivers the fish average a greater weight -than any now taken in the British streams. It is within the memory -of anglers that fish of forty pounds were by no means rare in the -Scottish rivers; that salmon of thirty pounds and thirty-five pounds -weight were quite common; and that the general run of fish were in -the aggregate many pounds heavier than those of the present day. Mr. -Anderson, the lessee of some of the best salmon-fisheries on the Firth -of Forth, a gentleman who is master of his business, is of opinion that -the average weight of fish now is reduced to about sixteen pounds; -and by the Tweed Tables, the average weight of those killed by the -net between July and September, though apparently on the increase, in -no month rises to fifteen pounds. How is it, then, that we have no -giants of the river in these days? The answer, I think, is simple and -convincing. Let us suppose, for example, that the fish grows at the -rate of five pounds per annum: it would, therefore, take ten years to -achieve a growth of fifty pounds. Now it is needless to say that, in -British waters at any rate, we never either see or hear of a fish of -that weight. The fact is, we do not give our salmon time to grow to -that size. The greater portion of the fish that we kill are two years -old, or at the most three—fish running from eight pounds to sixteen -pounds in weight. It is clear that, if we go on for a year or two -longer at the rate of slaughter we have been indulging of late years, -there will speedily not be even a three-year-old fish to pull out of -the water. It is very suggestive of the state of the salmon-fisheries -that we have now eaten down to our three-year-olds. - -Another fertile source of destruction is the killing of grilse; -the grilse being a virgin fish, its slaughter is just analogous -to the killing of lambs without due regulation as to quantity. In -this respect, “the conduct of salmon proprietors is as rational -as high-farming with the help of tile-drains, liquid-manure, and -steam-power, would be for the purpose of eating corn in the blade.” -As many as 100,000 grilses have been taken from one river in a year—a -notable example of killing the goose for the golden egg. If we had an -Act of Parliament to prevent the capture of grilse, we should never -want salmon. The parr and smolt are protected. Why? Because they are -the young of the salmon. Well, so is grilse the young of the salmon, -and grilse also are sadly in want of protection. - -[Illustration: STAKE-NETS ON THE RIVER SOLWAY.] - -Recent debates in the House of Commons on the English and Scottish -Salmon Fisheries Bills brought out very distinctly the worst phase of -the salmon question—viz. the prevalence of stake and bag nets. These -machines have exercised a baneful influence on the fisheries, and -have in numerous instances intercepted about one-half of the salmon -of particular rivers, before they could reach their own waters. These -nets are erected in the tideways, not far from the shore, and as the -fish are coasting along towards their own particular spawning-ground, -they are intercepted either in the chambers of the bag-net, or in -the meshes of the stake-net. It is said, too, that fish taken in the -tidal estuaries are in far finer condition than those caught in -the fresh-water division of the large salmon rivers; hence they are -in greater demand, and bring a slightly better price. There is no -consideration among tacksmen of river fishings, or proprietors of bag -or stake nets, for the preservation of the fish; it seems to be a rule -with these gentlemen to kill all they can. It is obvious that, if the -upper proprietors of the waters were to act in the same spirit, and -kill all the salmon that reached the breeding-grounds, that fine fish, -not unaptly called the “venison of the waters,” would very speedily -become extinct. - -As may be known to most of my readers, the chief British salmon -streams, so far at least as productiveness is concerned, are the Tay, -the Tweed, the Spey, and the Esk. I have not space in which to sketch -the whole of these rivers, but I desire, on behalf of English readers -particularly, to say a few words about two of our Scottish salmon -streams; and I select the Tay and the Spey. - -The Tay is equal to a basin of 2250 square miles, and it discharges, -after a run of about 150 miles, a greater volume of water than any -other Scottish river. “As ascertained by Dr. Anderson, the quantity -which is carried forward per second opposite the city of Perth averages -no less than 3640 cubic feet.” The main river and its affluents, and -_their_ varied tributaries, afford splendid breeding-ground for the -salmon. As an instance we may take the Earn. It flows from Loch Earn -in the far west of Perthshire, and is, when it leaves the lake, a -considerable river, and over the greater part of its course its current -is very rapid. A slight drawback to its capabilities as a fish-breeding -river is the fact of its sometimes overflowing its banks; but its -tributaries afford plenty of excellent ground for salmon-breeding. -Indeed, on all the tributaries of the Tay there is ample accommodation -for the fish. I have in my mind’s eye some excellent salmon-beds -near Airlie Castle, on the Isla. The banks of the river are overhung -by foliage, and the salmon sport industriously in the deep pools, -resorting to the gravel at the proper season in order to dig beds in -which to deposit their eggs, and when in due time these are vivified -and grow from the fry to the parr state, I have seen the youthful -“natives” catching them in scores. - -The Tay deserves special honour, for it must rank as the king of -Scottish rivers, receiving as it does the tribute of so many streams, -and running its course through such a variety of fine scenery. Loch -Tay is generally accounted the source of this river, but if it be -considered that the loch is chiefly fed by the river Dochart, the -source of this latter river is actually the fountain-head of the -Tay. The Dochart rises in the extreme west of Perthshire, and, after -striking the base of the “mighty Ben More” and the Dochart Hills, falls -into Loch Tay at the village of Killin, before reaching which place it -assumes the dimensions of a considerable river. There is fine angling -to be had in the vicinity of Killin; indeed, the salmon rod-fisheries -there are of some value, and trout can be taken in great plenty both -in the Dochart and the Lochay. Loch Tay contains abundance of fish, -and, as that sheet of water is of considerable size, there is ample -room to ply the angle, either for salmon, trout, or charr. The loch is -about sixteen miles in length, and is overshadowed on the north by Ben -Lawers—one of the loftiest of our Scottish mountains. The river Tay -issues from the loch within a mile of Taymouth Castle, one of the fine -seats of the noble family of Breadalbane; and, after flowing eastward -for a few miles, its waters are augmented by those of the Lyon, whose -source is about twenty-six miles distant from its junction with the -Tay. Passing over several minor streams and proceeding eastwards, -the next important tributary of the Tay is the Tummel, the junction -taking place at the ancient and once famous burgh of Logierait. This -river, which is the largest tributary of the Tay, is the outlet of -Loch Rannoch, situated in the extreme north-west of Perthshire. The -loch is well stocked with trout, and large specimens of the _Salmo -ferox_ are frequently caught; but the true salmon (_Salmo salar_) is -not found either in Loch Rannoch or Loch Tummel, their ascent being -checked by the Falls of Tummel. Below the falls, however, there are -several salmon-fisheries, but they are not very productive. The Tay, -after receiving the waters of the Tummel and Garry at Logierait, flows -onward through beautiful scenery till it reaches Dunkeld, where it -receives the tributary stream of the Braan, which has for its source -a small sheet of water named Loch Freuchie, situated in Glen Quoich. -The scenery around the junction of the Braan and Tay is hallowed by -numberless associations of bygone times. Passing beneath the noble -arches of Dunkeld Bridge, the Tay flows eastward till it is joined by -the Isla, when it again takes a southerly direction until it reaches -Perth. On its way thither it receives the tribute of the Almond, the -Shochie, and the Ordie. The Isla is a large and important stream, -draining as it does a considerable extent of country, and lending its -aid both to miller and manufacturer. The Almond is the next river in -importance, but a tradition connected with it is better known than the -river itself. On Lynedoch Braes, which are near the foot of the stream, -dwelt the heroines of the poetic legend of Bessie Bell and Mary Gray, -in the house which they “biggit” with their own hands, and “theekit -ower wi’ rashes.” The Shochie and Ordie cannot claim the name of -rivers, but they are celebrated as being named in a prophecy attributed -to Thomas the Rhymer:— - - “Says the Shochie to the Ordie - Where shall we meet? - At the cross of Perth, - When a’ men are asleep.” - -The Isla, Almond, and the two rivers last named, in common with all -the tributaries of the Tay, afford excellent sport to the angler. -The country bordering the banks of this portion of the Tay is a -mixture of pastoral and agricultural. Rippling past the Stormontfield -breeding-ponds, now a feature of the river, and the palace of Scone, -the Tay speedily reaches the links of Perth’s fair city; and after -being joined by the Earn, also an excellent salmon stream, it widens -into a broad estuary, and, speedily sweeping past the manufacturing -town of Dundee, is lost in the German Ocean. - -[Illustration: SALMON-FISHING STATION AT WOODHAVEN ON TAY.] - -A few local inquiries as to angling on the Tay will elicit more -valuable information than I can give here. At some places on the lower -portion of the water the aid of a boat (a Tay boat) is necessary, as -the best pools are otherwise inaccessible to the angler. The cost of a -boat and man ranges, I think, from three to six shillings, and on the -smooth parts of the river one man is generally enough for attendance. -Some parts of the Tay are quite free to all comers, especially about -Kinfauns; and, if I mistake not, up all the way from Perth to the -breeding-ponds at Stormontfield. Perth forms a capital centre for the -angler: it is a good place in which to obtain information or tackle, -and it is easy to get away from the “Fair City” to places and streams -of note. And if the angler wants to “harl” the Tay itself, Perth is the -very best place to obtain instructions in the art of “harling,” which -is very attractive. The commercial fishings may be seen in operation -at and below Perth: they are carried on by means of the net and coble. -A boat sails out with the net, and taking in a sweep of the water -returns, in its progress enclosing any of the salmon kind that may be -in that part of the river. The operation is usually repeated several -times each day at every fishing station. - -The Tay salmon-fisheries are owned by various noblemen, gentlemen, and -corporations; and they yield a gross annual rent of nearly £17,000. To -give an idea of the individual value and the occasional fluctuations of -even the best fisheries, we may cite some of the figures connected with -the rental of the river Tay. Lord Gray, for instance, has drawn from -his fisheries more than £100,000 during the last thirty-five years. -The salmon and grilse obtained for this sum run from 10,000 to 28,000 -a year. It has been frequently asserted that our salmon-fisheries are -a lottery, and in confirmation of this it may be stated that in 1831, -when 10,000 fish were taken, the rental of this fishery was £4000; and -that in 1842, when the capture was 28,453 fish, the rental was £1000 -less. Dividing the income for the two years, we have the following -result:—Averaging the fish at 5s. each gives as a loss to the tenant on -the 10,000 year of £1500, while on the other year there is the large -profit of £4000! But the value of the Tay fisheries will be better -estimated by mentioning that in some seasons the number of fish taken -from the mouth of the Isla down to the sea has ranged from 70,000 -to upwards of 100,000. Ten of the fishing-stations between Perth and -Newburgh used to produce an annual rental of about (on the average) -£700 each. - -As to the much-discussed stake-net question, the following figures may -be quoted:—About the end of last century, _before_ the existence of -stake-nets, the average number of fish taken at the Kinfauns fishery -was—salmon, 8720; grilse, 1714. In the first ten years of the present -century, the average annual catch of salmon fell to 4666, and the -grilse numbered 1616. _After_ the stake-nets were removed, and in -the ten years from 1815 to 1824, the average number of salmon caught -was 9010 per annum, and of grilse 8709. I have purposely avoided -filling up my space with an accumulation of proof on this point, -but were further proof required of the deadly influence of stake -and bag nets on the salmon rivers, it could easily be had; indeed, -ample testimony has, from time to time, been recorded in Parliament, -both against the stake-nets, and that “chamber of horrors” for the -salmon, the deadly bag. A stream like the Tay ought to have a stock -of breeding-fish sufficient to produce more than 100,000,000 of eggs, -because the destruction of the spawn and the young fish is so enormous -as to require provision for a large amount of waste; hence the value -of artificial cultivation. By the natural system of spawning it is -supposed that only one egg in each thousand comes to the fisherman’s -net as a twenty-five pound fish. - -The river Spey is an excellent salmon-producing stream; in fact, size -considered, it is the richest in Scotland, the fishings at Speymouth -being worth £12,000 per annum. The Spey is about a hundred and twenty -miles on its course before it falls into the sea, and some parts of the -river are very picturesque. - - “Dipple, Dundurcus, Dandaleith, and Dalvey - Are the bonniest haughs on the run of the Spey.” - -The stream is very rapid, having in its course a fall of twelve hundred -feet; it rushes on in one continuous gallop from its mountain well to -the sea, giving rise to the local proverb of there being “no standing -water in Spey,” although there are pools thirty feet deep. Still, as -a rule, the river is shallow, having generally a depth of about three -feet; and there are places which, when the water is a little low, may -be crossed by a man on foot. - -I have seen the rafts of wood coming down from the hills at the rate -of ten miles an hour; and the Spey is not only the most rapid, but -also the wildest of all our large Scottish rivers. “The cause of -this is easily explained. The river drains thirteen hundred miles of -mountains, many of whose bases are more than a thousand feet above the -level of the sea. The Dulnain, draining the southern part of the Monagh -Lea Mountains, runs more than forty miles before entering Spey; and -the Avon, with a course as long, brings down the waters of Glenavon, -which lies between the most majestic mountains in Britain. Besides -these great tributaries, the Spey has the Truim, the Tromie, the -Feshie, the Fiddoch, and other affluents, swelling her volume with the -rapidly-descending waters of a mountainous country.” The river Spey is -an example of a well-managed stream, and in the late Duke of Richmond’s -time produced a very handsome revenue. It was well managed, because -the duke fished it himself; and, of course, it was his interest to -have it well protected, and to keep a handsome stock of breeding fish. -For instance, in the years 1858 and 1859 the duke drew on the Spey for -upwards of 107,000 salmon and grilse, and the fish in that river are as -plentiful as ever. On the Spey, however, there is no confusion of upper -and lower proprietors to fight against and take umbrage at each other, -the river belonging mostly to one proprietor. Other Scottish rivers -also yield, or did at one time yield, large annual sums in the shape of -rental; and on the larger salmon rivers of Scotland the income derived -by many of the “lairds” from the salmon forms a very welcome addition -to their land revenues. Mr. Johnstone, the lessee of the Esk fisheries -at Montrose, stated at a public meeting held some time ago in Edinburgh -to protest against the removal of stake-nets, that he estimated the -Duke of Sutherland’s fisheries at £6000 a year, and quoted his own -rents as £4000 per annum, giving him the privilege to fish on two -different rivers, on one of which he had eight miles of water, on the -other six. The rents of the sea salmon-fisheries of Scotland (stake -and bag nets), which the recent bill of the Lord Advocate proposed to -abolish, range from £20 to £1000 per annum. Princely rentals have been -drawn from the salmon rivers of that division of the United Kingdom. - -The Tweed alone at one period gave to its proprietors an annual income -of £20,000; but although the price of fish has greatly increased of -late years, the rental fell at one time to about a fifth part of that -sum, and the take of fish sank from 40,000 to 4000. Persons interested -in the salmon have been watching very keenly during late years the -effects of the legislation of 1857 and 1859 upon the Tweed fisheries, -the rent of that river being now little more than a third of what it -once was. The principal changes introduced by the two Tweed Acts of -1857 and 1859 may be shortly stated to be:— - -1. The entire abolition of bag, stake, and other fixed nets of every -description in the river, and the restriction and regulation of -stake-nets on the sea-coast, and no net except the common sweep-net, -rowed out and immediately drawn in again, has been allowed on the -Tweed since 1857. 2. The entire prohibition of leistering. 3. A slight -increase of the weekly close-time, and an increase of the annual -close-time for nets by four weeks. 4. The permission of rod-fishing for -an extended period, so as to interest proprietors to a greater degree -in the protection of the river. And last, not least, the absolute -prohibition of killing unclean or unseasonable fish at any time of the -year, and an enactment that all such fish caught during the fishing -season should be returned to the water. - -Much curiosity has existed as to the results achieved by the Tweed -Acts, the first really stringent code enforced on any British river; -and although statistics in such matters, unless taken over very -extended periods, are not to be too implicitly relied on, and much -allowance must be made for the variations caused by weather and -unfavourable seasons during so short a period as has elapsed, yet it -is well worth while to ascertain what can be learned concerning this -experiment. With this view I have consulted the very valuable and -interesting series of tables which have been compiled and printed for -private circulation by Alexander Robertson, Esq., one of the Tweed -Commissioners, and a director of the Berwick Shipping Company. A brief -reference to the figures in these tables shows at once whether or not -there has been an improvement in the fishing. The total capture of -salmon, grilse, and trout, in Tweed for the six years preceding 1857 -was 50,209 salmon, 153,515 grilse, and 294,418 trout; making a yearly -average of 8368 salmon, 25,586 grilse, and 49,069 trout. In the six -years succeeding the Act—viz. 1858 to 1863—the total capture was 60,726 -salmon, 124,182 grilse, and 175,538 trout; being an average of 10,121 -salmon, 20,697 grilse, and 29,256 trout. These are improving figures, -taking into account that the fishing season had been curtailed by a -period of four weeks. The total rent of the river in 1857 was about -£5000; it is now above £7500, and is on the rise. - -The English salmon-fisheries, generally speaking, have been allowed to -fall into so low a state that I fear it will be impossible to recruit -them in a moderate period of time without foreign aid. Some of the -rivers, indeed, are as nearly as possible salmonless. It is difficult -to select an English river that will in all respects compare with the -Tay, but the Severn produces the finest salmon of any of the English -salmon rivers; and it is a noble stream, containing many kinds of fish, -which afford great sport to the angler. If the river flowed in a direct -course from its source to the sea, it would be eighty miles in length; -as it is, by various windings, it flows for two hundred miles. It has -many fine affluents, and in its course passes through some beautiful -scenery. It rises in Wales, high up the eastern side of Plinlimmon, -at a place in the moors called Maes Hafren, which gave at one time -its title to the river, Hafren being its ancient name. After flowing -through several counties it falls into the sea at Bristol Channel. -Had the fisheries of the Severn been as free from obstacles and as -well preserved as those on the river Tay, they would still have been -of immense value, as it possesses some very fine breeding-grounds. -The Severn could be speedily restored to its primary condition as -one of our finest salmon streams; that is, if the various interests -could be consolidated, and artificial breeding be extensively carried -on for a few years. The Severn still possesses a tolerable stock of -breeding-fish, which might be turned to good account in a way similar -to those at Stormontfield on the Tay. - -Mr. Tod Stoddart, who is an authority on the salmon question, and -particularly on matters relating to angling, says that a river like -the Tay or the Tweed requires 15,000 pairs of breeding-fish to keep it -in stock, the average weight of the breeders to be ten pounds each. -Proceeding on these data, and taking the period of growth of the fish -as previously stated, it may be interesting if we inquire how soon a -fine river like the Severn could be made a property. Allowing that -there is at present a considerable stock of breeding fish in that -river—say 10,000 pairs—and that for a period of two years these should -be allowed a jubilee, the river during that time to be carefully -watched; that plan alone would soon work a favourable change; but -if supplemented by an extensive resort to artificial nurture and -protection, in the course of three years the Severn would be, speaking -roundly, a mine of fish wealth. A series of ponds capable of breeding -1,000,000 fish might, I think, be constructed for a sum of £2000; there -ought of course to be two reception-ponds, so that a brood could be -hatched annually. [See plan in “Fish Culture.”] Thus, in a year’s time, -half a million of well-grown smolts would be thrown into the river from -the ponds alone, a moiety of which in the course of ten weeks would be -saleable grilse! Next year these would be doubled, and added to the -quantity naturally bred would soon stock even a larger river than the -Severn. There can be no doubt of the practicability of such a scheme. -What has been achieved in Ireland and at Stormontfield can surely be -accomplished in England. An ample return would be obtained for the -capital sunk, and in all probability a large profit besides. - -A recent report of the Inspectors of the English Fisheries embraces a -summary of the condition of ninety rivers; and I can gather from it -that considerable progress has already been made in arresting the decay -of these valuable properties, and that there is every prospect of the -best rivers being speedily repeopled with salmon to an extent that -will secure them, under proper regulations, from again falling into -so low a condition. A careful perusal of this report shows that fixed -nets have been nearly abolished; that portions of rivers not hitherto -accessible to fish have been made so, passes and gaps having been -created by hundreds. Poachers have been caught and punished with great -success; and, according to a review of the report in the _Field_, a -journal which is well versed in fishery matters, “salmon have been seen -in large quantities in places where they have not been seen these forty -years.” - -In reference to the Act for the regulation of the salmon-fisheries -of England and Wales of 1861, and its supplement of 1865, a good -deal can be said as to the increase of salmon, but it is perhaps -best that Mr. Ffennell, one of the Commissioners, should be allowed -to say it for himself. The increase in the productiveness of the -English rivers then—and this is stated in the fourth annual report of -the inspectors—“far exceeds the anticipations of those who were most -sanguine in regard to the good results which might have been expected -from the operation of the Act of 1861; and the zeal of many who from -the first took an active part in administering the law has been greatly -stimulated by the telling effects of their exertion; while others, -who may have hesitated in the commencement from doubts of success, -have been led on by the force of good example, as well as by the more -powerful incentive arising from the many proofs so soon forthcoming -that salmon can be abundantly produced in the rivers of England.” - -As to the amendment or rider to the Act of 1861, which was passed in -the present session (1865), its chief objects are to provide funds -for the payment of the wages of water-bailiffs, and of other expenses -connected with the due protection of the English salmon-fisheries, -and for the appointment of a body of able and responsible persons -to whom the duties of raising and expending such fund are to be -entrusted. The first of these is attained by the annual licensing -of rods, nets, and other engines used in the capture of salmon, at -fixed sums, the proceeds of which licence-duties are to be expended -(after the formation of a river or rivers into a fishery district by -order of the Secretary of State) on the protection of the fisheries -within that district only where such licence-duties are raised, and -in that district only are the licences available for use; and the -second, where a fishery district lies wholly in one county, by the -magistrates of that county in quarter-sessions at once appointing a -board of conservators for the district; but where a fishery district -lies in several counties, such appointment will be made by committees -of the various courts of quarter-sessions interested, under prescribed -arrangements. In either case after the appointment, the board of -conservators will be a body corporate, and have the entire control of -the salmon-fisheries within their district. The Act also provides for -the issuing of a special commission to inquire into the titles and -rights of all “fixed engines” used in the capture of salmon throughout -England and Wales. These devices have since the late improvement -in our fisheries very much increased in number; but now such only -may hereafter be employed as are proved to the satisfaction of the -Commissioners to have been lawfully used in either of the years 1857, -1858, 1859, 1860, or 1861. There are also other useful and necessary -provisions in the Act, affording protection to trout in the months of -November, December, and January, when they spawn, fixing a minimum -penalty for a second offence; requiring all salmon intended to be -exported between the 3d September and 2d February to be entered with -the proper officer of customs; and in other minor but important -particulars amending the Act of 1861, with which the Act of 1865 is -to be understood as incorporated. The associations on the Severn, -the Usk, and the Yorkshire rivers have already taken up the Act, and -intend applying, through the court of quarter-sessions at their next -October sessions, for the formation of fishery districts, and the -appointment of boards of conservators. It is anticipated that in the -lower part of the Severn £600, on the Wye £400, and on the Usk £300, -will be then derived from licences, and from the first year’s revenue -of these respective boards; and it is to be hoped that all necessary -preliminaries will be adjusted in time to permit the various boards of -conservators to enter upon their duties with the commencement of the -next open season. - -As a guide to the productiveness in salmon of the different divisions -of the three kingdoms, the following table may be taken. It was -furnished by Messrs. Wm. Forbes Stuart and Co. of 104 Lower Thames -Street, London, and shows the quantity of salmon (_i.e._ the number of -boxes weighing one hundred and twelve pounds each) sent to London from -1850 to the end of the open fisheries of 1865:— - - ┌─────┬───────┬──────┬───────┬──────────────┬───────┐ - │ │Scotch.│Irish.│Dutch. │ Norwegian. │ Welsh.│ - ├─────┼───────┼──────┼───────┼──────────────┼───────┤ - │1850 │ 13,940│ 2,135│ 105 │ 54 │ 72 │ - │1851 │ 11,593│ 4,141│ 203 │ 214 │ 40 │ - │1852 │ 13,044│ 3,602│ 176 │ 306 │ 20 │ - │1853 │ 19,485│ 5,052│ 401 │ 1208 │ 20 │ - │1854 │ 23,194│ 6,333│ 345 │ None. │ 128 │ - │1855 │ 18,197│ 4,101│ 227 │ None. │ 59 │ - │1856 │ 15,438│ 6,568│ 68 │ 5 │ 200 │ - │1857 │ 18,654│ 4,904│ 622 │ None. │ 220 │ - │1858 │ 21,564│ 6,429│ 973 │ 19 │ 499 │ - │1859 │ 15,630│ 4,855│ 922 │ None. │ 260 │ - │1860 │ 15,870│ 3,803│ 849 │ 40 │ 438 │ - │1861 │ 12,337│ 4,582│ 849 │ 60 │ 442 │ - │1862 │ 22,796│ 7,841│ 568 │ 87 │ 454 │ - │1863 │ 24,297│ 8,183│ 1,227 │ 180 │ 663 │ - │1864 │ 22,603│ 8,344│ 1,204 │ 837 │ 752 │ - │1865 │ 19,009│ 6,858│ 1,479 │ 1069 │ 868 │ - ├─────┼───────┼──────┼───────┼──────────────┼───────┤ - │ │287,651│87,731│10,218 │ 4079 │ 5135 │ - └─────┴───────┴──────┴───────┴──────────────┴───────┘ - -One of the least understood, although one of the most hotly-contested -parts of the salmon question, is the relation between the upper and -lower proprietors. A great salmon river may pass through the estates or -mark the property boundaries of a large number of gentlemen; and some -portions of this river are sure to be much more valuable than others. -As has been already stated, some of the proprietors on the river Tay -derive a large revenue from their fisheries; while others only obtain a -little angling, although they very likely furnish the breeding-ground -for a few thousands of the fish which aid in producing the large -rentals lower down. This part of the salmon question has been so well -argued by my friend Mr. Donald Bain, that I here reproduce a portion of -one of his letters on the subject:— - -“Considering that at present the only chance of having fish in the -rivers depends upon the excellence and care of the breeding-grounds -at the river-heads, while the river-head proprietors, by disturbing -the shingle (which should be protected) at the period of depositing -and hatching the roe, could destroy all chance, and yet be legally -unchallengeable, these river-head proprietors are hardly recognised as -proprietors at all, which therefore should be altered.... I propose -that the river, from its highest breeding-ground to its mouth, and so -far into the sea as private or public interests can extend, should be -made a common property and a common care; improved where improvable, at -the general expense of the whole proprietors along its banks; fished, -not savagely, and as if extermination were a laudable object, but -prudently, and with a view to permanent interests; the fish allowed to -go unmolested to the breeding-grounds, at least so far as to secure a -full brood, and protected against destruction in returning when unfit -for food; and the expense and the profit to be divided _pro rata_, -according to the mileage along the banks; unless, in the judgment of -intelligent and equitable men, a degree of preference should be given -in the case of grounds of acknowledged excellence for breeding or -feeding. - -“It may be said it would be malicious in the proprietors of -breeding-grounds to consider it necessary to repair their gravel-walks -with shingle from the river at the very time when depositing or -hatching the roe was going on; but could it be prevented?—and would it -be more inequitable than anticipating every fish worth catching at the -mouth of the river or along their course, and allowing the proprietors -of the head-waters no share?” - -In the meantime, it is satisfactory to see that all classes of the -community are thoroughly aroused to the danger which menaces our king -of fishes. There must of course be a limit to the productiveness of -even the most prolific salmon river; and if this be overpassed and -the capital stock be broken upon, it is clear that a decrease will at -once begin, and that the production must annually become weaker, till -the fish are in course of time completely exterminated. Considering the -constant enormous waste of fish life, there ought at least, I think, to -be twice as many fish left in a river as are taken out of it. A care as -to this would in time have a good effect. - -An evident anxiety to improve the salmon-fisheries is now apparent, and -the problem to be solved is how to restore the _status quo_, and obtain -a supply of salmon equal to the demand. There are but two ways to a -solution of the question. The experience of the Tweed, though still -imperfect, shows that the decay of that river has been arrested, and -that large salmon of some age—the best and surest breeders—now abound -in its waters, and that this result is in the main to be attributed to -improved legislation. The first thing therefore to be done is to extend -our legislation for all our salmon rivers in the same direction that -has been so successful on the Tweed; in other words, to eradicate, as -soon as may be, those dams, engines, and fixed nets still really left -untouched. The other, and as it seems to me the principal field for -improvement, is the adoption of artificial culture wherever it can be -carried out. Why should we not cultivate our water as we cultivate -our land? Few measures could be more effectual than some check on the -annual destruction of grilse; but, especially on the rivers in the -hands of many proprietors, such as the Tweed, it is not easy to say how -this can be practically effected; but might not artificial breeding -supply the deficiency caused by this slaughter of the innocents? By -means of pisciculture the French people have recreated their fisheries; -why should not we try what they have done? Let us by all means clean -our rivers by removing impurities of all kinds. Let us do our best to -prevent poaching; and, above all, let us take care not to encourage -legal “overfishing;” and, as gentlemen occasionally give their grouse -a year of jubilee, let me prescribe an occasional similar indulgence -to the salmon. Every little helps; and as we have now a considerable -knowledge of the natural history of the fish, we should avail ourselves -of it not only in our legislation, but also in the practical management -of the fisheries. If in our greed we still continue to overfish, after -the numerous warnings we have had, we must take the consequences in the -probable extermination of the salmon and its numerous congeners. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE NATURAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE HERRING. - - Description of the Herring—The Old Theory of Migration—Geographical - Distribution of the Herring—Mr. John Cleghorn’s Ideas on the Natural - History of the Herring—Mr. Mitchell on the National Importance of - that Fish—Commission of Inquiry into the Herring-Fishery—Growth of - the Herring—The Sprat—Should there be a Close-time?—Caprice of the - Herring—The Fisheries—The Lochfyne Fishery—The Pilchard—Herring - Commerce—Mr. Methuen—The Brand—The Herring Harvest—All Night at the - Fishing—The Cure—The Curers—Herring Boats—Increase of Netting—Are we - Overfishing?—Proposal for more Statistics. - - -The common herring is one of our most beautiful and abundant fishes, -and is so well known as scarcely to require description; but it has -one or two peculiarities of structure that may be briefly alluded to. -Its belly, for instance, is keeled (as the Scotch fisher folk call -carinated), and is well protected by strong scales, giving us reason -to suppose that it is therefore a ground-feeder; and having a very -large pectoral fin, and an air-bag of more than usual dimensions, it -is thus endowed with a very rapid moving power. I gather from personal -observation of many herring stomachs—and the stomach of the herring is -unusually large—that this fish is a devouring feeder, that it preys -upon its own young or upon the roe of its congeners when other food is -scarce. Its lobes of roe or milt are larger in proportion to its body -than those of any other fish. The herring has a fine instinct for -selecting a nursery for its young, contriving, when not obstructed, to -deposit its ova on such bottoms as will ensure the adherence of its -eggs and the favourable nourishment of the young fish. - -The herring is taken throughout the year in vast quantities, thus -affording a plentiful supply of cheap and wholesome food to the poorer -classes, whilst its capture and cure afford remunerative employment -to a large body of industrious people. It is greatly to be regretted, -therefore, that recent fluctuations in the quantity caught have given -occasion for well-grounded fears of an ultimate exhaustion of some of -our largest shoals, or at all events of so great a diminution of their -producing power as probably to render one or two of the best fisheries -unproductive. This is nothing new, however, in the history of the -herring-fishery: various places can be pointed out, which, although now -barren of herrings, were formerly frequented by large shoals, that, -from overfishing or other causes, have been dispersed. - -This supposed overfishing of the herring has resulted chiefly from our -ignorance of the natural history of that fish—ignorance which has long -prevailed, and which we are only now beginning to overcome. Indeed, -much as the subject has been discussed during the last ten years, and -great as the light is that has been thrown on the natural and economic -history of our fish, considering the elemental difficulty which stands -in the way of perfect observation, there are yet persons who insist -upon believing all the old theories and romances pertaining to the -lives of sea animals. We occasionally hear of the great sea-serpent; -the impression of St. Peter’s thumb is still to be seen on the haddock; -“Moby Dick,” a Tom Sayers among fighting whales, still ranges through -the squid fields of the Pacific Ocean; and I know an old fisherman who -once borrowed a comb from a polite mermaid! - -Not very long ago, for instance, the old theory of the migration -of the herring to and from the Arctic Regions was gravely revived -in an unexpected quarter, as if that romance of fish-life was still -believed by modern naturalists to be the chief episode in the natural -history of _Clupea harengus_; indeed in the present edition of the -_Encyclopædia Britannica_ this migratory theory is still sustained -(see article “Ichthyology”). The original migration story—which was -invented by Pennant, or rather was constructed by him from the theories -of fishermen—old as it is, is worthy of being briefly recapitulated, -as affording a good point of view for a consideration of the natural -and economic history of the herring as now ascertained: it was to the -effect that in the inaccessible seas of the high northern latitudes -herrings were found in overwhelming abundance, securing within the -icy Arctic Circle a bounteous feeding-ground, and at the same time -a quiet and safe retreat from their numerous enemies. At the proper -season, inspired by some commanding impulse, vast bodies of this fish -gathered themselves together into one great army, and in numbers far -exceeding the power of imagination to picture departed for the waters -of Europe and America. The particular division of this great _heer_, -which was destined annually to repopulate the British seas, and afford -a plenteous food-store for the people, was said to arrive at Iceland -about March, and to be of such amazing extent as to occupy a surface -more than equal to the dimensions of Great Britain and Ireland, but -subdivided, by a happy instinct, into battalions five or six miles in -length and three or four in breadth, each line or column being led, -according to the ideas of fishermen, by herrings (probably the _Allis_ -and _Twaite shad_) of more than ordinary size and sagacity. These -heaven-directed strangers were next supposed to strike on the Shetland -Islands, where they divided of themselves, as we are told; one division -taking along the west side of Britain, whilst the other took the east -side, the result being an adequate and well-divided supply of this -fine fish in all our larger seas and rivers, as the herrings penetrated -into every bay, and filled all our inland lochs from Wick to Yarmouth. -Mr. Pennant was not contented with the development of this myth, but -evidently felt constrained to give _éclat_ to his invention by inditing -a few moral remarks just by way of a _tag_. “Were we,” he says, -“inclined to consider this migration of the herring in a moral light, -we might reflect with veneration and awe on the mighty power which -originally impressed on this useful body of His creatures the instinct -that directs and points out the course that blesses and enriches these -islands, which causes them at certain and invariable times to quit -the vast polar depths, and offer themselves to our expectant fleets. -This impression was given them that they might remove for the sake of -depositing their spawn in warmer seas, that would mature and vivify it -more assuredly than those of the frigid zone. It is not from defect of -food that they set themselves in motion, for they come to us full and -fat, and on their return are almost universally observed to be lean and -miserable.” - -Happily, the naturalists of the present day know a vast deal more of -the natural history of the herring than Mr. Pennant ever knew, and, on -the authority of the most able inquirers, it may be taken for granted -that the herring is a local and not a migratory fish. It has been -repeatedly demonstrated that the herring is a native of our immediate -seas, and can be caught all the year round on the coasts of the three -kingdoms. The fishing begins at the island of Lewis, in the Hebrides, -in the month of May, and goes on as the year advances, till in July it -is being prosecuted off the coast of Caithness; while in autumn and -winter we find large supplies of herrings at Yarmouth; and there is a -winter fishery in the Firth of Forth: moreover, this fish is found in -the south long before it ought to be there, if we were to believe in -Pennant’s theory. It has been deduced, from a consideration of the -figures of the annual takes of many years, that the herring exists in -distinct races, which arrive at maturity month after month; and it is -well known that the herrings taken at Wick in July are quite different -from those caught at Dunbar in August or September: indeed I would go -further and say that even at Wick each month has its changing shoal, -and that as one race ripens for capture another disappears, having -fulfilled its mission of procreation. It is certain that the herrings -of these different seasons vary considerably in size and appearance; -and it is very well known that the herrings of different localities -are marked by distinctive features. Thus, the well-known Lochfyne -herring is essentially different in its flavour from that of the Firth -of Forth, and those taken in the Firth of Forth differ again in many -particulars from those caught off Yarmouth. - -In fact, the herring never ventures far from the shore where it is -taken, and its condition, when it is caught, is just an index of the -feeding it has enjoyed in its particular locality. The superiority -in flavour of the herring taken in our great land-locked salt-water -lochs is undoubted. Whether or not it results from the depth and body -of water, from more plentiful marine vegetation, or from the greater -variety of land food likely to be washed into these inland seas, has -not yet been determined; but it is certain that the herrings of our -western sea-lochs are infinitely superior to those captured in the -more open sea. It is natural that the animals of one feeding locality -should differ from those of another: land animals, it is well known, -are easily affected by change of food and place; and fish, I have no -doubt, are governed by the same laws. But on this part of the herring -question I need scarcely waste any argument, as there is but one writer -who still persists in the old “theory” of migration. He is the same -gentleman who has doubts about a grilse becoming a salmon! - -Moreover, it is now known, from the inquiries of the late Mr. Mitchell -and other authorities on the geographical distribution of the herring, -that that fish has never been noticed as being at all abundant -in the Arctic Regions; and the knowledge accumulated from recent -investigations has dispelled many of what may be termed the minor -illusions once so prevalent about the life of the herring and other -fish. People, however, have been very slow to believe that fish were -subject to the same natural laws as other animals. In short, seeing -that the natural history of all kinds of fish has been largely mixed -up with tradition or romance, it is no wonder that many have been slow -to discard Pennant’s pretty story about the migratory instinct of the -herring, and the wonderful power of sustained and rapid travelling by -which it reached and returned from our coasts. Even Yarrell, as will by -and by be shown, wrote in a weak uncertain tone about this fish; indeed -his account of it is not entitled to very much consideration, being a -mere compilation, or rather a series of extracts, from other writers. - -It was not till the year 1854 that anything like an authentic -contradiction to Pennant’s theory was obtained. Before that time one -or two bold people asserted that they had doubts about the migration -story, and thought that the herring must be a local animal, from the -fact of its being found on the British coasts all the year round; -while one daring man said authoritatively, from personal knowledge, -that there were no herrings in the Arctic seas. During the year I have -mentioned, a paper, which was communicated to the Liverpool Meeting of -the British Association by Mr. Cleghorn of Wick, directed an amount -of public attention to the herring-fishery, which still continues, -and which, at the time, was thought sure ultimately to result in -an authentic inquiry into the natural and economic history of that -fish. Such an investigation has now been made by persons qualified to -undertake the task, and the result of their inquiries has been summed -up in a most interesting report, which, along with the evidence taken -by the commissioners, I shall have occasion to refer to in another -part of the present chapter; the labours of Cleghorn, Mitchell, and -others, claiming priority of notice, as the ideas promulgated by these -gentlemen, although often hotly opposed and combated, have gone a great -way to guide public opinion on the subject, and have evidently helped -to influence recent investigators. - -In his paper communicated to the British Association at Liverpool, -Mr. Cleghorn stated that, living at Wick, the chief seat of the -fishery—“the Amsterdam of Scotland” in fact—his attention had been -directed to the herring-fishery by the fluctuations in the annual -take. That season (_i.e._ 1854) there were 920 boats engaged in the -fishing, and the produce was 95,680 barrels. On comparing the fishing -of 1854 with that of 1825, it was found to be 14,000 barrels short; -and as compared with 1830, 57,000 barrels less. It was found to be -the smallest fishing since 1840, and 61,000 barrels short of the -previous year. Various surmises were hazarded as to the cause of the -deficiency, but the generally-received opinion was, that the falling -off was attributable to the two rough nights on which the boats did -not put to sea, while great shoals of herrings were on the coast. That -this is an erroneous and very partial view of the matter Mr. Cleghorn -infers, because at all the stations between Noss Head and Cape Wrath -the fishing was a complete failure; and the same may be said of Orkney -and Shetland; while for the whole of Scotland the shortcoming, perhaps, -was one-third of the previous year. - -Mr. Cleghorn—of whom it is proper to state that while in business in -Wick he suffered much local persecution for his views of the herring -question—says that he believes the fluctuations in the capture to be -caused by “overfishing,” as in the case of the salmon, the haddock, -and other fish. The points brought forward by Mr. Cleghorn in order -to prove his case were as follow:—1. That the herring is a native of -waters in which it is found, and never migrates. 2. That distinct -races of it exist at different places. 3. That twenty-seven years ago -the extent of netting employed in the capture of the fish was much -less than what is now used, while the quantity of herrings caught -was, generally speaking, much greater. 4. There were fishing stations -extant some years ago which are now exhausted; a steady increase having -taken place in their produce up to a certain point, then violent -fluctuations, and _then_ final extinction. 5. The races of herrings -nearest our large cities have disappeared first; and in districts where -the tides are rapid, as among islands and in lochs, where the fishing -grounds are circumscribed, the fishings are precarious and brief; -while on the other hand, extensive seabords having slack tides, with -little accommodation for boats, are surer and of longer continuance as -fishing stations. 6. From these premises it follows that the extinction -of districts, and the fluctuations in the fisheries generally, are -attributable to overfishing. In the commercial portion of this chapter -I shall again have occasion to refer to Mr. Cleghorn’s investigations -on the subject of the netting employed, but it occurred to me to state -Mr. Cleghorn’s theory at this place, as it has been the key-note to -much of the recent discussion on the subject of the natural history of -the herring. - -Before the reading of Mr. Cleghorn’s statistics, the natural history -of the herring was not well understood even by naturalists; so -difficult is it to make observations in the laboratories of the sea. -Only a few persons, till recently, were intimate with the history of -this fish, and knew that, instead of being a migratory animal, as had -been asserted by Anderson and Pennant, the herring was as local to -particular coasts as the salmon to particular rivers. - -The late Mr. J. M. Mitchell, the Belgian Consul at Leith (who published -a work on the _National Importance of the Herring_), in a paper which -he read before the British Association at Oxford, three years ago, -settled with much care and very effectually the geographical part of -the herring question. His idea also is that the herring is a native of -the coast on which it is found, and that immediately after spawning -the full-sized herrings make at once for the deep waters of their own -neighbourhood, where they feed till the spawning season again induces -them to seek the shallow water. Mr. Mitchell gives his reasons, and -states that the herrings resorting to the various localities have -marked differences in size, shape, or quality; those of each particular -coast having a distinct and specific character which cannot be -mistaken; and so well determined are those particulars that practical -men, on seeing the herrings, can at once pronounce the locality from -whence they come; as, indeed, is the case with salmon, turbot, and many -other fishes and crustaceans. - -On the southern coast of Greenland the herring is a rare fish; and, -according to Crantz, only a small variety is found on the northern -shore, nor has it been observed in any number in the proper icy -seas—as it would undoubtedly have been had it resorted thither in -such innumerable quantities as was imagined by the naturalists of the -last century. Another proof that the herring is local to the coasts -of Britain lies in the fact of the different varieties brought to our -own markets. As expert fishers know the salmon of particular rivers, -so do some men know the different localities of our herring from -merely glancing at the fish. A Lochfyne fish differs in appearance -from a herring taken off the coast of Caithness, while the latter -again differs from those taken by the Dunbar boats off the Isle of -May. Experienced fishmongers know the different localities of the same -kinds of fish as easily as a farmer will separate a Cheviot sheep from -a Southdown. Thus they can at once distinguish a Severn salmon from -one caught in the Tweed or the Spey, and they can tell at a glance a -Lochfyne _matie_ from a Firth of Forth one. - -Turning now to the report of the commissioners appointed to inquire -into the operation of the Acts relating to trawling for herring on -the west coast of Scotland, we obtain some interesting information as -to the spawning and growth of the herring. Upon these branches of the -subject the public have hitherto been very ill informed. As has been -already stated, Yarrell’s account of this particular fish is a mere -compilation from Dr. M’Culloch, W. H. Maxwell, Dr. Parnell, and others, -and is thus very disappointing. Again, the account in the _Naturalist’s -Library_ is compressed into five small pages, referring chiefly to -authorities on the subject, with quotations from Yarrell! It is only -by searching in Blue Books, by perusing much newspaper writing of a -controversial kind, and by arduous personal inquiry, that I have been -able to complete anything like an accurate _precis_ of the natural and -economic history of this very plentiful fish. - -As to the periods at which herrings spawn, the commissioners appointed -to conduct the latest inquiry that has been made inform us that they -met with “singularly contradictory” statements, and after having -collected a large amount of valuable evidence, _they_ arrived at the -conclusion that herrings spawn at two seasons of the year—viz. in the -spring and autumn. They have no evidence of a spawning during the -solstitial months—viz. June and December; but in nearly all the other -months gravid herrings are found, and the commissioners assert that a -spring spawning certainly occurs in the latter part of January, as also -in the three following months, and the autumn spawning in the latter -end of July, and likewise in the following months up to November: -“Taking all parts of the British coast together, February and March -are the great months for the spring spawning, and August and September -for the autumn spawning.” The spawn, it may be stated in passing, is -deposited on the surface of the stones, shingle, and gravel, and on old -shells, at the various spawning places, and it adheres tenaciously -to whatever it happens to fall upon. This, as will be seen, brings us -exactly back to Mr. Cleghorn’s ideas of the herring existing in races -at different places and in separate bodies, and thereby rendering -the fluctuations of the great series of shoals at Wick more and more -intelligible, especially when we take into account the fact that winter -shoals have recently been found at that place, giving rise to what may -ultimately prove a considerable addition to the great autumn fishery -yet carried on there. Indeed I consider this point proved, and having -taken great pains in sifting the evidence (of different spawning -seasons) given on the question, both oral and written, I feel entitled -to say so much. - -As to the question of how long herrings take to grow, from the period -of the deposition of the egg, there are various opinions, for no -naturalist or practical fisherman has been able definitely to fix the -time. There is reason to believe, we are told in the report, that the -eggs of herrings are hatched in, at most, from two to three weeks after -deposition. This is very rapid work when we consider that the eggs -of the salmon require to be left for a period of ninety or a hundred -days, even in favourable seasons, before they quicken into life, and -that the eggs of a considerable number of fish are known to take a much -longer period than three weeks to ripen. The rate of growth of the -herring, and the tie at which it begins to reproduce itself, are not -yet well understood; indeed, it seems particularly difficult to fix -the period at which it reaches the reproductive stage.[8] I have had -young herrings of all sizes in my possession, from those of an inch -long upwards. The following are the measurements of a few specimens -which were procured about the end of February 1861, and not one of -which had any appearance of either roe or milt, while some (the smaller -fish) were strongly serrated in the abdominal line, and others, as they -advanced in size, lost this distinguishing mark, and were only very -slightly serrated. The largest of these fish—and they must all have -been caught at one time—was eight inches long, nearly four inches in -circumference at the thickest part of the body, and weighed a little -over two ounces. The smallest of these herring-fry did not weigh a -quarter of an ounce, and was not quite three inches in length. One of -them, again, that was six inches long, only weighed three-quarters of -an ounce; whilst another of the same lot, four and a half inches long, -weighed a quarter of an ounce exactly. I do not propose at present to -enter at great length into the sprat controversy; but, if the sprat -be the young of some one of the different species of herring, as I -take leave to think it is, then the question of its growth and natural -economy will become highly important. Some people say that the herring -must have attained the age of seven years before it can yield milt or -roe, whilst a period of three years has been also named as the ultimate -time of this event; but there are persons who think that the herring -attains its reproductive power in eighteen months, while others affirm -that the fish grows to maturity in little more than half that time. -If the average size of a herring may be stated as eleven and a half -inches, individual fish of _Clupea harengus_ have been found measuring -seventeen inches, and full fish have been taken only ten inches in -length, when should the example, noted above as being eight inches -long, reach its full growth? and how old was it at the time of its -capture? And, again, were the fish—all taken out of the same boat, be -it observed, and caught in the same shoal—all of one particular year’s -hatching? Is this the story of the parr over again, or is it the case -that the fishermen had found a shoal of mixed herrings—some being of -one year’s spawning, some of another? I confess to being puzzled, and -may again remind the reader that my largest fish had never spawned, and -had not the faintest trace of milt or roe within it. Then, again, as to -the time when herrings spawn, I have over and over again asserted in -various quarters that they spawn in nearly every month of the year—an -assertion, as I have just shown, which has been proved by the recent -inquiry. - -As to the place of spawning, development of the ova, and other -circumstances attendant on the increase of the herring, I promulgated -the following opinions some years ago, and I see no reason to alter -them:—The herring shoal keeps well together till the time of spawning, -whatever the fish may do after that event. Some naturalists think that -the shoal breaks up after it spawns, and that the herring then live -an individual life, till again instinctively moved together for the -grand purpose of procreating their kind. It is quite clear, I think, -that the herring moves into the shallow water because of its increased -temperature, and its being more fitted in consequence for the speedy -vivifying of the spawn. The same shoal will always gather over the same -spawning ground, and the fish will keep their position till they fulfil -the grand object of their life. The herrings will rise buoyantly to -the top water after they have spawned; before that they swim deep and -hug the ground. The herring, in my opinion, must have a rocky place -to spawn upon, with a vegetable growth of some kind to receive the -roe; shoals may of course accidentally spawn on soft ground. It is not -accurately known how long a period elapses till the spawn ripens into -life. I think, however, that herring spawn requires a period of about -six weeks to ripen. It is known that young herrings have appeared on a -spawning ground in myriads within fifty days after the departure of a -shoal, and fishermen say that no spawn can be found on the ground after -the lapse of a few weeks from the visit of the gravid shoal—that the -eggs in fact have come to life, and that the fish are swimming about; -and some fishermen assert that the little whitebait is the herring in -its first stage. - -It is generally known that the sprat (_Clupea sprattus_) is a most -abundant fish, so plentiful as to have been used at times for manure. -The fact of its great abundance has induced a belief that it is not a -distinct species of fish, but is, in reality, the young of the herring. -It is true that many distinguishing marks are pointed out as belonging -only to the sprat—such as its serrated belly, the relative position of -the fins, etc. But there remains, on the other side, the very striking -fact of the sprat being rarely found with either milt or roe; indeed, -the only case I _know_ of this fish having been found in a condition to -perpetuate its species was detailed by the late Mr. Mitchell, Belgian -Consul at Leith, who exhibited before one of the learned societies of -Edinburgh a pair of sprats having the roe and milt fully developed. -Dr. Dod, an ancient anatomist, says: “It is evident that sprats are -young herrings. They appear immediately after the herrings are gone, -and seem to be the spawn just vivified, if I may use the expression. -A more undeniable proof of their being so is in their anatomy; since, -on the closest search, no difference but size can be found between -them.” After the nonsense which was at one time written about the parr, -and considering the anomalies of salmon growth, it would be unsafe to -dogmatise on the sprat question. As to the serrated belly, we might -look upon it as we do the tucks of a child’s frock—viz. as a provision -for growth. The fin-rays of this fish have also been cited in evidence -as not being the same in number as those of the herring, but as I can -testify, from actual counting, the fin-rays of the latter fish vary -considerably, therefore the number of fin-rays is not evidence in the -case. The slaughter of sprats which is annually carried on in our seas -is, I suspect, as decided a killing of the goose for the sake of the -golden eggs as the grilse-slaughter which is annually carried on in our -salmon rivers. - -The herring is found under four different conditions:—1st, Fry or -sill; 2d, _Maties_ or fat herring; 3d, Full herring; 4th, Shotten or -spent herring. All herrings under five or six inches in length come -under the first denomination. The _matie_ is the finest condition in -which a herring can be used for food purposes; and if the fishery -could be so arranged, that is the time at which it should be caught -for consumption. At that period it is very fat, its feeding-power -being all developed on its body; the spawn is small, the growth of -the roe or milt not having yet demanded the whole of the nutriment -taken by the fish. A full herring is one in which the milt or roe is -fully developed. The _maties_ develop into spawning herring with great -rapidity—in the course of three months, it is said. The herrings at the -spawning season come together in vast numbers, and proceed to their -spawning places in the shallower and consequently warmer parts of the -sea. As Gilbert White says, “the two great motives which regulate the -brute creation are love and hunger; the one incites them to perpetuate -their kind, the latter induces them to preserve individuals.” In -obedience to these laws the herring congregate on our coast, for there -only they find an abundant supply of food to mature with the necessary -rapidity their milt and roe, as well as a sea-bottom fitted to receive -their spawn; and they are thus brought within the reach of man at what -many persons consider the wrong time of their life. - -As to this division of the question, it has been said that it matters -not at what period you take a herring, whether it be old or young, -without or with spawn; that fish cannot again be caught, and will never -spawn again; and it is argued, therefore, that the taking of fish in -“the family way” no more prevents it from reproducing than if it had -been killed in the condition of a _matie_. The same argument was used -in the case of the young salmon; and it was asked: If you kill all your -grilse, where are you to find your salmon? but I shall have more to say -on this part of my topic by and by. - -The herring breeds, then, and is caught in greater or lesser -quantities, during every month of the year. There is no general -close-time for the herring in Scotland. On one or two parts of the west -coast it has hitherto been illegal to capture this fish at certain -seasons, although the restrictions are not general. How is it that the -time selected by fishermen for the capture of this fish corresponds -with the period when it is a crime to take a salmon? If a gravid -salmon be unwholesome, is a gravid herring good for food? Do not the -same physical laws affect both of these fish? There cannot be a doubt -but that at the period of spawning, this fish, as well as all other -fish, is in its worst condition so far as its food-yielding qualities -are concerned, because at that time of its life its whole nutritive -power is exerted on behalf of its seed, and its flesh is consequently -lean and unpalatable. Yet it is a great fact that the time which the -herring selects in order to fulfil the grandest instinct of its nature -is the very time appointed by man for its capture! In fact, that is -the period when herrings are at a premium; they must be “full fish,” -or they cannot obtain the official brand; in other words, _shotten_ -herrings—_i.e._ fish that have spawned—are not of much more than half -the value of the others. When it is taken into account that each pair -of full fish (male and female) are killed just as they are about to -give us the chance of obtaining an increase of the stock to the extent -say of thirty thousand, the ultimate effect must be to disturb and -cripple the producing powers of the shoal to such a degree that it will -break up and find a new breeding-ground, safe for a time perhaps from -the spoliation of the greedy fishermen. The Lochfyne commissioners give -as a reason for their non-recommendation of a close-time the fact, that -were there to be a cessation from labour, the enemies of the herring -would so increase, that the jubilee given would be nugatory. But surely -there is a great want of logic in this argument! How is it that a -close-time operates so favourably in the case of the salmon—not only a -seasonal close-time, but a weekly one as well? Would not the herring, -with its almost miraculous breeding-power, increase in the same ratio, -or even in a greater ratio than its enemies, especially if, as the -commissioners tell us and we believe, it is engaged in multiplying its -kind during ten months of the year? Are not the enemies of the herring -at work during the fishing season as well as at other periods? I could -understand the logic of denying a close-time on the ground that, as -the herring never ceases breeding, it is impossible to fix a correct -period. But, according to the deliverance made by the commissioners in -the natural history portion of their inquiry, a close-time is quite -possible. I have ever been of opinion, notwithstanding the practical -difficulties that would have to be encountered in carrying it out, that -the want of a close-time, especially for the larger kinds of sea-fish, -is one of the causes which are so obviously affecting the supplies. It -is certain also, from chemical and sanitary investigation, that all -fish are unwholesome at the period of spawning; the salmon at that -time of its life is looked upon as being little better than carrion. -But, without dwelling on this phase of the question, or considering -the effect of unwholesome fish on the public health, I must point out -most strongly that the want of a well-defined close-time is one of -the greatest and severest of our fish-destroying agencies. We give -our grouse a breathing space; nay, we sometimes afford to that bird a -whole jubilee year; we do not shoot our hares during certain months of -the year, nor do we select their breeding season as the proper time -to kill our oxen or our sheep; but we do not at dinner-time object to -an _entrée_ composed of cod-roe, and we evidently rather believe in -the propriety of killing only our seed-laden herrings! This lavish -destruction of fish-life has arisen in great part from the well-known -fecundity of all kinds of sea-fish, some of which yield their eggs by -the million, and this has given rise to the idea that it is impossible -to exhaust the shoals. But when it is considered that this wonderful -fecundity is met by an unparalleled destruction of the seed and also -of the young fish, we need not be astonished at the ever-recurring -complaint of scarcity. A recent, but no doubt exaggerated complaint, -sets forth that the beam-trawl is one of the most destructive engines -employed in the sea, five hundred tons of spawn being said to be -destroyed by the trawlers in twenty-four hours. It is well known also -that tons of broken fish and spawn are sold in the south as manure for -the land at threepence per bushel! There can be no doubt that there -is annually an enormous waste of fish-life, through the accidental -destruction of very large quantities of spawn, herring-spawn as well as -all other kinds. - -As to the food of the herring, the report already alluded to tells -us that it “consists of crustacea, varying in size from microscopic -dimensions to those of a shrimp, and of small fish, particularly -sandeels. While in the _matie_ condition, they feed voraciously, and -not unfrequently their stomachs are found immensely distended with -crustacea and sandeels, in a more or less digested condition.” I have -personally examined the stomachs of many herrings, and have found -in them the remains of all kinds of food procurable in the place -frequented by the particular animal examined—including herring-roe, -young herrings, sprats, etc.; but the sandeel seems to be its favourite -food. - -One of the wonders connected with the natural history of the herring is -the capricious nature of the fish. It is always changing its _habitat_, -and, according to vulgar belief, from the most curious circumstances. I -need not add to the necessary length of this chapter by giving a great -number of instances of the capricious nature of the herring; but I must -cite a few, in order to make my recapitulation of herring history as -complete as possible, and at the same time it is proper to mention that -superstition is brought to bear on this point. The fishermen of St. -Monance, in Fife, used to remove their church-bell during the fishing -season, as they affirmed that its ringing scared away the shoals of -herring from the bay! It has long been a favourite and popular idea -that they were driven away by the noise of gun-firing. The Swedes say -that the frequent firings of the British ships in the neighbourhood of -Gothenburg frightened the fish away from the place. In a similar manner -and with equal truth it was said that they had been driven away from -the Baltic by the firing of guns at the battle of Copenhagen! “Ordinary -philosophy is never satisfied,” says Dr. M’Culloch, “unless it can -find a solution for everything; and it is satisfied for this reason -with imaginary ones.” Thus in Long Island, one of the Hebrides, it was -asserted that the fish had been driven away by the kelp-manufacture, -some imaginary coincidence having been found between their -disappearance and the establishment of that business. But the kelp -fires did not drive them away from other shores, which they frequent -and abandon indifferently, without regard to that work. A member of the -House of Commons, in a debate on a Tithe Bill in 1835, stated that a -clergyman, having obtained a living on the coast of Ireland, signified -his intention of taking the tithe of fish, which was, however, -considered to be so utterly repugnant to their privileges and feelings, -that not a single herring had ever since visited that part of the shore! - -[Illustration: MEMBERS OF THE HERRING FAMILY. - 1. Herring. - 2. Sprat. - 3. Pilchard. -] - -The most prominent members of the _Clupediæ_ are the common herring -(_Clupea harengus_); the sprat, or garvie (_Clupea sprattus_); and the -pilchard, or gipsy herring (_Clupea pilchardus_). The other members -of this family are the whitebait, the anchovy, and the Alice and -Twaite shad; but these, although affording material for speculation to -naturalists (see chapter on “Fish Growth”), are not of any commercial -importance. - -The fisheries for the common herring, the pilchard, and the sprat, -are carried on, with a brief interval, all the year round; but the -great herring season is during the autumn—from August to October—when -the sea is covered with boats in pursuit of that fine fish, and in -some of its phases the herring-fishery assumes an aspect that is -decidedly picturesque. Every little bay all round the island has its -tiny fleet; the mountain closed lochs of the Western Highlands have -each a fishery; while at some of the more important fishing-stations -there are very large fleets assembled—as at Wick, Dunbar, Ardrishaig, -Stornoway, Peterhead, and Anstruther. The chief curers have places -of business in these towns, where they keep a large store of curing -materials and a competent staff of coopers and others to aid them in -their business. Such boats as do not carry on a local fishery proceed -from the smaller fishing-villages to one or other of the centres of -the herring trade. In fact, wherever an enterprising curer sets up -his stand, there the boats will gather round him; and beside him will -collect a mob of all kinds of miscellaneous people—dealers in salt, -sellers of barrel-staves, vendors of “cutch,” Prussian herring-buyers, -comely girls from the inland districts to gut, and men from the -Highlands anxious to officiate as “hired hands.” Itinerant ministers -and revivalists also come on the scene and preach occasional sermons -to the hundreds of devout Scotch people who are assembled; and thus -arises many a prosperous little town, or at least towns that might -be prosperous were the finny treasures of the sea always plentiful. -As the chief herring season comes on a kind of madness seizes on all -engaged, ever so remotely, in the trade; as for those more immediately -concerned, they seem to go completely “daft,” especially the younger -hands. The old men, too, come outside to view the annual preparations, -and talk, with revived enthusiasm, to their sons and grandsons about -what they did twenty years agone; the young men spread out the -shoulder-of-mutton sails of their boats to view and repair defects; and -the wives and sweethearts, by patching and darning, contrive to make -old nets “look amaist as weel as new;” boilers bubble with the brown -_catechu_, locally called “cutch,” which is used as a preservative for -the nets and sails; while all along the coasts old boats are being -cobbled up and new ones are being built and launched. - -The scene along the seabord from Buckhaven on the Firth of Forth to -Buckie on the Firth of Moray is one of active preparation, and all -concerned are hoping for a “lucky” fishing; “winsome” young lassies -are praying for the success of their sweethearts’ boats, because if -the season turns out well they will be married women at its close. -Curers look sanguine, and the owners of free boats seem happy. The -little children too—those wonderful little children one always finds -in a fishing village, striving so manfully to fill up “daddy’s” old -clothes—participate in the excitement: they have their winter’s “shoon” -and “Sunday breeks” in perspective. At the quaint village of Gamrie, -at Macduff, or Buckie, the talk of old and young, on coach or rail, -from morning to night, is of herrings. There are comparisons and -calculations about “crans” and barrels, and “broke” and “splitbellies,” -and “full fish” and “lanks,” and reminiscences of great hauls of former -years, and much figurative talk about prices and freights, and the -cost of telegraphic messages. Then, if the present fishery be dull, -hopes are expressed that the next one may be better. “Ony fish this -mornin’?” is the first salutation of one neighbour to another: the very -infants talk about “herrin’;” schoolboys steal them from the boats for -the purpose of aiding their negotiations with the gooseberry woman: -while wandering paupers are rewarded with one or two broken fish by -good-natured sailors, when “the take” has been so satisfactory as to -warrant such largess. At Wick the native population, augmented by four -thousand strangers, wakens into renewed life; it is like Doncaster on -the approach of the St. Leger. The summer-time of Wick’s existence -begins with the fishery: the shops are painted on their outsides and -are replenished within; the milliner and the tailor exhibit their -newest fashions; the hardware merchant flourishes his most attractive -frying-pans; the grocer amplifies his stock; and so for a brief period -all is _couleur de rose_. - -They are not all practical fishermen who go down to the sea for herring -during the great autumnal fishing season. By far the larger portion of -those engaged in the capture of this fish—particularly at the chief -stations—are what are called “hired hands,” a mixture of the farmer, -the mechanic, and the sailor; and this fact may account in some degree -for a portion of the accidents which are sure to occur in stormy -seasons. Many of these men are mere labourers at the herring-fishery, -and have little skill in handling a boat; they are many of them farmers -in the Lewis, or small crofters in the Isle of Skye. The real orthodox -fisherman is a different being, and he is the same everywhere. If you -travel from Banff to Bayonne you find that fishermen are unchangeable. - -The men’s work is all performed at sea, and, so far as the capture -of the herring is concerned, there is no display of either skill or -cunning. The legal mode of capturing the herring is to take it by -means of what is called a drift-net. The herring-fishery, it must be -borne in mind, is regulated by Act of Parliament, by which the exact -means and mode of capture are explicitly laid down. A drift-net is an -instrument made of fine twine worked into a series of squares, each -of which is an inch, so as to allow plenty of room for the escape of -young herrings. Nets for herring are measured by the barrel-bulk, and -each barrel will hold two nets, each net being fifty yards long and -thirty-two feet deep. The larger fishing-boats carry something like -a mile of these nets; some, at any rate, carry a drift which will -extend two thousand yards in length. These drifts are composed of -many separate nets, fastened together by means of what is called a -back-rope, and each separate net of the series is marked off by a buoy -or bladder which is attached to it, the whole being sunk in the sea by -means of a leaden or other weight, and fastened to the boat by a longer -or shorter trail-rope, according to the depth in the water at which it -is expected to find the herrings. This formidable apparatus, which -forms a great perforated wall, being let into the sea immediately after -sunset, floats or drifts with the tide, so as to afford the herring -an opportunity of striking against it, and so becoming captured—in -fact they are drowned in the nets. The boats engaged in the drift-net -fishing are of various sizes, and are strongly and carefully built: the -largest, being upwards of thirty-five feet keel, with a large drift of -nets and good sail and mast, will cost something like a sum of £200. - -[Illustration: VIEW OF LOCHFYNE.] - -The other mode of fishing for herrings, which has existed for about a -quarter of a century, is illegal, although it is as nearly as possible -the same as is legally used to capture the pilchard on the coast of -Cornwall. In the west of Scotland, on Lochfyne in particular, where -it is still to some extent practised, it is called “trawling;” but -the instrument of capture is in reality a “seine” net; and, so far -as the size of the mesh is concerned, is all right. The mode of using -this net I shall presently describe; in the meantime I may state that -the practice of “seining” has given cause to much disputation and -many quarrels, some of them resulting in violence and bloodshed; the -whole dispute having given rise to the recent Commission of Inquiry. -It is worth while, I think, to abridge the commissioners’ account of -the cause of quarrel, and the arguments used on both sides of the -question. The drift-net men assert that immature herrings are caught -by the trawl, and that that mode of fishing breaks up the shoals, and -that these scatter and do not again unite, as also that the seine -destroys the spawn. A graver assertion is, that the trawled herrings -are not fit for curing in consequence of their being injured in the -capture; likewise that the seine-net fishers are given to brawling -and mischief. The assertion is also made that it is quite impossible -for the two kinds of fishing to be carried on together, especially in -confined places like Lochfyne. The real reason is, I think, brought in -last—viz. that the great quantities of fish taken on a sudden by the -trawlers affect the markets and derange the prices—all to the great -detriment of the drift-net men. The trawlers are quite able to answer -all these questions both individually and by a general denial. They -say that it is not their interest to contract the width of the mesh, -and that, in fact, the trawl-net mesh is quite as large as the other. -They assert that a seine-net is not so much calculated to disturb a -shoal of herrings as the drift-net, which is of great length and at -once obstructs the shoal. They deny that they have interfered with the -spawning-beds, and also state that they have no particular interest -in catching foul fish, as they sell their herrings chiefly in a fresh -state, and say that their fish are most adapted for the fresh market, -likewise that they can be cured as easily as herrings caught by the -drift-nets. They emphatically deny being brawlers, or that they -wilfully injure the drift-nets; and they assert that both kinds of -fishing can perfectly well be carried on simultaneously on the same -fishing-ground. In fact the trawlers, in my opinion, have thoroughly -made out their case; and the commissioners, I am very glad to record, -have decided in their favour. - -The pilchard is generally captured by means of the seine-net, and we -never hear of its being injured thereby. It is also cured in large -quantities, the same as the herring, although the _modus operandi_ is -somewhat different. - -The pilchard was at one time, like the herring, thought to be a -migratory fish, but it has been found, as in the case of the common -herring, to be a native of our own seas. In some years the pilchard has -been known to shed its spawn in May, but the usual time is October, -and Mr. Couch thinks that fish do not breed twice in the same year. -Their food, we are told by Mr. Couch, is small crustaceous animals, as -their stomachs are frequently crammed with a small kind of shrimp, and -the supply of this kind of food is thought to be enormous. When on the -coast, the assemblage of pilchards assumes an arrangement like that of -a great army, and the vast shoal is known to be made up by the coming -together of smaller bodies of that fish, and these frequently separate -and rejoin, and are constantly shifting their position. The pilchard -is not now so numerous as it was a few years ago, but very large hauls -are still occasionally obtained. According to a recent statement in -the _Times_, the present pilchard season (1865) seems to have been a -very bad one—“the worst that has been experienced for upwards of twenty -years. The great majority of the boats have not nearly cleared their -expenses.” - -Great excitement prevails on the coast of Cornwall during the pilchard -season. Persons watch the water from the coast and signal to those -who are in search of the fish the moment they perceive indications -of a shoal. These watchers are locally called “huers,” and they are -provided with signals of white calico or branches of trees, with which -to direct the course of the boat, and to inform those in charge when -they are upon the fish—the shoal being best seen from the cliffs. The -pilchards are captured by the seine-net—that is, the shoal, or spot of -a shoal, that has risen, is completely surrounded by a wall of netting, -the principal boat and its satellites the volyer and the lurker, with -the “stop-nets,” having so worked as quite to overlap each other’s wall -of canvas. The place where the joining of the two nets is formed is -carefully watched, to see that none of the fish escape at that place, -and if it be too open, the fish are beaten back with the oars of some -of the persons attending—about eighteen in all. In due time the seine -is worked or hauled into shallow water for the convenience of getting -out the fish, and it may perhaps contain pilchards sufficient to fill -two thousand hogsheads. Generally speaking, four or five seines will be -at work together, giving employment to a great number of the people, -who may have been watching for the chance during many days. When the -tide falls the men commence to bring ashore the fish, a tuck-net worked -inside of the seine being used for safety; and the large shallow dipper -boats required for bringing the fish to the beach may be seen sunk to -the water’s edge with their burden, as successive bucketfuls are taken -out of the nets and emptied into these conveyance vessels. To give the -reader an idea of quantity, as connected with pilchard-fishing, I may -state that it takes nearly three thousand fish to fill a hogshead. I -have heard of a shoal being captured that took a fortnight to bring -ashore. Ten thousand hogsheads of pilchards have been known to be taken -in one port in a day’s time. The convenience of keeping the shoal in -the water is obvious, as the fish need not be withdrawn from it till -it is convenient to salt them. The fish are salted in curing-houses, -great quantities of them being piled up into huge stacks, alternate -layers of salt and fish. During the process of curing a large quantity -of useful oil exudes from the heaps. The salting process is called -“bulking,” and the fish are built up into stacks with great regularity, -where they are allowed to remain for four weeks, after which they are -washed and freed from the oil, then packed into hogsheads, and sent to -Spain and Italy, to be extensively consumed during Lent, as well as at -other fasting times. The hurry and bustle at any of the little Cornwall -ports during the manipulation of a few shoals of pilchards must be -seen, the excitement cannot be very well described. - -The pilchard is, or rather it ought to be, the _Sardinia_ of commerce, -but its place is usurped by the sprat, or garvie as we call it in -Scotland, and thousands of tin boxes of that fish are annually made up -and sold as sardines. I have already alluded to the sprat, so far as -its natural history is concerned. It is a fish that is very abundant -in Scotland, especially in the Firth of Forth, where for many years -there has been a good sprat-fishery. We do not now require to go to -France for our sardines, as we can cure them at home in the French -style. The sprat-fishery for sardine-making is still, however, a -considerable maritime industry on the coast of France. In 1864 about -75,000 barrels of sprats were taken on the coast of Brittany, besides -those sold fresh and the quantities done up in oil as sardines. The -process of curing with oil is as follows:—The fish must be well washed -in sea-water, after which they are sprinkled with clean salt. The -next process is to cut off the heads of the fish, and take away the -intestines, etc., after which they are again rinsed in the sea-water, -and hung up or laid out to dry in order to beautify. After this they -are placed for a very brief period in a pan of boiling oil, which -completes the cure. Before being packed in the neat little tin boxes in -which we find them, the sardines are laid down on a grating, in order -to let the oil drain off—the finishing process being the exposure -of the box in a steam-chest for such a period as the curer deems -necessary. According to my informant, a thorough cure is effected when -the box appears convex on the two sides, only it is necessary that this -convexity should disappear as the box becomes cool. Ten millions of -boxes are annually sent away from the coast of Brittany, and these are -widely distributed, not only in Europe, but in Australia and America -as well. I have elsewhere mentioned the use of cod-roe in the French -sprat-fishery. The quantity used costs about £80,000 annually, and -is brought from Norway. Each boat engaged in the sprat-fishery will -use from twelve to twenty barrels! Will not the consumption of such a -quantity of roe tell by and by on the cod-fishery? - -Sprats, whether they be young herrings or no, are very plentiful in -the winter months, and afford a supply of wholesome food of the fish -kind to many who are unable to procure more expensive kinds. When the -fishing for garvies (sprats) was stopped a few years ago by order of -the Board of White Fisheries, there was quite a sensation in Edinburgh; -and an agitation was got up that has resulted in a partial resumption -of the fishing, which is of considerable value—about £50,000 in the -Firth of Forth alone. - -Commerce in herring is entirely different from commerce in any other -article, particularly in Scotland. In fact the fishery, as at present -conducted, is just another way of gambling. The home “curers” and -foreign buyers are the persons who at present keep the herring-fishery -from stagnating, and the goods (_i.e._ the fish) are generally all -bought and sold long before they are captured. The way of dealing in -herring is pretty much as follows:—Owners of boats are engaged to fish -by curers, the bargains being usually that the curer will take two -hundred crans of herring—and a cran, it may be stated, is forty-five -gallons of ungutted fish; for these two hundred crans a certain sum per -cran is paid according to arrangement, the bargain including as well a -definite sum of ready money by way of bounty, perhaps also an allowance -of spirits, and the use of ground for the drying of the nets. On the -other hand, the boat-owner provides a boat, nets, buoys, and all the -apparatus of the fishery, and engages a crew to fish; his crew may, -perhaps, be relatives and part-owners sharing the venture with him, but -usually the crew consists of hired men who get so much wages at the end -of the season, and have no risk or profit. This is the plan followed -by free and independent fishermen who are really owners of their own -boats and apparatus. It will thus be seen that the curer is bargaining -for two hundred crans of fish months before he knows that a single -herring will be captured; for the bargain of next season is always made -at the close of the present one, and he has to pay out at once a large -sum by way of bounty, and provide barrels, salt, and other necessaries -for the cure before he knows even if the catch of the season just -expiring will all be sold, or how the markets will pulsate next year. -On the other hand, the fisherman has received his pay for his season’s -fish, and very likely pocketed a sum of from ten to thirty pounds as -earnest-money for next year’s work. Then, again, a certain number of -curers who are men of capital will advance money to young fishermen -in order that they may purchase a boat and the necessary quantity of -netting to enable them to engage in the fishery—thus thirling the boat -to their service, very probably fixing an advantageous price per cran -for the herrings to be fished and supplied. Curers, again, who are -not capitalists, have to borrow from the buyers, because to compete -with their fellows they must be able to lend money for the purchase -of boats and nets, or to advance sums by way of bounty to the free -boats; and thus a rotten unwholesome system goes the round—fishermen, -boat-builders, curers, and merchants all hanging on each other, and -evidencing that there is as much gambling in herring-fishing as in -horse-racing. The whole system of commerce connected with this -trade is decidedly unhealthy, and ought at once to be checked and -reconstructed if there be any logical method of doing it. At a port of -three hundred boats a sum of £145 was paid by the curers for “arles,” -and spent in the public-houses! More than £4000 was paid in bounties, -and an advance of nearly £7000 made on the various contracts, and all -this money was paid eight months before the fishing began. When the -season is a favourable one and plenty of fish are taken, then all goes -well, and the evil day is postponed; but if, as in one or two recent -seasons, the take is poor, then there comes a crash. One falls, and, -like a row of bricks, the others all follow. At the large fishing -stations there are comparatively few of the boats that are thoroughly -free: they are tied up in some way between the buyers and curers, or -they are in pawn to some merchant who “backs” the nominal owner. The -principal, or at least the immediate sufferers by these arrangements -are the hired men. - -This “bounty,” as it is called, is a most reprehensible feature of -herring commerce, and although still the prevalent mode of doing -business, has been loudly declaimed against by all who have the real -good of the fishermen at heart. Often enough men who have obtained -boats and nets on credit, and hired persons to assist them during the -fishery, are so unfortunate as not to catch enough of herrings to -pay their expenses. The curers for whom they engaged to fish having -retained most of the bounty money on account of boats and nets, -consequently the hired servants have frequently in such cases to go -home—sometimes to a great distance—penniless. It would be much better -if the old system of a share were re-introduced: in that case the hired -men would at least participate to the extent of the fishing, whether -it were good or bad. Boat-owners try of course to get as good terms as -possible, as well in the shape of price for herrings as in bounty and -perquisites. For an example of an engagement I may cite the case of -a Burghhead boat, which bargained for 15s. per cran, 20s. of engaging -money (arles), ten gallons of whisky, net-ground, net-driving—_i.e._ -from the boat to the ground and back again—and £20 of cash in the -shape of a bounty.[9] At some places even larger sums are asked for -and obtained—as much as £54 in bounty and perquisites. My idea is that -there ought to be no “engagements,” no bounty, and no perquisites. As -each fishing comes round let the boats catch, and the curers buy day by -day as the fish arrive at the quay. This plan has already been adopted -at some fishing-towns, and is an obvious improvement on the prevailing -plan of gambling by means of “engagements” in advance. - -In fact, this fishery is best described when it is called a lottery. -No person knows what the yield will be till the last moment: it may -be abundant, or it may be a total failure. Agriculturists are aware -long before the reaping season whether their crops are light or heavy, -and they arrange accordingly; but if we are to believe the fisherman, -his harvest is entirely a matter of “luck.” It is this belief in -“luck” which is, in a great degree, the cause of our fisher-folk not -keeping pace with the times: they are greatly behind in all matters -of progress; our fishing towns look as if they were, so to speak, -stereotyped. It is a woeful time for the fisher-folk when the herrings -fail them; for this great harvest of the sea, which needs no tillage -of the husbandman, the fruits of which are reaped without either -sowing seed or paying rent, is the chief industry that the bulk of -the coast population depend upon for a good sum of money. The fishing -is the bank, in which they have opened, and perhaps exhausted, a -cash-credit; for often enough the balance is on the wrong side of the -ledger, even after the fishing season has come and gone. In other -words, new boats have to be paid for out of the fishing; new clothes, -new houses, additional nets, and even weddings, are all dependent on -the herring-fishery. It is notable that after a favourable season the -weddings among the fishing populations are very numerous. The anxiety -for a good season may be noted all along the British coasts, from -Newhaven to Yarmouth, or from Crail to Wick. - -The highest prices are paid for the early fish, contracts for these in -a cured state being sometimes fixed as high as forty-five shillings -per barrel. These are at once despatched to Germany, in the inland -towns of which a prime salt herring of the early cure is considered a -great luxury, fetching sometimes the handsome price of one shilling! -Great quantities of cured herrings are sent to Stettin or other German -ports, and so eager are some of the merchants for an early supply that -in the beginning of the season they purchase quantities unbranded, -through the agency of the telegraph. On those parts of the coast where -the communication with large towns is easy, considerable quantities -of herring are purchased fresh, for transmission to Birmingham, -Manchester, and other inland cities. Buyers attend for that purpose, -and send them off frequently in an open truck, with only a slight -covering to protect them from the sun. It is needless to say that a -fresh herring is looked upon as a luxury in such places, and a demand -exists that would exhaust any supply that could be sent. During one day -in last September what was thought to be a hopeless glut of herrings -arrived at Billingsgate; the consignment was so vast as quite to alarm -the salesmen of that market; but their fears were groundless, as before -noon every herring was sold. From ten to twelve thousand tons of fresh -herrings are sent from Dunbar alone, during the season, into inland -districts, being distributed by means of the railway, and also by -cadgers. - -Many of the Scottish herring-curers are men of enterprise and -intelligence. The late Mr. Methuen of Leith may be cited as an example -of the class: he was of humble parentage, but had the good fortune, -by perseverance and industry, to become the greatest herring-curer -in the world. He raised his gigantic business on a small foundation, -which his father and he laid at Burntisland in Fife. His business grew -apace; his yards overflowed into the streets, and his piles of barrels -soon blocked up the passages. He gathered knowledge of his business -from all who could give it him; and in after years, when his trade had -grown to be the greatest of its kind, he found this knowledge of great -service to him. He was soon compelled, however, by the extension of -his connection, to seek larger head-quarters than he could obtain at -Burntisland. In 1833, therefore, he removed to Leith, the seaport of -Edinburgh, where he continued to carry on his business till the time of -his death. For thirty years he was at the head of the herring-trade in -Britain, and was so energetic and reputable in his dealings as really -to command success, in which, of course, he was materially aided by -his rapidly-increasing capital. He created curing-stations, and so -forced business. Wherever he saw an eligible spot, he marked it out as -a place to cure in. His business widened and widened, till thousands -of the Scottish fishing-boats were ready to obey his behests; and, not -contented with what he had achieved in his own country, he invaded -England, and commenced stations along the east coast and on the Isle -of Man, having some time before established business relations on the -coast of Norway. Mr. Methuen took a warm interest in all questions -connected with the herring-fishery, and may be said to have carried -on business during the period when these fisheries were in their -most prosperous condition; in fact, he may be said to have seen the -culmination of the trade. He was foremost in action when an attempt -was made to abolish the Fishery Board for Scotland. His accurate -acquaintance with the trade, and his knowledge of the natural history -of the fish, and the precise nature of his statements as to the value -of the Board, were the means of converting the Government of his time, -so that the Board was maintained in its integrity. Mr. Methuen’s powers -of observation were considerable; he once reasoned out by a reference -to some old letters the precise spot where a local shoal of herrings -was to be found. I have alluded to his plan of gathering knowledge -from all with whom he come in contact; he stored up such letters of -his agents as contained facts for future use, and often found them -of service. At one of his stations in the far North the fishing had -been unsuccessful for the greater part of the season, and there was no -prospect of improvement, when he gave it his consideration. Looking -over his agent’s letters at said place for some years back, he found, -by a comparison of dates, that at a certain spot herrings were to be -found. He accordingly instructed his agent to send his boats to that -spot. The fishermen simply laughed at the idea of an individual sitting -some hundreds of miles away and telling _them_ where to get fish. But -as his orders were positive, they had to obey, and the consequence was -that they returned the next morning loaded with herrings. - -[Illustration: VIEW OF A CURING YARD.] - -Having explained the relation of the curers to the trade, I must now -speak of the cure—the greater number of the herrings caught on the -coast of Scotland being pickled in salt; a result originally, no doubt, -of the want of speedy modes of transit to large seats of population, -where herrings would be largely consumed if they could arrive in a -sufficiently fresh state to be palatable. At stations about Wick the -quantity of herrings disposed of fresh is comparatively small, so -that by far the larger portion of the daily catch has to be salted. -This process during a good season employs a very large number of -persons, chiefly as coopers and gutters; and, as the barrels have to -be branded, by way of certificate of the quality of their contents, it -is necessary that the salting should be carefully done. As soon as the -boats reach the harbour—and as the fishing is appointed to be carried -on after sunset they arrive very early in the morning—the various -crews commence to carry their fish to the reception-troughs of the -curers by whom they have been engaged. A person in the interest of the -curer checks the number of crans brought in, and sprinkles the fish -from time to time with considerable quantities of salt. As soon as a -score or two of baskets have been emptied, the gutters set earnestly -to do their portion of the work, which is dirty and disagreeable in -the extreme. The gutters usually work in companies of about five—one -or two gutting, one or two carrying, and another packing. Basketfuls -of the fish, so soon as they are gutted, are carried to the back of -the yard, and plunged into a large tub, there to be roused and mixed -up with salt; then the adroit and active packer seizes a handful and -arranges them with the greatest precision in a barrel, a handful of -salt being thrown over each layer as it is put in, so that, in the -short space of a few minutes, the large barrel is crammed full with -many hundred fish, all gutted, roused, and packed in a period of not -more than ten minutes. As the fish settle down in the barrel, more are -added from day to day, till it is thoroughly full and ready for the -brand. On the proper performance of these parts of the business, the -quality of the cured fish very much depends. The late Sir Thomas Dick -Lauder, who was at one time secretary to the Fishing Board, published -plain instructions for taking and curing herrings; he gives minute -directions in all departments, and thus speaks of the important duties -of the coopers:—“During the period of the curing, the cooper’s first -employment in the morning should be to examine every barrel packed on -the previous day, in order to discover if any of them have lost the -pickle, so that he may have all such barrels immediately repacked, -salted, and pickled.... As already stated, the cooper in charge should -see that the gutters are furnished every morning with sharp knives. He -should be careful to strew salt among the herrings as they are turned -into the gutting-boxes; give a general but strict attention to the -gutters, in order to insure that they do their work properly; see that -the herrings are properly sorted, and that all the broken and injured -fish are removed; and take care that the fish are sufficiently and -effectually roused. Then he should see that every barrel is seasoned -with water, and the hoops properly driven, before they are given to the -packers. He should likewise keep his eyes over the packers, to see that -the tiers of herrings are regularly laid and salted, and that a cover -is placed on every barrel immediately after it has been completely -packed.” - -I have a very few words to say about the _brand_: whether or not each -barrel of herrings should have stamped upon it a government mark -indicative of its quality has been one of the most fertile subjects of -controversy in connection with herring commerce. _Now_ the brand—which -was devised during the time the British government paid a bounty to the -curer as an encouragement to fish for herrings—is voluntary, and has to -be paid for, and in time, there can be no doubt, it will be altogether -discontinued; and it would have been better perhaps had it never -existed, although its continuance has been advocated by many excellent -persons on the ground of its service to the fisheries. Other kinds -of goods have been able to command a market without the interference -of government—such as cotton and other textile fabrics, cheese, etc. -Why then could not we sell our herrings on the faith of the curer? -Government is not asked to brand our broadcloths, or our blankets, -nor yet our steam-engines; and I hope soon to see a total abolition -of the brand on our herring-barrels; but although I am an advocate -for the total abolition of the brand I wish the present Fishery Board -continued: there is ample employment for all the officers of that -Board in acting as statisticians and police; we can never obtain -sufficient information about the capture and disposal of the fish, the -fluctuations of the fishery, etc. etc. - -The following detailed description of the “herring-harvest,” as -gathered in the Moray Frith, may be of interest to the general reader. -It is reprinted, by permission, from a paper contributed by the author -to the _Cornhill Magazine_:— - -The boats usually start for the fishing-ground an hour or two before -sunset, and are generally manned by four men and a boy, in addition -to the owner or skipper. The nets, which have been carried inland in -the morning, in order that they might be thoroughly dried, have been -brought to the boat in a cart or waggon. On board there is a keg of -water and a bag of bread or hard biscuit; and in addition to these -simple necessaries, our boat contains a bottle of whisky which we have -presented by way of paying our footing. The name of our skipper is -Francis Sinclair, and a very gallant-looking fellow he is; and as to -his dress—why, his boots alone would ensure the success of a Surrey -melodrama; and neither Truefit nor Ross could satisfactorily imitate -his beard and whiskers. Having got safely on board—a rather difficult -matter in a crowded harbour, where the boats are elbowing each other -for room—we contrive, with some labour, to work our way out of the -narrow-necked harbour into the bay, along with the nine hundred and -ninety-nine boats that are to accompany us in our night’s avocation. -The heights of Pulteneytown, which command the quays, are covered with -spectators admiring the pour-out of the herring fleet and wishing with -all their hearts “God speed” to the venturers: old salts who have long -retired from active seamanship are counting their “takes” over again; -and the curer is mentally reckoning up the morrow’s catch. Janet and -Jeanie are smiling a kindly good-bye to “faither,” and hoping for the -safe return of Donald or Murdoch; and crowds of people are scattered on -the heights, all taking various degrees of interest in the scene, which -is stirringly picturesque to the eye of the tourist, and suggestive to -the thoughtful observer. - -Bounding gaily over the waves, which are crisping and curling their -crests under the influence of the land-breeze, our shoulder-of-mutton -sail filled with a good capful of wind, we hug the rocky coast, -passing the ruined tower known as “the Old Man of Wick,” which serves -as a capital landmark for the fleet. Soon the red sun begins to dip -into the golden west, burnishing the waves with lustrous crimson and -silver, and against the darkening eastern sky the thousand sails -of the herring-fleet blaze like sheets of flame. The shore becomes -more and more indistinct, and the beetling cliffs assume fantastic -and weird shapes, whilst the moaning waters rush into deep cavernous -recesses with a wild and monotonous sough, that falls on the ear with -a deeper and a deeper melancholy, broken only by the shrill wail of -the herring-gull. A dull hot haze settles on the scene, through which -the coppery rays of the sun penetrate, powerless to cast a shadow. The -scene grows more and more picturesque as the glowing sails of the fleet -fade into grey specks dimly seen. Anon the breeze freshens and our boat -cleaves the water with redoubled speed: we seem to sail farther and -farther into the gloom, until the boundary-line between sea and shore -becomes lost to the sight. - -We ought to have shot our nets before it became so dark, but our -skipper, being anxious to hit upon the right place, so as to save a -second shooting, tacked up and down, uncertain where to take up his -station. We had studied the movements of certain “wise men” of the -fishery—men who are always lucky, and who find out the fish when -others fail; but our crew became impatient when they began to smell -the water, which had an oily gleam upon it indicative of herring, and -sent out from the bows of the boat bright phosphorescent sparkles of -light. The men several times thought they were right over the fish, -but the skipper knew better. At last, after a lengthened cruise, our -commander, who had been silent for half-an-hour, jumped up and called -to action. “Up, men, and at ’em,” was then the order of the night. The -preparations for shooting the nets at once began by our lowering sail. -Surrounding us on all sides was to be seen a moving world of boats; -many with their sails down, their nets floating in the water, and their -crews at rest, indulging in fitful snatches of sleep. Other boats -again were still flitting uneasily about; their skippers, like our -own, anxious to shoot in the best place, but as yet uncertain where -to cast: they wait till they see indications of fish in other nets. By -and by we are ourselves ready, the sinker goes splash into the water, -the “dog” (a large bladder, or inflated skin of some kind, to mark the -far end of the train) is heaved overboard, and the nets, breadth after -breadth, follow as fast as the men can pay them out (each division -being marked by a large painted bladder), till the immense train sinks -into the water, forming a perforated wall a mile long and many feet -in depth; the “dog” and the marking bladders floating and dipping in -a long zigzag line, reminding one of the imaginary coils of the great -sea-serpent. - -Wrapped in the folds of a sail and rocked by the heaving waves we tried -in vain to snatch a brief nap, though those who are accustomed to such -beds can sleep well enough in a herring-boat. The skipper, too, slept -with one eye open; for the boat being his property, and the risk all -his, he required to look about him, as the nets are apt to become -entangled with those belonging to other fishermen, or to be torn away -by surrounding boats. After three hours’ quietude, beneath a beautiful -sky, the stars— - - “Those eternal orbs that beautify the night”— - -began to pale their fires, and the grey dawn appearing indicated -that it was time to take stock. On reckoning up we found that we had -floated gently with the tide till we were a long distance away from -the harbour. The skipper had a presentiment that there were fish in -his nets; indeed the bobbing down of a few of the bladders had made -it almost a certainty; at any rate we resolved to examine the drift, -and see if there were any fish. It was a moment of suspense, while, by -means of the swing-rope, the boat was hauled up to the nets. “Hurrah!” -at last exclaimed Murdoch of the Isle of Skye, “there’s a lot of fish, -skipper, and no mistake.” Murdoch’s news was true; our nets were -silvery with herrings—so laden, in fact, that it took a long time to -haul them in. It was a beautiful sight to see the shimmering fish as -they came up like a sheet of silver from the water, each uttering a -weak death-chirp as it was flung to the bottom of the boat. Formerly -the fish were left in the meshes of the nets till the boat arrived in -the harbour; but now, as the net is hauled on board, they are at once -shaken out. As our silvery treasure showers into the boat we roughly -guess our capture at fifty crans—a capital night’s work. - -The herrings being all on board, our duty is now to “up sail” and -get home: the herrings cannot be too soon among the salt. As we make -for the harbour, we discern at once how rightly the term lottery has -been applied to the herring-fishery. Boats which fished quite near -our own were empty; while others again greatly exceeded our catch. -“It is entirely chance work,” said our skipper; “and although there -may sometimes be millions of fish in the bay, the whole fleet may not -divide a hundred crans between them.” On some occasions, however, the -shoal is hit so exactly that the fleet may bring into the harbour a -quantity of fish that in the gross would be an ample fortune. So heavy -are the “takes” occasionally, that we have known the nets of many boats -to be torn away and lost through the sheer weight of the fish which -were enmeshed in them. - -The favouring breeze soon carried us to the quay, where the boats were -already arriving in hundreds, and where we were warmly welcomed by the -wife of our skipper, who bestowed on us, as the lucky cause of the -miraculous draught, a very pleasant smile. When we arrived the cure -was going on with startling rapidity. The night had been a golden one -for the fishers—calm and beautiful, the water being merely rippled -by the land-breeze. But it is not always so in the Bay of Wick: the -herring-fleet has been more than once overtaken by a fierce storm, -when valuable lives have been lost, and thousands of pounds’ worth of -netting and boats destroyed. On such occasions the gladdening sights of -the herring-fishery are changed to wailing and sorrow. It is no wonder -that the heavens are eagerly scanned as the boats marshal their way out -of the harbour, and the speck on the distant horizon keenly watched -as it grows into a mass of gloomy clouds. As the song says, “Caller -herrin’” represent the lives of men; and many a despairing wife and -mother can tell a sad tale of the havoc created by the summer gales on -our exposed northern coast. - -From the heights of Pulteneytown, overlooking the quays and curers’ -stations, one has before him, as it were, an extended plain, covered -with thousands and tens of thousands of barrels, interspersed at short -distances with the busy scene of delivery, of packing, and of salting, -and all the bustle and detail attendant on the cure. It is a scene -difficult to describe, and has ever struck those witnessing it for the -first time with wonder and surprise. - -Having visited Wick in the very heat of the season, and for the express -purpose of gaining correct information about this important branch of -our national industry, I am enabled to offer a slight description of -the place and its appurtenances. Travellers by the steamboat usually -arrive at the very time the “herring-drave” is making for the harbour; -and a beautiful sight it is to see the magnificent fleet of boats -belonging to the district, radiant in the light of the rising sun, -all steadily steering to the one point, ready to add a large quota to -the wealth of industrial Scotland. As we wend our way from the little -jagged rock at which we are landed by the small boat attendant on the -steamer, we obtain a glimpse of the one distinguishing feature of the -town—the herring commerce. On all sides we are surrounded by herring. -On our left hand countless basketfuls are being poured into the immense -gutting-troughs, and on the right hand there are countless basketfuls -being carried from the three or four hundred boats which are ranged -on that particular side of the harbour; and behind the troughs more -basketfuls are being carried to the packers. The very infants are -seen studying the “gentle art;” and countless rows of the breechless -_gamins de Wick_ are busy hooking up the silly “poddlies.” All around -the atmosphere is humid; the sailors are dripping, the herring-gutters -and packers are dripping, and every thing and person appears wet -and comfortless; and as you pace along you are nearly ankle-deep in -brine. Meantime the herrings are being shovelled about in the large -shallow troughs with immense wooden spades, and with very little -ceremony. Brawny men pour them from the baskets on their shoulders -into the aforesaid troughs, and other brawny men dash them about with -more wooden spades, and then sprinkle salt over each new parcel as -it is poured in, till there is a sufficient quantity to warrant the -commencement of the important operation of gutting and packing. Men -are rushing wildly about with note-books, making mysterious-looking -entries. Carts are being filled with dripping nets ready to hurry them -off to the fields to dry. The screeching of saws among billet-wood, and -the plashing of the neighbouring water-wheel, add to the great babel of -sound that deafens you on every side. Flying about, blood-bespattered -and hideously picturesque, we observe the gutters; and on all hands -we may note thousands of herring-barrels, and piles of billet-wood -ready to convert into staves. At first sight every person looks -mad—some appear so from their costume, others from their manner—and the -confusion seems inextricable; but there is method in their madness, -and even out of the chaos of Wick harbour comes regularity, as I have -endeavoured to show. - -So soon as a sufficient quantity of fish has been brought from the -boats and emptied into the gutting-troughs, another of the great scenes -commences—viz. the process of evisceration. This is performed by -females, hundreds of whom annually find well-paid occupation at the -gutting-troughs. It is a bloody business; and the gaily-dressed and -dashing females whom we had observed lounging about the curing-yards, -waiting for the arrival of the fish, are soon most wonderfully -transmogrified. They of course put on a suit of apparel adapted to the -business they have in hand—generally of oilskin, and often much worn. -Behold them, then, about ten or eleven o’clock in the forenoon, when -the gutting scene is at its height, and after they have been at work -for an hour or so: their hands, their necks, their busts, their - - “Dreadful faces throng’d, and fiery arms”— - -their every bit about them, fore and aft, are spotted and besprinkled -o’er with little scarlet clots of gills and guts; or as Southey says of -Don Roderick, after the last and fatal fight— - - “Their flanks incarnadined, - Their poitral smear’d with blood”— - -See yonder trough, surrounded by a score of fierce eviscerators, -two of them wearing the badge of widowhood! How deftly they ply the -knife! It is ever a bob down to seize a herring, and a bob up to throw -it into the basket, and the operation is over. It is performed with -lightning-like rapidity by a mere turn of the hand, and thirty or forty -fish are operated upon before you have time to note sixty ticks of your -watch. These ruthless widows seize upon the dead herrings with such a -fierceness as almost to denote revenge for their husbands’ deaths; for -they, alas! fell victims to the herring lottery, and the widows scatter -about the gills and guts as if they had no bowels of compassion. - -In addition to herrings that are pickled and those sold in a fresh -state, great quantities are made into what are called “bloaters,” or -transformed into “reds.” At Yarmouth immense quantities of bloaters -and reds are annually prepared for the English markets. The bloaters -are very slightly cured and as slightly smoked, being prepared -for immediate sale; but the herrings brought into Yarmouth are -cured in various ways: the bloaters are for quick sale and speedy -consumption; then there is a special cure for fish sent to the -Mediterranean—“Straits-men” I think these are called; then there are -the black herrings, which have a really fine flavour. In fact the -Yarmouth herrings are so cured as to be suitable to particular markets. -It may interest the general reader to know that the name of “bloater” -is derived from the herring beginning to swell or bloat during the -process of curing. Small logs of oak are burned to produce the smoke, -and the fish are all put on “spits” which are run through the gills. -The “spitters” of Yarmouth are quite as dexterous as the gutters of -Wick, a woman being able to spit a last per day. Like the gutters and -packers of Wick, the spitters of Yarmouth work in gangs. The fish, -after being hung and smoked, are packed in barrels, each containing -seven hundred and fifty fish. - -The Yarmouth boats do not return to harbour every morning, like the -Scotch boats; being decked vessels of some size, from fifty to eighty -tons, costing about £1000, and having stowage for about fifty lasts -of herrings, they are enabled to remain at sea for some days, usually -from three to six, and of course they are able to use their small -boats in the fishery, a man or two being left in charge of the large -vessel, while the majority of the hands are out in the boats fishing. -There has always been a busy herring-fishery at the port of Yarmouth. -A century ago upwards of two hundred vessels were fitted out for the -herring-fishery, and these afforded employment to a large number of -people—as many as six thousand being employed in one way or the other -in connection with the fishery. The Yarmouth boats or busses are -not unlike the boats once used in Scotland, which have been already -described. They carry from fifteen to twenty lasts of herrings (a last, -counted fisherwise, is more than 13,000 herrings, but nominally it is -10,000 fish), and are manned with some fourteen men or boys. - -There has been a long-continued controversy in Scotland as to the best -kind of fishing-boats, certain parties arguing that none but decked -vessels ought to be used, which we think would be a great mistake -so long as the fishing is carried on as at present. In the first -place, there is no harbour accommodation for a fleet of large decked -vessels; the present herring-boats, when not in use, are drawn up on -the beach, where they can readily be examined and repaired, and can be -easily pushed into the water when again required. In the second place, -these herring-boats rarely go far from their fishing-port; a voyage -of from one to three hours carries them to the fishing-place which -they have selected—the chief fisheries being just off the coast; and -as they have only to spend a few hours on the fishing-ground before -returning to port, the present size of boat is in every way convenient -for the voyage. And, in the third place, the open boats have this -advantage—viz. that it is easier to fish from one of them than from a -larger vessel—the great length of the present drift of nets involving -very severe labour, both in the letting of the nets out from the boat -and in hauling them in when laden with fish. So long, therefore, as the -herring-fishery is a coast one, the present style of boat is the best -that can be employed. If it were necessary for the boats to go far out -to sea, involving a voyage of days, then it would be proper to have -larger vessels, because it is absolutely necessary that the herrings -should be cured within a few hours of their being captured. - -The following figures as to the catch of 1862 and 1863, and as to the -number of boats and people employed, are from the official returns of -the fishing of these two years; in fact I have made a complete though -brief abridgment of the whole papers, which, at the time I write, -are the latest published. The revenue derived under the Act for the -branding of herrings, passed in 1859, amounted to £5801: 12: 4 in -1862, being an increase of £3157: 0: 4 over that of 1859; and in 1863 -the brand fees produced the sum of £4618: 16s. The returns of the -herring-fishing of 1863, as compared with that of 1862, which was, -however, an extraordinarily good year, are as follow:— - - Barrels. Barrels. Barrels. - - 1862. Cured, 830,904 Branded, 346,712 Ex., 494,910 - 1863. Do. 654,816½ Do. 276,880½ Do. 407,761½ - -The quantity of herrings branded out of the fishing of 1862 was, -as seen above, 346,712 barrels, a number greatly exceeding that of -any previous year; which shows not only that the fishing was very -productive, but also the great demand for branded herrings, the -reliance of the Continent upon the brand (the chief herring trade there -being in barrels that have been branded), and the steady improvement -in the cure of the fish. The fishing of 1863, when compared with those -of 1860 and 1861—fishings of which the total amounts are nearer to -that of 1863 than that of 1862—also show this in a remarkable degree; -for we find from the returns that out of a cure in 1863 less by 26,377 -barrels than the cure of 1860, there were branded 44,967 barrels more -and exported 29,791 barrels more than in 1860; that out of a cure in -1863 less by 14,012 barrels than the cure of 1861, there were branded -11,533 barrels more and exported 17,448 barrels more than in 1861. A -comparison of the rate per cent which the quantity branded forms of the -total quantity cured shows this still more clearly. In 1860 the rate -was 55½ per cent; in 1861 it was 58⅓ per cent; in 1862, 59½; -and in 1863 it was 62¼ per cent. - -The quantity cured in 1862 exceeds, by upwards of 50,000 barrels, that -of any previous year’s fishing. The districts in which an increase -of take was chiefly obtained were Buckie, Banff, Fraserburgh, and -Peterhead on the east coast, and Stornoway and Inverary on the west. -The total increase at these districts of the fishing of 1862 over -that of 1861 being 184,023 barrels, and the increase of the whole of -Scotland being 172,076 barrels, it would appear that, although there -was a decided increase in these districts, the other fishing-places -were scarcely up to the mark of the previous year. The fishing at -Fraserburgh was remarkable as having yielded the highest average of any -ever known in that district, being 226½ crans per boat. The season -of 1862 was also remarkable for the decrease in the shoals of dogfish. -This is shown from the entire and perfect condition of the herrings -caught. In 1861, with a cure of 31,631 barrels at Fraserburgh, the -broken fish were more than 4½ per cent; while in 1862, with a cure -of 77,124 barrels, the broken were only a little over 2 per cent. - -In 1863 there was an increase over 1862 in the districts of Lybster, -Orkney, and Shetland, and the Isle of Man; but at Wick and some of the -Moray Firth stations the fishing was almost the same; while it was -greatly less at Eyemouth, Anstruther, Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Banff, -Stornoway, and Inverary. - -In 1862, at Wick, a fishing for herring with nets in the winter was -tried for the first time, and was so far successful, herrings being -caught having milt and roe, with the appearance that they might -become full fish in three weeks or a month, and averaging 800 to the -cran. This result goes far to prove that the herring is a fish of -local habits, having no great range of emigration, and that it spawns -twice in the course of the year. The winter fishing was repeated and -extended in 1863. Trials were made for herring during the winter all -along the south shores of the Moray Firth, and along the east coast as -far as Montrose; and in some quarters this fishery was so extensively -prosecuted as to lead to the fish being selected and branded for the -Continental market. - -The number of vessels fitted out in Scotland and the Isle of Man for -the British herring-fishery 1862 was 281, employing 1149 men. The -quantity of herrings cured in these vessels was 59,934 barrels, being -an average of 213 barrels each vessel, generally made in two or -three voyages. The number of boats in Scotland and the Isle of Man, -whether decked or undecked, irrespective of the places to which they -belong, employed in the herring-fishery of 1862, for one selected week -in each district, was 9067, manned by 43,468 fishermen and boys, and -employing 22,471 persons as coopers, gutters, packers, and labourers, -making a total of persons employed 65,939. Of the total number of -boats, 1122 fished at Wick, 960 at Loch Broom, 900 at Stornoway, 783 -at Eyemouth, and 700 at Peterhead. The total number of boats employed -in the shore-curing herring, and cod and ling fisheries in 1862 was -12,545, with an aggregate tonnage of 88,871, and valued at £272,960. -The value of nets and lines belonging to these boats is estimated at -£474,834. The boats are manned by 41,008 fishermen and boys, the curers -and coopers employed amount to 2756, and the number of other persons -employed is estimated at 50,098. In 1863 there was an increase of 47 -boats, but a decrease of 150 fishermen and boys, while there was an -increase of £34,369 in the estimated value of boats and nets.[10] - -I have placed on the following page a complete journal of the daily -catch of herrings at Wick for the season of 1862, in order to show the -progress of the fishing. - - ┌───────┬─────┬──────┬──────┬─────┬───────┬─────────┬──────────────┐ - │ │ │Ave- │Total │ Gen-│Total │ │ │ - │ │Boats│rage. │daily │eral │catch │ │ │ - │Date. │out. │crans.│catch.│ Ave-│ for │Quality. │ Weather. │ - │ │ │ │ │rage.│season.│ │ │ - ├───────┼─────┼──────┼──────┼─────┼───────┼─────────┼──────────────┤ - │July 3│ 20│ 2│ 40│ 0│ 40│Excellent│Mild. │ - │ ” 4│ 30│ 1│ 30│ 0│ 70│ Do. │Wet. │ - │ ” 5│ 60│ ½│ 30│ 0│ 100│ Do. │Damp and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ mild. │ - │ ” 8│ 50│ ½│ 25│ 0│ 125│ Do. │Mild. │ - │ ” 9│ 70│ 0│ 10│ 0│ 135│Good │Gentle breeze.│ - │ ” 10│ 70│ 1½│ 105│ 0│ 240│ Do. │Breezy. │ - │ ” 11│ 120│ 2│ 60│ ¼│ 300│ Do. │Cold and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ breezy. │ - │ ” 12│ 150│ 7│ 1,050│ 1¼│ 1,350│ Do. │Fine. │ - │ ” 15│ 180│ 1│ 180│ 1¼│ 1,530│Mixed │Mild. │ - │ ” 16│ 170│ 1│ 170│ 1½│ 1,700│Good │Clear—strong │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ tides. │ - │ ” 17│ 150│ 1│ 150│ 1¾│ 1,850│ Do. │Wet. │ - │ ” 18│ 100│ 1│ 100│ 2│ 1,950│ Do. │Thick and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ wet. │ - │ ” 19│ 50│ 1│ 50│ 2│ 2,000│ Do. │Rough. │ - │ ” 22│ 300│ 3│ 900│ 3│ 2,900│ Do. │Mild. │ - │ ” 23│ 600│ 2│ 1,200│ 4│ 4,100│Excellent│ Do. │ - │ ” 24│ 700│ 1│ 700│ 4½│ 4,800│ Do. │Changeable. │ - │ ” 25│ 250│ ½│ 125│ 4½│ 4,925│ Do. │Very rough. │ - │ ” 26│ 700│ 1│ 700│ 5│ 5,625│ Do. │Mild. │ - │ ” 29│ 950│ 0│ 150│ 5│ 5,775│ Do. │Mild and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ wet. │ - │ ” 30│ 900│ ½│ 450│ 6│ 6,225│ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 31│ 950│ 1│ 950│ 6½│ 7,175│ Do. │Rough. │ - │Aug. 1│ 250│ 2│ 500│ 7│ 7,675│ Do. │Mild—heavy │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ sea. │ - │ ” 2│ 1000│ 2│ 2,000│ 8½│ 9,675│Mixed │Mild and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ wet. │ - │ ” 5│ 150│ 1│ 150│ 9│ 9,825│Good │Rough. │ - │ ” 6│ 70│ 3│ 210│ 9│ 10,035│Spent │ Do. │ - │ ” 7│ 1100│ 6│ 6,600│ 15│ 16,635│⅓ spent │Mild. │ - │ ” 8│ 1100│ 4│ 4,400│ 19│ 21,035│¼ spent │Thick and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │rough. │ - │ ” 9│ 700│ 6│ 4,200│ 23│ 25,235│ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 12│ 1120│ 3│ 3,360│ 26│ 28,595│Good │Breezy. │ - │ ” 13│ 1120│ 8│ 8,960│ 34│ 37,555│Excellent│Thick, wet, │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ and mild. │ - │ ” 14│ 1120│ 4│ 4,480│ 38│ 42,035│ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 15│ 1100│ 11│12,210│ 48│ 54,245│ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 16│ 1000│ 8│ 8,000│ 56│ 62,245│¼ spent│ │o. │ - │ ” 19│ 1000│ 0│ 50│ 56│ 62,295│Excellent│Strong gale. │ - │ ” 20│ 800│ ½│ 400│ 56½│ 62,695│ Do. │Gentle │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ breeze—cold.│ - │ ” 21│ 800│ ¼│ 200│ 57│ 62,895│ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 22│ 900│ ½│ 450│ 57│ 63,345│ Do. │Calm and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ clear. │ - │ ” 23│ 800│ ¼│ 200│ 57½│ 63,545│ Do. │Very wet │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ and calm. │ - │ ” 26│ 1120│ 2│ 2,240│ 59│ 65,785│¼ spent │Mild. │ - │ ” 27│ 1120│ 5│ 5,600│ 64│ 71,385│⅓ spent │Breezy. │ - │ ” 28│ 1120│ 1│ 1,120│ 65│ 72,505│Good │Clear and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ mild. │ - │ ” 29│ 1100│ ¾│ 800│ 65½│ 73,305│ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 30│ 1000│ ½│ 500│ 66│ 73,805│ Do. │ Do. │ - │Sept. 2│ 1050│ ½│ 525│ 66½│ 74,330│Excellent│Breezy. │ - │ ” 3│ 20│ ½│ 10│ 66½│ 74,340│ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 4│ 20│ ½│ 10│ 66½│ 74,350│ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 5│ 100│ 1│ 100│ 66½│ 74,450│ Do. │Mild. │ - │ ” 6│ 600│ ¼│ 150│ 67│ 74,600│ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 9│ 220│ 4│ 880│ 68│ 75,480│¼ spent │ Do. │ - │ ” 10│ 300│ 10│ 3,000│ 71│ 78,480│Good │ Do. │ - │ ” 11│ 400│ 20│ 8,000│ 77│ 86,480│⅓ spent │ Do. │ - │ ” 12│ 400│ 10│ 4,000│ 81│ 90,480│¼ spent │Breezy. │ - │ ” 13│ 3│ 4│ 12│ 81│ 90,492│Good │Wind and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ rain. │ - │ ” 16│ 200│ ¾│ 160│ 81│ 90,652│ Do. │Mild. │ - └───────┴─────┴──────┴──────┴─────┴───────┴─────────┴──────────────┘ - - -The quantity of netting now employed in the herring-fishery is -enormous, and is increasing from year to year. It has been strongly -represented by Mr. Cleghorn, and others who hold his views, that the -herring-fishery is on the decline; that if the fish were as plentiful -as in former years, the increased amount of netting would capture -an increased number of herrings. It is certain that, with a growing -population and an increasing facility of transport, we are able to use -a far larger quantity of sea produce now than we could do fifty years -ago, when we were in the pre-Stephenson age. If, with our present -facilities for the transport of fish to inland towns, Great Britain had -been a Catholic instead of a Protestant country, having the example of -the French fisheries before us, I have no hesitation in saying that -by this time our fisheries would have been completely exhausted—that -is, supposing no remedial steps had been taken to guard against such a -contingency. Were we compelled to observe Lent with Catholic rigidity, -and had there been numerous fasts or fish-days, as there used to -be in England before the Reformation, the demand, judging from our -present ratio, would have been greater than the sea could have borne. -Interested parties may sneer at these opinions; but, notwithstanding, I -maintain that the pitcher is going too often to the well, and that some -day soon it will come back empty. - -I have always been slow to believe in the inexhaustibility of the -shoals, and can easily imagine the overfishing, which some people -pooh-pooh so glibly, to be quite possible, especially when supplemented -by the cod and other cannibals so constantly at work, and so well -described by the Lochfyne Commission; not that I believe it possible to -pick up or kill every fish of a shoal; but, as I have already hinted, -so many are taken, and the economy of the shoal so disturbed, that in -all probability it may change its ground or amalgamate with some other -herring colony. I shall be met here by the old argument, that “the -fecundity of fish is so enormous as to prevent their extinction,” etc. -etc. But the certainty of a fish yielding twenty thousand eggs is no -surety for these being hatched, or if hatched, of their escaping the -dangers of infancy, and reaching the market as table food. I watch the -great shoals at Wick with much interest, and could wish to have been -longer acquainted with them. How long time have the Wick shoals taken -to grow to their present size?—what size were the shoals when the fish -had leave to grow without molestation?—how large were the shoals when -first discovered?—and how long have they been fished? are questions -which I should like to have answered. As it is, I fear the great Wick -fishery must come some day to an end. In the course of twenty-seven -seasons as many as 1,275,027 barrels of herring have been caught off -Wick (each barrel containing 700 fish); and in all probability as many -more fish were killed by the nets, and never taken ashore. When the -Wick fishery first began the fisherman could carry in a creel on his -back the nets he required; now he requires a cart and a good strong -horse! Leaving out one of the twenty-seven seasons (the first), and -dividing the remaining twenty-six into two periods of thirteen each, -we find the aggregate of the boats, the average crans to each, and the -aggregate total for the - - Boats. Average Crans. Total Crans. - - 1st thirteen years, 10,202 941 735,318 - 2d ” 13,522 519 539,719 - -During the first of these periods each boat carried about twenty-five -nets, spun and worked in the county in a homely way; during the second -period each had from thirty to thirty-five nets, machine-made, the -twine being very even and fine, and far larger and deeper, a great many -of them being of cotton, and far superior in their catching power to -those of the first period; and yet, with 3320 additional boats carrying -perhaps 200,000 more nets, larger, finer, and deeper than in the first -period, we took 195,609 barrels fewer fish in the second than in the -first thirteen years. During a late Wick fishing, a remarkable feature -was the great disparity in the catch by individual boats. Although the -average per boat over the whole fleet is set down as about eighty-three -crans, yet half the boats do not average forty crans. As a rule, the -boats that take the most fish are those with the longest, finest, and -deepest drifts. In fact, the whole argument just amounts to this—that -if the fish are as plentiful as ever, then double the quantity of -netting _ought_ to take double the quantity of herrings. During a late -Wick season (1863), the entire fleet was only at sea twelve nights, and -the average per night to each boat was only three crans. The _Northern -Ensign_, a local journal, has over and over again asserted that the -fish are as numerous as ever; but that, in consequence of the crowd -of boats, there is not room to capture them. In answer to this I may -note, that on six different evenings of the season, when the boats out -ranged from two to six hundred, the take did not average half a cran -per boat. It may be likewise stated that 604 boats, in the year 1820, -with a greatly less amount of netting, took as many fish as have been -taken this season (1863) although the boats fishing were 480 above the -season of 1820. The average capture per boat in 1820, with the limited -netting, was 148 crans, whilst the average for 1863 was only 85 crans! -How is it possible to reconcile such great differences? - -I conclude this part of the herring question by one other illustration. -In 1862 the aggregate sailings—_i.e._ number of voyages—of the Wick -boats for the season was 28,755, and the total catch 92,004 barrels; -while this season (1863) the Wick boats have only taken 89,972 barrels -in 32,630 voyages; and all over the country, so far as I know—and I -have made extensive inquiries—the tale is the same, a failure in -the herring-fishery. Perhaps the best plan is at once to exhaust the -figures of the subject while we are discussing it. As to the Wick -July fishing, the following figures are illustrative of two different -periods of five years each:— - - ┌───────┬──────────┬┬───────┬──────────┐ - │ Year. │ Barrels. ││ Year. │ Barrels. │ - ├───────┼──────────┼┼───────┼──────────┤ - │ 1843 │ 14,000 ││ 1859 │ 2,500 │ - │ 1844 │ 15,615 ││ 1860 │ 12,850 │ - │ 1845 │ 22,578 ││ 1861 │ 5,821 │ - │ 1846 │ 30,350 ││ 1862 │ 7,173 │ - │ 1847 │ 15,442 ││ 1863 │ 8,517 │ - ├───────┼──────────┼┼───────┼──────────┤ - │ │ 97,985 ││ │ 36,861 │ - └───────┴──────────┴┴───────┴──────────┘ - -The figures of the greatest month of the fishery—viz. August—are as -follow:— - - ┌───────┬──────────┬┬───────┬──────────┐ - │ Year. │ Barrels. ││ Year. │ Barrels. │ - ├───────┼──────────┼┼───────┼──────────┤ - │ 1843 │ 69,640 ││ 1859 │ 80,853 │ - │ 1844 │ 72,585 ││ 1860 │ 86,120 │ - │ 1845 │ 66,702 ││ 1861 │ 73,580 │ - │ 1846 │ 61,450 ││ 1862 │ 65,321 │ - │ 1847 │ 59,528 ││ 1863 │ 46,000 │ - ├───────┼──────────┼┼───────┼──────────┤ - │ │ 329,905 ││ │ 351,874 │ - └───────┴──────────┴┴───────┴──────────┘ - - -It will be seen from these figures that, even in the great herring -month of August, notwithstanding the large increase of boats and nets, -a decreased quantity has been taken during the last two years. To -understand this better, the boats in the first period were 4345, and in -the second period 5489, and in this last period the boats had vastly -increased their netting, as many as 55,775 more nets having been added. -Now, it stands to reason that if the herrings were as numerous as ever -in the second period, the take should have been, through the mere -increase of boats, not counting the addition to the amount of netting, -417,916 barrels. - -The September fishing has only been prosecuted of late years, for the -very good reason that in former times all the herring required were -caught in July and August; during the last two years great efforts -have been made to institute a September fishery, and a great force was -brought to bear on the races of herring then coming to maturity, with -what result the following figures will show:— - - ┌───────┬──────────┬┬───────┬──────────┐ - │ Year. │ Barrels. ││ Year. │ Barrels. │ - ├───────┼──────────┼┼───────┼──────────┤ - │ 1843 │ 4,100 ││ 1859 │ 9,846 │ - │ 1844 │ 2,000 ││ 1860 │ 504 │ - │ 1845 │ 2,880 ││ 1861 │ 6,194 │ - │ 1846 │ 900 ││ 1862 │ 20,000 │ - │ 1847 │ 9,100 ││ 1863 │ 30,000 │ - ├───────┼──────────┼┼───────┼──────────┤ - │ │ 18,980 ││ │ 66,544 │ - └───────┴──────────┴┴───────┴──────────┘ - - -The September fishery at Wick will have its day like the July and -August fisheries. - -One more table will finish these statistics; it represents the averages -of the Wick fishery for two periods—one for seven years, ending in -1824; the other for the seven years ending with the season of 1863:— - - ┌────────┬────────┬────────────┬┬────────┬────────┬────────────┐ - │ Years. │ Boats. │ Crans ││ Years. │ Boats. │ Crans │ - │ │ │ per Boat. ││ │ │ per Boat. │ - ├────────┼────────┼────────────┼┼────────┼────────┼────────────┤ - │ 1818 │ 482 │ 136 ││ 1857 │ 1100 │ 73 │ - │ 1819 │ 609 │ 133 ││ 1858 │ 1061 │ 80 │ - │ 1820 │ 604 │ 148 ││ 1859 │ 1094 │ 79 │ - │ 1821 │ 595 │ 123 ││ 1860 │ 1080 │ 92 │ - │ 1822 │ 595 │ 91 ││ 1861 │ 1180 │ 87 │ - │ 1823 │ 555 │ 123 ││ 1862 │ 1122 │ 82 │ - │ 1824 │ 625 │ 123½ ││ 1863 │ 1084 │ 79 │ - ├────────┼────────┼────────────┼┼────────┼────────┼────────────┤ - │ │ 4065 │ 877½ ││ │ 7721 │ 572 │ - └────────┴────────┴────────────┴┴────────┴────────┴────────────┘ - -I shall not expend further argument on these figures, they speak too -plainly to require illustration. - -The state of the case as between the supply of fish and the extent of -netting has been focused into the annexed diagram, which shows at a -glance how the question stands. - -[Illustration: - 1818-1845. The drift of 1857-1863. The drift of - nets per boat contained nets per boat contained - 4500 square yards. 16,800 square yards. - - 1818-1824. The During the 10 years 1857-1863. The average - average per boat 1841-50 the average per boat 82 crans. - 125¼ crans. catch per boat was - 112 crans. -] - -Before concluding this chapter I wish to say a few words about a point -of herring economy, which has been already alluded to in connection -with the special commission appointed to inquire into the trawling -system—viz. as to the natural enemies of the herring, the most ruthless -of which are undoubtedly of the fish kind, and whose destructive power, -some people assert, dwarfs into insignificance all that man can do -against the fish:—“Consider,” say the commissioners, “the destruction -of large herring by cod and ling alone. It is a very common thing to -find a codfish with six or seven large herrings, of which not one has -remained long enough to be digested, in his stomach. If, in order to -be safe, we allow a codfish only two herrings _per diem_, and let him -feed on herrings for only seven months in the year, then we have 420 -herring as his allowance during that time; and fifty codfish will equal -one fisherman in destructive power. But the quantity of cod and ling -taken in 1861, and registered by the Fishery Board, was over 80,000 -cwts. On an average thirty codfish go to one cwt. of dried fish. Hence, -at least 2,400,000 will equal 48,000 fishermen. In other words, the cod -and ling caught on the Scotch coasts in 1861, if they had been left in -the water, would have caught as many herring as a number of fishermen -_equal to all those in Scotland, and six thousand more_, in the same -year; and as the cod and ling caught were certainly not one tithe part -of those left behind, we may fairly estimate the destruction of herring -by these voracious fish alone as at least ten times as great as that -effected by all the fishermen put together.” As to only one of the -numerous land enemies of the herring, the late Mr. Wilson, in his _Tour -round Scotland_, calculated that the gannets or solan geese frequenting -one island alone—St. Kilda—picked out of the water for their food 214 -millions of herrings every summer! The shoals that can withstand these -destructive agencies must indeed be vast, especially when taken in -connection with the millions of herrings that are accidentally killed -by the nets, and never brought ashore for food purposes. The work -accomplished by these natural enemies of the herring, which has been -going on during all time, does not however affect my argument, that by -the concentration on one shoal of a thousand boats per annum, with an -annually-increasing net-power, we both so weaken and frighten the shoal -that it becomes in time unproductive. As the late Mr. Methuen said in -one of his addresses: “We have been told that we are to have dominion -over the fish of the sea, but dominion does not mean extermination.” - -Although Scotland is the main seat of the herring-fishery, I should -like to see statistics, similar to those collected in Scotland, taken -at a few English ports for a period of years, in order that we might -obtain additional data from which to arrive at a right conclusion as -to the increase or decrease of the fishery for herring. It is possible -to collect statistics of the cereal and root crops of the country; -it was done for all Scotland during three seasons, and it was well -and quickly accomplished. What can be done for the land may also, I -think, be done for the sea. I believe the present Board for Scotland -to be most useful in aiding the regulation of the fishery, and in -collecting statistics of the catch; their functions, however, might be -considerably extended, and elevated to a higher order of usefulness, -especially as regards the various questions in connection with the -natural history of the fish. The operations of the Board might likewise -be extended for a few seasons to a dozen of the largest English -fishing-ports, in order that we might obtain confirmation of what is -so often rumoured, the falling off of our supplies of sea-food. There -are various obvious abuses also in connection with the economy of our -fisheries that ought to be remedied, and which an active Board could -remedy and keep right; and a body of naturalists and economists might -easily be kept up at a slight toll of say a guinea per boat. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE WHITE-FISH FISHERIES. - - Difficulty of obtaining Statistics of our White-Fish - Fisheries—Ignorance of the Natural History of the White Fish—“Finnan - Haddies”—The Gadidæ Family: the Cod, Whiting, etc.—The Turbot and - other Flat Fish—When Fish are in Season—How the White-Fish Fisheries - are carried on—The Cod and Haddock Fishery—Line-Fishing—The Scottish - Fishing Boats—Loss of Boats on the Scottish Coasts—Storms in - Scotland—Trawl-Net Fishing—Description of a Trawler—Evidence on the - Trawl Question. - - -It is among the white fish, as they are called, that we find the chief -food-fishes of this kingdom—as the haddock, cod, whiting, ling, sole, -flounder, turbot, and skate,—all of which, and about a dozen others -(not including the mackerel), equally good for food, belong to two -well-known fish families—Gadidæ and Pleuronectidæ—and give employment -in their capture to the two best-known instruments of destruction, the -line and the trawl. - -It is exceedingly difficult to procure reliable statistics of the -total quantity of fish taken in the British seas. These can only be -obtained in a crude way from the fishermen, there being no tally kept -by the salesman, except of a rough kind. I made some inquiries into -the London fish supply at Billingsgate, but they were unsatisfactory, -as there is no register kept there of the quantity sold. Each of the -wholesale men can give an idea of the total number or quantity of fish -consigned to him; but even if the whole body of salesmen were to give -such statistics, it would only, after all, represent a portion of -the London supply, because much of the fish required for the London -commissariat is sent direct by railway to private dealers. But London, -although it requires a very large total of fish, seldom obtains all -that its citizens could eat, nor does it by any means get all that are -captured, or that are imported. Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, -and other large towns in England; and Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, and -Aberdeen, in Scotland, require likewise to be supplied. And besides -this home demand, we send considerable quantities of our white fish to -the Continent, especially in a dried or prepared state. The fishermen -of the Shetland Isles, for instance, cure largely for the Spanish and -other Continental markets. Finnan haddocks and pickled cod can be so -prepared as to bear shipment to a long distance, and kippered salmon -are found on sale everywhere, as are also pickled and smoked herrings. - -The natural history of our white fish, as I have already said, is but -imperfectly known. As an instance of the very limited knowledge we -possess of the natural history of even our most favourite fishes, I -may state that at a meeting of the British Association a few years -ago, a member who read an interesting paper _On the Sea Fisheries -of Ireland_, introduced specimens of a substance which the Irish -fishermen considered to be spawn of the turbot; stating that wherever -this substance was found trawling was forbidden; the supposed spawn -being in reality a kind of sponge, with no other relation to fish -except as being indicative of beds of mollusca, the abundance of which -marks that fish are plentiful. It follows that the stoppage of the -trawl on the grounds where this kind of squid is found is the result -of sheer ignorance, and causes the loss in all likelihood of great -quantities of the best white fish. It is not easy to say when the -Gadidæ are in proper season. Some of the members of that family are -used for table purposes all the year round; and as different salmon -rivers have their different close-times, so undoubtedly will the white -fish of different seas or firths have different spawning seasons. In -reference, for instance, to so important a fish as the turbot, we are -very vaguely told by Yarrell that it spawns in the spring-time, but -have no indication of the particular month during which that important -operation takes place, or how long the young fish take to grow. Even a -naturalist so well informed as the late Mr. Wilson was of opinion that -the turbot was a travelling fish, which migrated from place to place. - -The combined ignorance of naturalists and fishermen has much to do with -the scarcity of white fish which is now beginning to be experienced; -and unless some plan be hit upon to prevent overfishing, we may some -fine morning experience the same astonishment as a country gentleman’s -cook, who had given directions to the gamekeeper to supply the kitchen -regularly with a certain quantity of grouse. For a number of years she -found no lack, but in the end the purveyor threw down the prescribed -number, and told her she need look for no more from him, for on -that day the last grouse had been shot. “There they are,” said the -gamekeeper, “and it has taken six of us with a gun apiece to get them, -and after all we have only achieved the labour which was gone through -by one man some years ago.” The cook had unfortunately never considered -the relation between guns and grouse. - -The Gadidæ family is numerous, and its members are valuable for -table purposes; three of the fishes of that genus are particularly -in request—viz. whiting, cod, and haddock. These are the three most -frequently eaten in a fresh state; there are others of the family -which are extensively captured for the purpose of being dried and -salted, among which are the ling, the tusk, etc. The haddock (_Morrhua -aylefinus_) has ever been a favourite fish, and the quantities of it -which are annually consumed are really wonderful. Vast numbers used to -be taken in the Firth of Forth, but from recent inquiries at Newhaven -I am led to believe that the supply has considerably decreased of late -years, and that the local fishermen have to proceed to considerable -distances in order to procure any quantity. - -In reference to the question, “Where are the haddocks?” which is asked -on another page, it is right to say that this prime fish has more than -once become scarce. I have been reminded of a time, in 1790, when -three of these fish were sold for 7s. 6d. in the Edinburgh market; but -although there have been from time to time sudden disappearances of -the haddock from particular fishing-grounds, as indeed there have been -of all fish, that is a different, a totally different matter from what -the fisher folk and the public have now to complain of—viz. a yearly -decreasing supply. Mr. Grieve, of the Café Royal, Edinburgh, tells me -that this season (August 1865), he is paying ninepence each for these -fish, and is very glad to get them even at that price. I took part in -a newspaper controversy about the scarcity of the haddock, and I found -plenty of opponents ready to maintain that there was no scarcity, but -that any quantity could be captured. In some degree that is the truth, -but what is the hook-power required now to capture, “any quantity,” -and how long does it take to obtain a given number, as compared with -former times, when that fish was supposed to be more plentiful? Why do -we require, for instance, to send to Norway and other distant places -for haddocks and other white fish? the only answer I can imagine is -that we cannot get enough at home. As to the general scarcity of -white fish, the late Mr. Methuen, the fish-curer, wrote a year or two -ago:—“This morning I am told that an Edinburgh fishmonger has bought -all the cod brought into Newhaven at 5s. to 7s. each. I recollect -when I cured thousands of cod at 3d. and 4d. each; they were caught -between Burntisland and Kincardine, on which ground not a cod is now to -be got; and at the great cod emporium of Cellardyke, the cod-fishing, -instead of three score for a boat’s fishing, has dwindled down to about -half-a-dozen cod.” - -[Illustration: THE GADIDÆ FAMILY.] - -The old belief in the migratory habits of fish comes again into notice -in connection with the haddock. Pennant having taught us that the -haddock appeared periodically in great quantities about mid-winter, -that theory is still believed, although the appearance of this fish -in shoals may be easily explained, from the local habits of most of -the denizens of the great deep. It is said that “in stormy weather, -the haddock refuses every kind of bait, and seeks refuge among marine -plants in the deepest parts of the ocean, where it remains until the -violence of the elements is somewhat subsided.” This fish does not grow -to any great size; it usually averages about five pounds. I prefer it -as a table fish to the cod; the very best haddocks are taken on the -coast of Ireland. The scarcity of fresh haddocks may in some degree -be accounted for by the immense quantities which are converted into -“Finnan haddies”—a well-known breakfast luxury no longer confined to -Scotland. It is difficult to procure genuine Finnans, smoked in the -original way by means of peat-reek; like everything else for which -there is a great demand, Finnan haddocks are now “manufactured” in -quantity; and, to make the trade a profitable one, they are cured by -the hundred in smoking-houses built for the purpose, and are smoked by -burning wood or sawdust, which, however, does not give them the proper -_goût_. In fact the wood-smoked Finnans, except that they are fish, -have no more the right flavour than Scotch marmalade would have were it -manufactured from turnips instead of bitter oranges. Fifty years ago -it was different; then the haddocks were smoked in small quantities -in the fishing villages between Aberdeen and Stonehaven, and entirely -over a peat fire. The peat-reek imparted to them that peculiar flavour -which gained them a reputation. The fisher-wives along the north-east -coast used to pack small quantities of these delicately-cured fish -into a basket, and give them to the guard of the “Defiance” coach, -which ran between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, and the guard brought them -to town, confiding them for sale to a brother who dealt in provisions; -and it is known that out of the various transactions which thus arose, -individually small though they must have been, the two made, in the -course of time, a handsome profit. The fame of the smoked fish rapidly -spread, so that cargoes used to be brought by steamboat, and Finnans -are now carried by railway to all parts of the country with great -celerity, the demand being so great as to induce men to foist on the -public any kind of cure they can manage to accomplish; indeed smoked -codlings are extensively sold for Finnan haddocks. Good smoked haddocks -of the Moray Firth or Aberdeen cure can seldom now be had, even in -Edinburgh, under the price of sixpence per pound weight. - -The common cod (_Morrhua vulgaris_) is, as the name implies, one of our -best-known fishes, and it was at one time very plentiful and cheap. It -is found in the deep waters of all our northern seas, but has never -been known in the Mediterranean. It has been largely captured on the -coasts of Scotland, and, as is elsewhere mentioned, it occurs in -profusion on the shores of Newfoundland, where its plentifulness led to -a great fishery being established. The cod is extremely voracious, and -eats up most greedily the smaller inhabitants of the seas; it grows to -a large size, and is very prolific in the perpetuation of its kind. A -cod-roe has more than once been found to be half the gross weight of -the fish, and specimens of the female have been caught with upwards -of eight millions of eggs; but of course it cannot be expected that -in the great waste of waters all the ova will be fertilised, or that -any but a small percentage of the fish will ever arrive at maturity. -This fish spawns in mid-winter, but there are no very reliable data -to show when it becomes reproductive. My own opinion has already been -expressed that the cod is an animal of slow growth, and I would venture -to say that it is at least three years old before it is endowed with -any breeding power. I may call attention here to one of the causes that -must tend to render the fish scarce. As if the natural enemies of the -young fish were not sufficient to aid in its extirpation, and the loss -of the ova from causes over which man has no control not enough in -the way of destruction, there is a commerce in cod-roe, and enormous -quantities of it, as I have mentioned in the preceding chapter, are -used in France as ground-bait for the sardine fishery! The roe of this -fish is also frequently made use of at table; a cod-roe of from two to -four pounds in weight can unfortunately be bought for a mere trifle, -but it ought to cost a good few pounds instead of a few pence. I have -elsewhere stated that the quantity of eggs yielded by a female cod is -more than three millions: supposing only a third of them to come to -life—that is one million—and that a tenth part of that number, viz. one -hundred thousand, becomes in some shape—that is, either as codling or -cod—fit for table uses, what should be the value of the cod-roe that -is carelessly consumed at table? If each fish be taken as of the value -of sixpence, the amount would be £2500. But supposing that only twenty -full-grown codfish resulted from the three millions of eggs; these, at -two and sixpence each, would represent the sum of fifty shillings as -the possible produce of one dish, which, in the shape of cod-roe, cost -only about as many farthings! - -Cuvier tells us that “almost all the parts of the cod are adapted for -the nourishment of man and animals, or for some other purposes of -domestic economy. The tongue, for instance, whether fresh or salted, -is a great delicacy; the gills are carefully preserved, to be employed -as baits in fishing; the liver, which is large and good for eating, -also furnishes an enormous quantity of oil, which is an excellent -substitute for that of the whale, and applicable to all the same -purposes; the swimming-bladder furnishes an isinglass not inferior to -that yielded by the sturgeon; the head, in the places where the cod -is taken, supplies the fishermen and their families with food. The -Norwegians give it with marine plants to their cows, for the purpose -of producing a greater proportion of milk. The vertebræ, the ribs, and -the bones in general, are given to their cattle by the Icelanders, -and by the Kamtschatkadales to their dogs. These same parts, properly -dried, are also employed as fuel in the desolate steppes of the shores -of the Icy Sea. Even their intestines and their eggs contribute to the -luxury of the table.” I may just mention another most useful product -of the codfish. Cod-liver oil is now well known in _materia medica_ -under the name of _oleum jecoris aselli_. The best is made without -boiling, by applying to the livers a slight degree of heat, straining -through thin flannel or similar texture. When carefully prepared, it -is quite pure, nearly inodorous, and of a crystalline transparency. -The specific gravity at temperature 64° is about ·920°. It seems to -have been first used medicinally by Dr. Percival in 1782 for the cure -of chronic rheumatism; afterwards by Dr. Bardsly in 1807. It has now -become a popular remedy in all the slow-wasting diseases, particularly -in scrofulous affections of the joints and bones, and in consumption -of the lungs. The result of an extended trial of this medicine in the -hospital at London for the treatment of consumptive patients shows that -about 70 per cent gain strength and weight, and improve in health, -while taking the cod-liver oil; and this good effect with a great many -is permanent. Skate-liver oil is also coming into use for medicinal -purposes, and I have no doubt that the oil obtained from some of our -other fishes will also be found useful in a medicinal point of view. - -The codfish is best when eaten fresh, but vast quantities are sent to -market in a dried or cured state: the great seat of the cod-fishery for -curing purposes is at Newfoundland. But considerable numbers of cod and -ling are likewise cured on the coasts of Scotland. The mode of cure -is quite simple. The fish must be cured as soon as possible after it -has been caught. A few having been brought on shore, they are at once -split up from head to tail, and by copious washings thoroughly cleansed -from all particles of blood. A piece of the backbone being cut away, -they are then drained, and afterwards laid down in long vats, covered -with salt, heavy weights being placed upon them to keep them thoroughly -under the action of the pickle. By and by the fish are taken out of the -vat, and are once more drained, being at the same time carefully washed -and brushed to prevent the collection of any kind of impurity. Next -the fish are _pined_ by exposure to the sun and air; in other words, -they are bleached by being spread out individually on the sandy beach, -or upon such rocks or stones as may be convenient. After this process -has been gone through the fish are then collected into little heaps, -which are technically called _steeples_. When the _bloom_, or whitish -appearance which after a time they assume, comes out on the dried fish -the process is finished, and they are then quite ready for market. The -consumption of dried cod or ling is very large, and extends over the -whole globe; vast quantities are prepared for the religious communities -of Continental Europe, who make use of it on the fast-days instituted -by the Roman Catholic Church. - -Besides the common cod, there are the dorse (_M. callarias_), and the -poor or power cod (_M. minuta_), also the bib or pout (_M. lusca_). - -The whiting (_Merlangus vulgaris_) is another of our delicious -table-fishes, which is found in comparative plenty on the British -coasts. This fish is by some thought to be superior to all the other -Gadidæ. Very little is known of its natural history. It deposits its -spawn in March, and the eggs are not long in hatching—about forty days, -I think, varying, however, with the temperature of the season. Before -and after shedding its milt or roe the whiting is out of condition, -and should not be taken for a couple of months. The whiting prefers a -sandy bottom, and is usually found a few miles from the shore, its food -being much the same as that of other fishes of the family to which it -belongs. It is a smallish fish, usually about twelve inches long, and -on the average two pounds in weight. - -I need scarcely refer to the other members of the Gadidæ: they are -numerous and useful, but, generally speaking, their characteristics are -common and have been sufficiently detailed.[11] I will now, therefore, -say a few words about the Pleuronectidæ. There are upwards of a dozen -kinds of flat fish that are popular for table purposes. One of these is -a very large fish known as the holibut (_Hippoglopus vulgaris_), which -has been found in the northern seas to attain occasionally a weight -of from three to four hundred pounds. One of this species of fish of -extraordinary size was brought to the Edinburgh market in April 1828; -it was seven feet and a half long, and upwards of three feet broad, and -it weighed three hundred and twenty pounds! The flavour of the holibut -is not very delicate, although it has been frequently mistaken for -turbot by those not conversant with fish history. - -The true turbot (_Rhombus maximus_) is the especial delight of -aldermanic epicures, and fabulous sums are said to have been given -at different times by rich persons in order to secure a turbot for -their dinner-table. This fine fish is, or rather used to be, largely -taken on our own coasts; but now we have to rely upon more distant -fishing-grounds for a large portion of our supply. The old complaint -of our ignorance of fish habits must be again reiterated here, for it -is not long since it was supposed that the turbot was a migratory fish -that might be caught at one place to-day and at another to-morrow. -The late Mr. Wilson, who ought to have known better, said, in writing -about this fish:—“The English markets are largely supplied from the -various sandbanks which lie between our eastern coasts and Holland. The -Dutch turbot-fishery begins about the end of March, a few leagues to -the south of Scheveling. The fish _proceed_ northwards as the season -advances, and in April and May are found in great shoals upon the -banks called the Broad Forties. Early in June they surround the island -of Heligoland, where the fishery continues to the middle of August, -and then terminates for the year. At the beginning of the season the -trawl-net is chiefly used; but on the occurrence of warm weather the -fish retire to deeper water, and to banks of rougher ground, where the -long line is indispensable.” - -[Illustration: THE PLEURONECTIDÆ FAMILY. - 1. Flounder. 2. Turbot. 3. Plaice. 4. Sole. 5. Dab.] - -The turbot was well known in ancient gastronomy: the luxurious Italians -used it extensively, and christened it the sea-pheasant from its fine -flavour. In the gastronomic days of ancient Rome the wealthy patricians -were very extravagant in the use of all kinds of fish; so much so that -it was said by a satirist that - - “Great turbots and the soup-dish led - To shame at last and want of bread.” - -The turbot is very common on the English and Scottish coasts, and -is known also on the shores of Greece and Italy. This fish is taken -chiefly by means of the trawl-net, but in some places it is fished -for by well-baited lines. We derive large quantities of our turbot -from Holland, so much as £100,000 having been paid to the Dutch in -one year for the quantity of these fish which were brought to London, -and on which, at one time, a duty of £6 per boat was exigible. This -fish spawns during the autumn, and is in fine condition for table use -during the spring and early summer. Yarrell says the turbot spawns in -the spring; but, with due respect, I think he is wrong; I would not, -however, be positive about this, for there will no doubt be individuals -of the turbot kind, as there are of all other kinds, that will spawn -all the year round. The turbot is a great flat fish. In Scotland, from -its shape, it is called “the bannock-fluke.” It is about twenty inches -long, and broad in proportion; and a prime fish of this species will -weigh from four to eight pounds. - -The best-known fish of the Pleuronectidæ is the sole (_Solea -vulgaris_), which is largely distributed in all our seas, and used in -immense quantities in London and elsewhere. The sole is too well known -to require any description at my hands. It is caught by means of the -trawl-net, and is in good season for a great number of months. Soles -of a moderate weight are best for the table. I prefer such as weigh -from three to five pounds per pair. I have been told, by those who -ought to know best, that the deeper the water from which it is taken -the better the sole. It is quite a ground fish, and inhabits the sandy -places round the coast, feeding on the minor crustacea, and on the -spawn and young of various kinds of fish. Good supplies of this popular -fish are taken on the west coast of England, and they are said to be -very plentiful in the Irish seas; indeed all kinds of fish are said -to inhabit the waters that surround the Emerald Isle. There can be no -doubt of this, at any rate, that the fishing on the Irish coasts has -never been so vigorously prosecuted as on the coasts of Scotland and -England—so that there has been a greater chance for the best kinds of -white fish to thrive and multiply. Seaside visitors would do well to go -on board some of the trawlers and observe the mode of capture. There is -no more interesting way of passing a seaside holiday than to watch or -take a slight share in the industry of the neighbourhood where one may -be located. - -The smaller varieties of the flat fish—such as Muller’s top-knot, the -flounder, whiff, dab, plaice, etc.—I need not particularly notice, -except to say that immense quantities of them are annually consumed in -London and other cities. Mr. Mayhew, in some of his investigations, -found out that upwards of 33,000,000 of plaice were annually required -to aid the London commissariat! But that is nothing. Three times that -quantity of soles are needed—one would fancy this to be a statistic -of shoe-leather—the exact figure given by Mr. Mayhew is 97,520,000! -This is not in the least exaggerated. I discussed these figures with a -Billingsgate salesman a few months ago, and he thinks them quite within -the mark. - -I have already alluded to the natural history of the mackerel, and -shall now say a word or two about the fishery, which is keenly -prosecuted. The great point in mackerel-fishing is to get the fish -into the market in its freshest state; and to achieve this several -boats will join in the fishery, and one of their number will come into -harbour as speedily as possible with the united take. The mackerel -is caught in England chiefly by means of the seine-net, and much in -the same way as the pilchard. A great number of this fish are however -captured by means of well-baited lines, and in some places a drift-net -is used. Any kind of bait almost will do for the mackerel-hooks—a -bit of red cloth, a slice of one of its own kind, or any clear shiny -substance. Mackerel are not quite so plentiful as they used to be. - -As to when the Gadidæ and other white fish are in their proper season -it is difficult to say. Their times of sickness are not so marked as -to prevent many of the varieties from being used all the year round. -Different countries must have different seasons. We know, for instance, -that it is proper to have the close-time of one salmon river at a -different date from that of some other stream that may be farther south -or farther north; and I may state here, that during a visit which I -made to the Tay in December last, beautiful clean salmon were then -running. There are also exceptional spawning seasons in the case of -individual fish, so that we are quite safe in affirming that the sole -and turbot are in season all the year round. The following tabular view -of the dates when our principal fishes are in season does not refer to -any particular locality, but has been compiled to show that fish are to -be obtained nearly all the year round from some part of the coast:— - - FISH TABLE. - -S denotes that the fish is in season; F in finest season; and O out of -season. - - ┌─────────────┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐ - │ │Ja.│Fe.│Me.│Ap.│Ma.│Ju.│Ju.│Au.│Se.│Oc.│No.│De.│ - ├─────────────┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤ - │Brill │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Carp │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Cockles │ S │ S │ S │ S │ O │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Cod │ F │ S │ S │ O │ O │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ F │ F │ - │Crabs │ O │ O │ O │ S │ F │ F │ F │ F │ F │ S │ S │ S │ - │Dabs │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ O │ O │ O │ O │ - │Dace │ F │ F │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ S │ F │ F │ F │ S │ - │Eels │ S │ S │ S │ O │ O │ O │ O │ S │ F │ F │ F │ S │ - │Flounders │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Gurnets │ O │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ O │ O │ O │ - │Haddocks │ F │ S │ O │ O │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ F │ F │ F │ - │Holibut │ S │ F │ F │ S │ S │ F │ F │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Herrings │ S │ S │ O │ O │ S │ S │ F │ F │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Ling │ S │ S │ F │ S │ O │ O │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ S │ - │Lobsters │ O │ O │ O │ S │ F │ F │ F │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Mackerel │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ O │ O │ - │Mullet │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ S │ S │ O │ O │ O │ O │ O │ - │Mussels[12] │ S │ S │ S │ S │ O │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Oysters │ S │ S │ F │ F │ O │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Plaice │ S │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Prawns │ O │ O │ S │ F │ F │ F │ F │ S │ O │ O │ O │ O │ - │Salmon │ O │ S │ S │ F │ F │ F │ S │ S │ O │ O │ O │ O │ - │Shrimps │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Skate │ F │ F │ F │ F │ F │ F │ S │ S │ O │ O │ S │ S │ - │Smelts │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ O │ O │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ - │Soles │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Sprats │ S │ O │ O │ O │ O │ O │ O │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ - │Thornback │ O │ O │ O │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ O │ - │Trout │ O │ S │ F │ F │ F │ F │ S │ S │ O │ O │ O │ O │ - │Turbot │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ S │ - │Whitings │ F │ F │ O │ O │ O │ S │ S │ S │ S │ F │ F │ F │ - └─────────────┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘ -There is no organisation in Scotland for carrying on the white -fisheries, as there is in the case of the oyster or herring fisheries. -So far as our most plentiful table fish are concerned, the supply seems -utterly dependent on chance or the will of individuals. A man (or -company) owning a boat goes to sea just when he pleases. In Scotland, -where a great quantity of the best white fish are caught, this is -particularly the case, and the consequence is that at the season of -the year when the principal white and flat fish are in their primest -condition, they are not to be procured; the general answer to all -inquiries as to the scarcity being, “The men are away at the herring.” -This is true; the best boats and the strongest and most intelligent -fishermen have removed for a time to distant fishing-towns to engage in -the capture of the herring, which forms, during the summer months, a -noted industrial feature on the coasts of Scotland, and allures to the -scene all the best fishermen, in the hope that they may gain a prize in -the great herring-lottery, prizes in which are not uncommon, as some -boats will take fish to the extent of two hundred barrels in the course -of a week or two. Only a few decrepit old men are left to try their -luck with the cod and haddock lines; the result being, as I have stated -above, a scarcity of white and flat fish, which is beginning to be felt -in greatly enhanced prices. An intelligent Newhaven fishwife recently -informed me that the price of white fish in Edinburgh—a city close to -the sea—has been more than quadrupled within the last thirty years. She -remembers when the primest haddocks were sold at about one penny per -pound weight, and in her time herrings have been so plentiful that no -person would purchase them. We shall not soon look again on such times. - -The cod and haddock fishery is a laborious occupation. At Buckie, -a quaint fishing-town on the Moray Firth, which I will by and by -describe, it is one of the staple occupations of the people. At that, -little port there are generally about thirty or forty large boats -engaged in the fishery, as well as a number of smaller craft used to -fish inshore. These boats, which measure from thirty to forty feet, -are, with the necessary hooks and lines, of the value of about £100. -Each boat is generally the property of a joint-stock company, and has a -crew of eight or nine individuals, who all claim an equal share in the -fish captured. The Buckie men often go a long distance, forty or fifty -miles, to a populous fishing-place, and are absent from home for a -period of fifteen or twenty hours. At many of the fishing villages from -which herring or cod boats depart, there is no proper harbour, and at -such places the sight of the departing fleet is a most animated one, as -all hands, women included, have to lend their aid in order to expedite -the launching of the little fleet, as the men who are to fish must be -kept dry and comfortable. Even at places where there is a harbour, it -is often not used, many of the boats being drawn up for convenience on -what is called the boat-shore. At Cockenzie, near Edinburgh, several of -the boats are still drawn up in this rude way, and the women not only -assist in launching and drawing up the boats, but they sell the produce -taken by each crew by auction to the highest bidder—the purchasers -usually being buyers on speculation, who send off the fish by train to -Edinburgh, Manchester, or London. - -From the little ports of the Moray Firth, the men, as I have said, -have to go long distances to fish for cod and ling. As they have none -but open boats, it will easily be understood that they live hard -upon such occasions. They are sometimes absent from home for about -a week at a stretch, and as the weather is often very inclement the -men suffer severely. The fish are not so easily procured as in former -years, so that the remuneration for the labour undergone is totally -inadequate. A large traffic in living codfish used to be carried on -from Scotland; quick vessels furnished with wells took the cod alive -as far as Gravesend, whence they were sent on to London as required. -Although the railways have put an end to a good deal of this style of -transport, some cargoes of cod have been carried alive all the way -from the Rockall fishery to Gravesend. But the percentage of waste is -necessarily enormous: however, it _pays_ to do this, and one result of -the Rockall discovery has been the starting of a joint-stock company to -work one of the large North Sea fisheries. The cod-bank at the Faroe -Islands is now about exhausted; but the gigantic cod-fishery which has -been carried on for two centuries on the banks of Newfoundland still -continues to be prosecuted with great enterprise, although, according -to reliable information, not with the success which characterised the -fishery some years ago. In a few years more it will be quite possible -to make a decided impression even on the cod-banks of Newfoundland. The -Great Dogger Bank fishery has now become affected by overfishing, and -the Rockall Bank fails to yield anything like the large “takes” with -which it rewarded those who first despoiled it of its finny treasures. -A gentleman who dabbles a little in fishing speculations writes -me—“In 1862, I sent a fine smack to Rockall, and fish were in great -plenty—some very large; but the weather is usually so bad, and the bank -so exposed to the heavy seas of the North Atlantic, that the best and -largest vessels fail to fish with profit in consequence of the wear and -tear and delay. This will account in some degree for the cessation of -enterprise as regards the Rockall fishery.” A writer in the _Quarterly -Review_, a few years ago, said of the Dogger Bank:—“No better proof -that its stores are failing could be given than the fact that, although -the ground, counting the Long Bank and the north-west flat in its -vicinity, covers 11,800 square miles, and that in fine weather it -is fished by the London companies with from fifteen to twenty dozen -of long lines, extending ten or twelve miles, and containing from -9000 to 12,000 hooks, it is not yet at all common to take even as -many as fourscore of fish of a night—a poverty which can be better -appreciated when we learn that 600 fish for 800 hooks is the catch for -deep-sea fishing about Kinsale.” I cannot say much about the white-fish -fisheries of Ireland from personal knowledge, but I have been informed -on good authority that the coast fisheries of that country are not half -worked, and consequently are not in such an exhausted state as those -of Scotland and England. The west coast of Ireland, from Galway Bay to -Erris Head north, and north-west to Donegal Bay, is said to contain -all the best kinds of table fish in great quantities—mackerel being -plentiful in their season, as are cod, hake, ling, and others of the -Gadidæ. As for turbot, they can be had everywhere, and have been so -plentiful as to be used for bait on the long lines set for haddock, -etc. Lobsters and other shell-fish can likewise be procured in any -quantity. If the accounts given of the abundance of white fish on the -Irish coasts are to be relied upon, there must be a rare field there -for the opening up of new fishing enterprises. - -Prolific as our coast fisheries have been, and still are, comparatively -speaking, the North Sea is at present the grand reservoir from which we -obtain our white fish. Indeed, it has been the great fish-preserve of -the surrounding peoples since ever there was a demand for this kind of -food. All the best-known fishing banks are to be found in the German -Ocean—Faroe, Loffoden, Shetland, and others nearer home—and its waters, -filling up an area of 140,000 square miles, teem with the best kinds -of fish, and give employment to thousands of people, as well in their -capture and cure as in the building of the ships, and the development -of the commerce which is incidental to all large enterprises. - -It will doubtless be interesting to my readers to know something about -the general machinery of fish-capture, so far as regards the British -sea-fisheries. The modern cod-smack, clipper-built for speed, with -large wells for carrying her live fish, costs £1500. She usually -carries from nine to eleven men and boys, including the captain. Her -average expense per week is £20 during the long-line season in the -North Sea; but it exceeds this much if unfortunate in losing lines. -Fishing has of late been a most uncertain venture. The line is chiefly -used for the purpose of taking cod and haddock. The number of lines -taken to sea in an open boat depends upon the number of men belonging -to the particular vessel. Each man has a line of 50 fathoms (300 feet) -in length; and attached to each of these lines are 100 “snoods,” with -hooks already baited with mussels, pieces of herring or whiting. Each -line is laid “clear” in a shallow basket or “scull”—that is, it is so -arranged as to run freely as the boat shoots ahead. The 50-fathom line, -with 100 hooks, is in Scotland termed a “taes.” If there are eight men -in a boat the length of line will be 400 fathoms (2400 feet), with 800 -hooks (the lines being tied to each other before setting). On arriving -at the fishing-ground the fishermen heave overboard a cork buoy, with -a flagstaff fixed to it about six feet in height. The buoy is kept -stationary by a line, called the “pow-end,” reaching to the bottom of -the water, and having a stone or small anchor fastened to the lower -end. To the pow-end is also fastened the fishing-line, which is then -“paid” out as fast as the boat sails, which may be from four to five -knots an hour. Should the wind be unfavourable for the direction in -which the crew wish to set the line they use the oars. When the line or -taes is all out the end is dropped, and the boat returns to the buoy. -The pow-end is hauled up with the anchor and fishing-line attached to -it. The fishermen then haul in the line with whatever fish may be on -it. Eight hundred fish might be taken (and often have been) by eight -men in a few hours by this operation; but many fishermen now say that -they consider themselves very fortunate when they get a fish on every -five hooks on an eight-taes line. Many a time too the fish are all -eaten off the line by “dogs” and other enemies, so that only a few -fragments and a skeleton or two remain to show that fish have been -caught. The fishermen of deck-welled cod-bangers use both hand-lines -and long-lines such as have been described. The cod-bangers’ tackling -is of course stronger than that used in open boats. The long-lines -are called “grut-lines,” or great-lines. Every deck-welled cod-banger -carries a small boat on deck for working the great-lines in moderate -weather. This boat is also provided with a well, in which the fish are -kept alive till they arrive at the banger, when they are transferred -from the small boat’s well to that of the larger vessel. - -Hungry codfish will seize any kind of bait, and great-lines are usually -baited with bits of whiting, herring, haddock, or almost any kind of -fish. For hand-lines the fishermen prefer mussels or white whelks. -White whelks are caught by a line on which is fastened a number of -pieces of carrion or cod-heads. This line is laid along the bottom -where whelks are known to abound. The whelks attach themselves to -the cod-heads, and are pulled up, put into net bags, something like -onion-nets, and placed in the well of the vessel, where they are -kept alive till required for use. Another kind of bait used by the -boat fishermen for hand-lines is that of the lugworm. The “lug” is a -sand-worm, from four to five inches long, and about the thickness of -a man’s finger. The head part of the worm is of a dark brown fleshy -substance, and is the part used as bait, the rest of the worm being -nothing but sand. The “lug” is dug from the sand with a small spade or -three-pronged fork. - -The principal fishing-grounds in the North Sea where cod-bangers -are employed are the Dogger Bank, Well Bank, and Dutch Bank. The -fishing-ground of the open-boat fishermen is on the coasts of Fife, -Midlothian, and Berwickshire; for haddocks, cod, ling, etc., it is -around the island of May and the Bell Rock, Marrbank, Murray Bank, and -Montrose Pits, etc. - -The Scottish fishing-boats, with a few exceptions, are all open; but -whilst the open boats are a subject of dispute, they are an undoubted -convenience to the men. The boats, as a general rule, seldom go far -from home except to the seat of some particular fishery, and being low -in the build the nets are easily paid out and hauled in when they are -so fortunate as to obtain a good haul of fish. The Scottish fishery is -mostly what may be called a local or shore fishery, as the boats go out -and come home, with a few exceptions, once in the twenty-four hours. A -few boats with a half deck have been introduced of late years, and in -these the fishermen can make a much longer voyage; but, as a rule, the -Scottish fishermen have not, like their English brethren, a comfortable -decked lugger in which to prosecute their labours. In the event of a -storm the open Scottish boats are poorly off, as some of their harbours -are at such times totally inaccessible, and the boats being unable, -from their frail construction, to run out to sea, are frequently driven -upon the rocky coasts and wrecked, the men being drowned or killed -among the rocks. It is gratifying to think that a good number of -harbours of refuge have lately been constructed, and that in particular -an extensive one is being at present erected at Wick, the seat of -the great herring fishery. I have more than once, while conducting -inquiries into the fishing industries of the United Kingdom, seen the -storm break upon the herring-fleet while it was engaged in the fishery. -Such scenes are terribly sublime, as boat after boat is engulphed by -the ravening waters, or is dashed against the rocky pillars of the -shore, and the men sucked into the deep by the powerful waves. The sea -is free to all, without tax and without rent, but the price paid in -human life is a terrible equivalent:—“It is only they who go down to -the sea in ships who see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the -deep.” - -There has been a large amount of exaggeration as to the injury done to -the white-fish fishery by the trawls. Fishermen who have neither the -capital nor the enterprise to engage in trawling themselves are sure to -abuse those who do; but the trawl is so formidable as to have induced -various French writers to advocate its prohibition. They describe this -instrument of the fishery as terrible in its effects, leaving, when it -is used, deep furrows in the bottom of the sea, and crushing alike the -fry and the spawn; but there is a very evident exaggeration in this -charge, because as a general rule the beam-trawl cannot be worked with -safety except on a sandy or muddy bottom, and, so far as we know, fish -prefer to spawn on ground that is slightly rocky or weedy, so that the -spawn may have something to adhere to, which it evidently requires in -order to escape destruction; and when a quantity of spawn is discerned -on a bit of seaweed or rock, we always find that, from some viscid -property of which it is possessed, it adheres to its resting-place with -great tenacity. The trawl-net, however destructive its agency, cannot, -I fear, be dispensed with; and, used at proper seasons and at proper -places, is the best engine of capture we can have for the kinds of -fish which it is employed to secure. The trawl is very largely used by -English fishermen, but it is only of late years that the trawlers have -come so far north as Sunderland and Berwick, and it is the fishermen of -these places who have got up the cry about that net being so injurious -to the fisheries. In Scotland there are no resident trawlers, the -fisheries being chiefly of the nature of a coasting industry, where -the men, as a general rule, only go out to sea for a few hours and -then return with their capture. Having been frequently on board of the -trawling ships, I may perhaps be allowed to set down a few figures -indicative of the power of the great beam-net. - -A trawler, then, is a vessel of about 35 tons burden, and usually -carries 7 persons—viz. 5 men and 2 apprentices—as a crew to work -her.[13] The trawl-rope is 120 fathoms in length and 6 inches in -circumference, and to this rope are attached the different parts -of the trawling apparatus—viz. the beam, the trawl-heads, bag-net, -ground-rope, and span or bridle. - -The trawler is furnished with a capstan for hauling in this heavy -machine. The beam, a spar of heavy elm wood, is 38 feet in length, and -2 feet in circumference at the middle, and is made to taper to the -ends. Two trawl-heads (oval rings, 4 feet by 2½ feet) are fixed to -the beam, one at each end. The upper part of the bag-net, which is -about 100 feet long, is fastened to the beam, while the lower part is -attached to the ground-rope. The ends of the ground-rope are fastened -to the trawl-beds, and being quite slack, the mouth of the bag-net -forms a semicircle when dragged over the ground. The whole apparatus -is fastened to the trawl-rope by means of the span or bridle, which -is a rope double the length of the beam, and of a thickness equal to -the trawl-rope. Each end of the span is fastened to the beam, and -to the loop thus formed the trawl-rope is attached. The ground-rope -is usually an old rope, much weaker than the trawl-rope, so that, -in the event of the net coming in contact with any obstruction in -the water, the ground-rope may break and allow the rest of the gear -to be saved. Were the warp to break instead of the ground-rope, the -whole apparatus, which is of considerable value, would be left at -the bottom. The trawler, as I noted while the net was in the water, -usually sails at the rate of 2 or 2½ knots an hour. The best depth -of water for trawling is from 20 to 30 fathoms, with a bottom of mud -or sand. At times, however, the nets are sunk much deeper than this, -but that is about the depth of water over the great Silver Pits, 90 -miles off the Humber, where a large number of the Hull trawlers go to -fish. When they are caught, the fish (chiefly soles and other flat -fish) are then packed in baskets called pads, and are preserved in -ice until brought to market. To take twelve or fourteen pads a day -is considered excellent fishing. Besides these ground-fish the trawl -often encloses haddocks, cod, and other round fish, when such happen -to be feeding on the bottom. It sometimes happens that the beam falls -to the ground, and, the ground-rope lying on the top of the bag-net, -no fish can get in. This accident, which, however, seldom occurs, is -called a back fall. Mr. Vivian of Hull, in a letter to the editor of -a Manchester newspaper, gave two years ago a very graphic account of -the trawl-fishing, and stated that 99 out of every 100 turbot and -brills, nine-tenths of all the haddocks, and a large proportion of all -the skate, which are daily sold in the wholesale fishmarkets of this -country are caught by the system of trawling. Trawling is without -doubt the most efficient mode of getting the white fish at the bottom -of the ocean; and were it made penal, London and the large towns would -at times be entirely without fish. As a matter of course, trawling must -exhaust the shoals at particular places. A fleet of upwards of 100 -smacks, each with a beam nearly 40 feet long, trawling night and day, -disturbs, frightens, or captures whatever fish are to be found in that -locality, entrapping, besides, shell-fish, anchors, stores that have -been sunken with ships ages ago; even a wedge of gold has been brought -up by this insatiable instrument. The only remedy is to widen the field -of action. - -It is best, however, in a case of dispute, as in this trawl question, -to allow those interested to speak for themselves. I have gone over an -immense mass of the evidence taken by a recent commission appointed by -Parliament to make inquiry on the subject, and will set some parts of -it before my readers, so that, if a little trouble be taken in weighing -the pros and cons of the matter, they may be able to form their own -judgment on this vexed question. A Cullercoats fisherman is very strong -against the beam-trawl. He is certain that thirty years ago we could -get double the quantity of fish, during the fishing season, that we -obtain now, and that the supply has fallen away little by little; and -he says that even ten years ago it was almost as good as it was thirty -years ago. Some years hence England will cry out for want of fish if -trawling be allowed to go on. The price of fish has doubled, he says, -of late years. “When I was a young man, there were nine in family of -us, and my wife could purchase haddock for twopence which would serve -for our dinners. Now she could not obtain the same quantity for less -than ninepence or tenpence. Of recent years the number of fishermen -and fishing-boats has greatly increased. I do not think the fishermen -of the present day are better off than those when I was a young -man.” The fishermen at Cullercoats, when they trawl, use the small -trawl, and fish in shallow water. Under these circumstances they do no -injury. The trawlers, with the large trawl, says a Mr. Nicholson who -was examined, not only sweep away the lines of the fishermen, but also -destroy the fish. At Cullercoats a man engaged in the line-fishing gets -all the fish on his own lines, and his wife goes to town and disposes -of them. The beam-trawling commenced about six years ago. The number -of boats and the fishing population still go on steadily increasing. -Beam-trawling does two kinds of harm: in the first place, it sweeps -away the fishermen’s lines; and next, it destroys the spawn. “There -may be a remedy for a fisherman losing his lines, but I never heard of -it. I am aware that they could recover damages, but the difficulty is -to get hold of the offending parties. The only remedy I can suggest -is to do away with the trawl-fishing altogether.” This witness stated -that ten years ago he used to take sixty or seventy codfish per day, -and that now he cannot get one. The trawlers, being able to fish in all -weathers, beat the local fishermen out of the field. - -Templeman, a South Shields fisherman, says that when engaged in -trawling he has drawn up three and a half tons of fish-spawn! He also -says in his evidence that in trawling one-half of the fish are dead -and so hashed as to be unfit for market. Has seen a ton and a half of -herring-spawn offered for sale as manure. The take of fish upon the -Dogger Bank has decreased very much. The fishermen cannot catch one -quarter part there now that they used to do. The number of trawl-boats -on the Dogger Bank has increased about 10 per cent within the last -year, and yet they are getting about a quarter less fish. Some of them -can scarcely make a living now at all. They have impoverished all -other places, and now they have come here, and in a short time there -will not be a fish left. It is the same with the other fish-banks, and -that accounts for the trawlers now coming to this neighbourhood. They -have destroyed the Hartlepool and Sunderland ground, and now they have -come to a small patch off here, and they will sweep it clean too. A -trawl-boat will sometimes catch five tons a day; but on the average a -ton and a half; but as a great deal of that has to be thrown overboard, -they only bring about ten cwt. to market. The boats belonging to -Cullercoats, carrying the same number of hands as the trawlers, only -catch upon the average about five stones. The fish caught in the trawl -are not fit for the market, as the insides are broke and the galls -burst and running through them. “If I had my way, I would pass an Act -of Parliament to do away with trawling, and oblige every man to fish -with hooks and lines. I think that would increase the quantity of fish -for the country, because the young fish would not take the hooks. I am -not aware that if the small boats get five stones a day it would at -all diminish the supply of fish for the market; but if the trawling is -allowed to continue that very soon will.” - -Thomas Bolam, on being examined, said: “I have followed the -herring-fishing for twenty-one years, and the white-fishing six years. -In the course of those six years I have found that the supply of white -fish has gradually diminished both in the number and size of the fish. -In twenty years’ experience in the herring-fishing I find a fearful -diminution in the total quantity caught. The shoals of herring are now -only about one-third the size they were when I first commenced the -fishing. At that time we used to get 14,000 or 15,000; now the length -of 4000 or 5000 is thought a good take. I attribute the falling-off to -the existence of the trawling system.” - -Many other fishermen gave similar evidence. A fisherman named Bulmer, -residing at Hartlepool, said that the white fish were not only scarcer, -but that they were deteriorating in size as well. The falling off -in quantity has decidedly been accompanied by a smaller size, more -particularly in haddocks. Haddocks, twenty years ago, were caught from -five pounds to six pounds in weight; now they hardly average three -pounds. There is scarcely a single cod to be caught now, and formerly -our boats got them scores together, and had to trail them out in rows, -and could only sell them for about 10s. a score; now they realise at -Christmas 5s. and 6s. each. “Of turbot-fishing I am sorry to speak. It -pains me to think of the injuries we have sustained in this particular -fishing by trawlers. At present we dare not cast our nets, as they are -sure to be lost. I lost two ‘fleets’ of turbot-nets worth £25. About -twenty-six years ago I have caught two hundred turbot in one day: now -there are none to be got.” Another resident gave similar evidence, and -thought that if trawling was persisted in their noble bay would soon -be fallow ground. John Purvis of Whitburn also says that haddocks have -decreased in size as well as in quantity—thinks they are at least a -third smaller now as compared with former years. Considers that the -trawling system has caused the diminution of fish which has taken place -during the last four years. David Archibald of Croster had bought -trawled fish not for food, as they were only fit to be used as bait. - -Having given a fair sample of the evidence against the trawling system, -it will be but just that we now hear the other side of the case. It is -unfortunate, of course, that we cannot obtain really impartial evidence -on this vexed question, as the party complaining is the party said to -have had their fishery prospects ruined by the use of the beam-trawl, -whilst the trawlers, of course, won’t hear a bad word said of the -engine by which they gain their living. A Torbay fisherman, accustomed -to trawling for the last twenty-six years, flatly contradicts much that -has been said against the trawl-net. He asserts that he never took or -saw any spawn taken, and that only about half a hundredweight in each -two tons of the fish taken is unfit for the market. He does not think -the fish are decreasing either in quantity or size. - -John Clements, a trawl-net fisherman from Hull, was one of the men -examined at Sunderland; his evidence was as follows:—“I have followed -trawling for twenty-six years. I have fished down here for ten years. -There was no diminution of fish at Hull; but we land it easier here, -and in a better condition for the market. I never noticed any spawn in -the nets, but I have got a basket or two of small fish, which, when -not fit for food, we throw away. In the ten years which I have come -down here I have found an increase in the quantity and take. I think -trawling increases the fish, as the trawl-net turns up the food of -the fish, worms and slugs, and the fish follow the net like a swarm -of crows after a harrow. I do not think that we disturb the spawn in -that way. This morning there were two or three haddocks broken out of -sixteen or seventeen baskets, each basket containing seven or eight -stones. The trawl-net fish do not fetch such a good price as the line -fish, but it is from the quantity and not the quality. We have added to -the enjoyment of the people of this town by the good supply of fish we -have given them. Twenty years ago a month’s catch was about £50, and -now it is from £80 to £120; and this is not from the better price, but -the greater quantity which we are enabled to get by going farther out -to sea with the larger boats. In the winter time I fish on Dogger Bank, -and in summer inshore. I never came across any of the long-line nets. -I have found herring-spawn in haddocks; but I have never found any in -the net. We catch a good deal of sand here. It comes in as soon as we -stop; but it falls through before we get the net to the surface of the -water. The farther off we go the more haddocks we get; and the nearer -we come to the shore the more soles we get. I have caught a good deal -of cod. In one instance I caught one hundred and eight cods in a haul. -That was forty miles off Flambro’ Head. My nets have been examined -officially only once in twelve years. The shorter the haul the better -the fish; but I have had the fish in splendid condition with a large -haul. I have never had any fish damaged by having the gall-bladder -burst. A gall-bladder may be burst, but we would not see it unless we -opened the fish.” - -A Hull trawler spoke to the following effect:—“I never saw any spawn in -the net. It is impossible for spawn to be caught in the net. There is -often unmarketable fish, but it is only when there is a strong breeze -and a difficulty in getting the gear on board. We generally get seven -or eight hampers in a haul, and one basket would perhaps be unfit for -the market. The hooked fish is a more saleable fish, as it has got -the scales and slime on it, and the trawl fish has not got the slime -on it, and the scales are sometimes rubbed off.” Some haddocks were -here produced which the witness said were a fair specimen. The scales -were on them, and on one being opened the inside was found to be in a -unbroken state. - -The following is a summary of the evidence given by William Dawson, a -very intelligent fisherman of Newbiggin, who spoke from fifty years’ -experience:—“He had fished cod, ling, turbot, and several kinds of -shell-fish, but not oysters. He was still engaged as a fisherman. He -fished with a line for soles. The number of fishermen and boats had -increased. In 1808 there were eight boats, and there are now about -thirty boats. Fifty years ago the boats were about one-third the size. -The boats carried just about the same lines as now. The boats now carry -about three times as much net as they did. The number of white fish -is falling off a great deal. In 1812 every boat brought in more white -fish than they could carry. We do not go much more frequently to sea -now. In the size of the fish now there is not much difference—a little -smaller. The haddock and herring fisheries had decreased. He had not -noticed much difference in the size, only in the quantity. There was a -greater number of boats engaged now in the herring-fishing—the number -of herring having decreased within the last ten or twelve years. -Little mackerel was caught there. Large quantities of mackerel were -off this coast at times, but they had no nets to take them. Although a -good many sprats were seen, they did not try to catch them. The cause -of the falling off in the quantity of fish he considered was their -being destroyed farther south. No trawling vessels came here till last -summer. They went about twelve miles from land, and trawled in the -fishing-ground. The lines of the fishing-boats were parallel, and about -a quarter of a mile apart. When there was a south-east storm they got -plenty of fish, but it was not so now. With a north-east storm they -had plenty of fish. In his recollection, fifty years back, there was -plenty of fish with a south-east storm. There had been no interference -with their nets, and no one had regulated the times of fishing. There -might be some advantage if the government made a law to prevent either -the English or French fishing from Saturday morning to Monday night. -That would give time for the fish to draw together. That alluded to -herring. They should not allow the trawl-boats to fish on the coasts. -The French boats often came within three miles of the land. Herring are -caught within three miles of the shore. The French boats shifted with -the herring along the coast, and have caught a great quantity. There -should be a rule that herring-nets should not be shot before sunset. -When the Queen’s cutters came the French boats made off to more than -three miles from the land. Lobsters had diminished, but not the crabs. -He believed they had caught too many lobsters. The boat’s crew is not -so well off now as thirty years ago. Lodgings were better. They do -not earn so much money now. In the course of a year (about 1825) he -made £126, and a few years back he made only £78. The average for the -last five years at the white fishing was about £50. Other £50 might be -made at the herring-fishing. The buoys of the lines were large enough -for the trawlers to see them, and they could see where the nets were. -They destroyed both the fish and the lines. A line boat with fittings -costs about £40, and a herring-boat with nets not less than £100. The -men bought the boats with money saved. Little fish was destroyed on -their lines, except what was eaten by the dogfish. There were herring -there in January and February, but were not caught. Their boats fished -between Tynemouth and Dunstanborough castles. He could remember when -there were no French boats on the coast; they first came about 1824. -The French boats fish on the Sundays. Their boats did not. A young man -ought to earn £100 a year. It would cost a full third to keep his boat -and tackling up. The boats lasted about fourteen years.” - -I need not go on repeating similar evidence, but the witnesses were -nearly all agreed that the beam-trawl did not do the injury to the -fisheries that was charged against it, especially as regards injury -to spawn. I may perhaps, by way of conclusion to this contradictory -evidence, be allowed to quote from the _Times_ a portion of a letter -on trawling, written by a “Billingsgate Salesman:”—“Seven years’ -experience in Billingsgate, and my lifetime previous spent among the -fishermen in a seaport-town, may enable me to offer a few remarks, -which through your able abilities may be sifted, and perhaps leave a -portion of matter which you may consider of some value and turn to -some account. My personal interest is not only in trawl-fishing, but -hook and line, seined-net, drift-net, and other kinds; for, being -a commission agent, it is all fish that comes to my net. I cannot -speak of the qualities of trawl-net fishing, either for or against, -not having been connected with that branch of the trade, but after a -remark or two on the information received by Mr. Fenwick, and which is -conveyed in your columns from certain gentlemen professing to have a -knowledge of the trade, I will give you my information as briefly as -possible. The fact is this—it never will be possible to catch what we -consider trawl-fish in sufficient quantities to meet the demand but by -the trawl, the principal kinds being turbot, brill, soles, and plaice. -A small quantity may be taken by other means, but more by accident -than otherwise. As for trawl-fish being mutilated and putrid before -landing, how does it happen that so many spotless and pure fish, out of -the above kinds, are not only sold in London but all over the country, -and exhibited on the tables both of rich and poor? Yourself and every -nobleman can speak on this point; and when informed that they are all -caught by the trawl (a fact undeniable), you will consider it wrong -on the part of any one to mislead the public on a matter of so much -importance. Advise him to fathom the secrets of the ocean, and discover -a better mode to obtain them.” - -A great deal of obloquy has been thrown on the trawl, because it -_hashes_ the fish; but the destruction of young fish—that is, fish -unfit for human food because of their being young—is not peculiar to -the trawl. When the lines are thrown out for cod the fishermen cannot -command that only full-grown fish are to seize upon the bait: the -tender codling, the unfledged haddock, the greedy mackerel _will_ -bite—the consequence being that thousands of sea-fish are annually -killed that are unfit for food, and that have never had an opportunity -of adding to their kind. But this mischance is incidental to all our -fisheries, no matter what the engine of capture may be, whether net -or line. Look how we slaughter our grilses, without giving them the -opportunity of breeding! The herring-fishing is a notable example of -this mode of doing business: the very time that these animals come -together to perpetuate their species is the time chosen by man to kill -them. Of course if they are to be used as food, they must be killed -at some time, and the proper time to capture them forms one of those -fishing mysteries which we have not as yet been able to solve. We -protect the salmon with many laws at the most interesting time of its -life, and why we should not be able to devise a close-time for the cod, -turbot, haddock, and sole of particular coasts—for each portion of the -coast has its particular season—is what I cannot understand, and can -only account for the anomaly on the ground of salmon being private -property. - -The labour of the Scottish fishermen is greatly augmented by the want -of good harbours for their boats. Time and opportunity serving, the men -of the fisher class are really industrious, and this want of proper -harbourage is a hardship to them. It is curious to notice the little -quarry-holes that on some parts of the Moray Firth serve as a refuge -for the boats. There is the harbour of Whitehills, for instance: it -could not be of any possible use in the event of a stiff gale arising, -for in my opinion the boats would never get into it, but would be -dashed to pieces on the neighbouring rocks. I have witnessed one or -two storms on the north-east coast of Scotland, and shall never forget -the scenes of misery these tumults of the great deep occasioned. Even -lately (October 1864) there was a storm raging along these coasts that -left most impressive death-marks at nearly all the fishing places on -the Moray Firth. I was not an eye-witness of this last gale, but I have -gathered from various sources, oral and written, one or two passages -descriptive of its violence and the loss of life it occasioned. - -At Portessie, one of the Moray Firth villages, a boat called the -Shamrock, containing a crew of nine men, was numbered among the -lost. It had sailed on a Wednesday morning in October 1864, for the -fishing-ground known as “the Bank,” about twenty miles off. John -Smith, the principal owner of the boat, an old man, was not at the -time able to go to sea; but he had seven sons, and five of these, with -four near relatives, sailed in the ill-fated Shamrock from Portessie -harbour on that fatal morning. The Shamrock was accompanied by some -other boats belonging to the same place, and the little fleet left as -early as three A.M., keeping together more or less until they reached -the fishing-ground. On arriving at the Bank the Shamrock, it appears, -had separated from the others, the crew preferring to go some distance -in order to cast their lines; and she had not been seen by the other -boats after parting from them. About seven o’clock on the following -morning, some of the people of Whitehills, on going round to the spot -known as Craigenroan, a quarter of a mile to the westward, were alarmed -at seeing a boat lying high and dry among the rocks, as if it had been -tossed up at high tide and left perched there on the receding of the -waters. The mast, some oars, and other articles, were seen lying here -and there beside her, strewn among the rocks, and there were holes seen -in her sides—evidence only too conclusive that the boat was a wreck. -A closer inspection discovered her mark and number—“B.F., 743,” and -then was also seen the name and unmistakable designation, “Shamrock, -Pt. Essie—J, Smith.” On examination it was conjectured, from the way -in which the mast had been wrenched off, that the boat had foundered, -either some distance at sea, or among inshore breakers, righting again -as she was beaten up on the rocks, where, as we have said, she was -found sitting high and dry on her keel. It was at once felt that all -the crew had perished, and the bodies of the men were eagerly sought -for by their friends and relatives. On Friday, the lifeless body of -John Smith, “Bodie,” was found washed up on the beach. On the same day -the corpse of his son, a young man who was to have been married in a -week—and whose house, like that of a friend and namesake, was being -furnished at home—was cast ashore at Whitehills, and one of the first -to recognise the body was the father of the betrothed. Another body was -got at the mouth of the little burn at the further end of the Boyndie -Links. This also was on Friday: it was found to be the remains of -one of the five brothers—namely John, aged twenty-five, the namesake -alluded to, who was to have been married on the morrow. The body of -another of the five brothers—namely William—was found floating in the -bay, off Banff Harbour, lashed to a buoy, to which the poor fellow had -attached himself, probably in the boat, for safety. At one time the -body was seen in this position at Whitehills, suspended from the buoy, -and so close to the shore that had a grappling-iron been at hand it -might have been secured. It would have been of no avail, however, as -the vital spark had long since fled; but the passage of the body, drawn -back with the tide and carried round to Banff, served to reconcile -certain apparently conflicting evidences as to the history of the -wreck, or rather as to the spot where it occurred. - -On the occasion of this storm there was deep wailing at Buckie, for -in that town there was more than one woman who was widowed by the -tempest. Of necessity a fisherman’s wife is extremely masculine in -character. Her occupation makes her so, because she requires a strength -of body which no other female attains, and of which the majority of -men cannot boast. The long distances she has frequently to travel in -all weathers with her burden, weighing many stones, make it essential -for her to possess a sturdy frame, and be capable of great physical -endurance. Accordingly, most of the fishwives who carry on the sale -of their husbands’ fish possess a strength with which no prudent man -would venture to come into conflict. Then the nature of their calling -makes them bold in manners, and in speech rough and ready. Having to -encounter daily all sorts of people, and drive hard bargains, their -wits, though not refined, are sharpened to a keen edge, and they are -more than a match for any “chaff” directed towards them either by -purchaser or passer-by. So long, however, as they are civilly and -properly treated, they are civil and fair-spoken in return, and can, -when occasion serves, both flatter and please in a manner by no means -offensive. Altogether, the Scottish fishwife is an honest, out-spoken, -good-hearted creature, rough as the occupation she follows, but -generally good-natured and what the Scotch call “canty.” She does not -even want feeling, though, it may be, her avocation gives her little -opportunity to show it. But who is so often called upon to endure the -strongest emotions of fear, suspense, and sorrow, as the fisherman’s -wife? Every time the wind blows, and the sea rises, when the boats of -her husband or kinsfolk are “out,” she knows no peace till they are in -safety; and not seldom has she been doomed to stand on the shore and -look at the white foaming sea in which the little boat, containing all -she held dear, was battling with the billows, with the problem of its -destruction or salvation all unsolved. - -To return to the history of the storm. No less than twenty-seven boats -belonging to Buckie had left for the fishing, some of them as early as -two o’clock in the morning. Some hours previous to the boats leaving, -there were indications of the coming storm. A heavy surf was rolling on -the coast, but almost unaccompanied by wind, only slight airs now and -again coming from the north, but the barometer had fallen considerably -during the night. With these indications of bad weather, the men on -duty at the Coast Guard station hailed the Portessie men when on their -way to join their boats at Buckie harbour, and warned them of the -likelihood of a storm overtaking them. Little heed, however, appears to -have been given to this warning, and the boats left the harbour with -more than usual difficulty, the sea at the entrance being so rough. The -boats pursued a north-east course, but from the absence of a breeze the -oars had to be resorted to, and nearly twelve hours elapsed before they -got to the fishing rendezvous. In ordinary circumstances, with a good -wind, the boats would have reached the fishing-ground in about three -hours, and would have returned by the next tide—about mid-day. About -six P.M. the storm broke upon the fishermen with great violence. The -majority of the boats kept close together, and as the first of the gale -was succeeded by comparative calm, the crews, imagining that they had -seen the worst of the storm, began to finish their fishing. This would -have occupied about an hour, but, before it was half accomplished, -the wind, veering rather more to the north, blew a perfect hurricane, -and the sea became so disturbed that it was hardly possible to manage -the boats. The sails, which had been hoisted when the wind first -sprang up, were reduced, some of them by as many as six reefs, but the -experience and energy of the hardy fishermen seemed scarce sufficient -to battle successfully for existence among the warring elements. Some -of the crews in this strait made for the Banff coast; others made up -their minds to endeavour to ride out the storm, and a good number ran -for Cromarty, or the ports on the opposite side of the Firth. The -attainment of either of these three alternatives was a work of peril, -for there is no harbour of refuge on either side of the Firth to which -boats may with safety run from a storm; and the broken water is about -as plentiful and dangerous in the centre of the Firth as it is along -the shore. While the brave fishermen were encountering the severest -perils attending their calling, the anxiety and suspense of their -relations were heartrending. The storm in its intensity, though its -coming had been foreshadowed, was not felt on shore till about nine -P.M. on Wednesday evening. From that hour, however, the wind, now from -the east, and again from the north, came in terrific gusts, and the -whole bay at Buckie boiled and moaned as it had been seldom known to do -before. - -Long before the storm was at its height, the wives and sweethearts -of those at sea had become alarmed for their safety; they could well -remember the desolation that a similar tempest, which occurred on the -16th August 1848, caused in their households. They left their homes to -wander along the sea-beach, and peer through the storm for any sign -of the approach of the boats containing their relatives. A huge fire -was kindled on the top of the braes in the hope that its glare might -attract those at sea, and beacon them to a safe shore. During the -early part of the night the suspense and fear of the whole inhabitants -of Buckie were extreme, and while this anxiety was being endured the -boats that had first left the fishing-ground were nearing the land. -Some of the boats for a considerable time were allowed to run before -the wind, the crews not knowing whither they went, as they were not -within sight of lights. When at length they got within sight of the -lights very great caution had to be exercised, and a little confusion -was occasioned by the unusual number of fires exhibited. Shortly after -eleven o’clock a boat was seen approaching Buckie harbour, and getting -a favourable opportunity of crossing the bar, it entered the harbour in -safety. Two other boats followed, but these had much greater difficulty -in gaining the port. The tide was at its height about two o’clock -A.M., when a fourth boat approached. At the entrance to the harbour -she shipped a sea, and it was thought by all on the shore that she had -been upset. The same wave, however, carried the boat a considerable -distance into the harbour, and as she continued in an upright position -she was soon pulled to the beach, and her crew landed in safety. When -the tide was fully in, it stood about twenty feet above its ordinary -point, the waves breaking almost on the foundations of the Coast Guard -watch-house. On the pier the water fell so heavily that it was often -some feet deep, and the spray from the waves mounted to a height of -about forty feet above the lighthouse. The people kept watching on the -shore till daybreak, but no sign of any of the other boats was visible, -and as no known casualty had occurred to the boats that made for Buckie -and Portgordon, keen hopes were entertained that the remainder of the -boats had found shelter on the opposite side of the Firth, or would -be able to ride out the storm. The anxiety in Buckie continued during -Thursday, and was rather intensified towards the afternoon when the -wind, veering round to W.N.W., again heightened almost to the pitch -it had reached during the previous night. Several people from the -villages on both sides of Buckie came into that town in the afternoon -to ascertain whether the post should bring tidings from their missing -friends. With great consideration the captain of one of the boats that -got into Cromarty wrote by first post to say that no casualty had -occurred within his knowledge, and that a number of boats (some eight -or nine) had entered Cromarty in safety, and others were approaching -the harbour. - -I was a witness to some of the effects of the previous great storms -that had raged in the Moray Firth about the close of the year 1857. -A number of fishing-boats and their crews were lost at that time, -Buckie again coming in for a large share of the desolation. I have -preserved a few scraps descriptive of the storm, cut, I think, from -the _Banffshire Journal_; and these, supplemented by what I gathered -personally from the descriptions of those engaged in the contest, will -give my readers a good idea of the scene at Buckie. Premising that -before the storm attained its culminating point one or two of the boats -had got safely into the harbour, I may state that as the sea increased -in anger and the waves lashed the shore in ever-augmenting fury, the -excitement of those on land became terrible. People seemed disposed -to run everywhere, and no one knew where to run. It was nearly an -hour—sixty minutes of terrible suspense—after the two first boats came -into the harbour ere any others came in sight. By and by, however, -they began to appear, most of them evidently making for the sands -opposite and east of the new town of Buckie, some for Craigenroan, a -place of shelter east of Portessie. The attention of the Buckie people -was chiefly centred in the arrivals at their own shore, as other boats -were scarcely seen; and while their own boats were every now and then, -from two to three o’clock, dropping in at home, there was the chance -that those running for Craigenroan belonged to other towns. At two -o’clock the storm had about culminated, and as the boats came each in -sight (they were only seen a short way off land) there was a shriek -from those assembled on the shore, while the utmost anxiety prevailed -till they were each ashore and the men landed, every one providing -themselves with ropes and whatever could be supposed likely to be -useful in putting forth efforts to save life. The crowd ran from one -point to another along the coast to whatever place it was likely the -boats would strike, and most enthusiastic were the exertions made by -one and all to get the imperilled men out of jeopardy, so soon as ever -they came within reach. The boats, as they arrived, were secured with -mooring-ropes, and a hand or two left to take care of each, while the -spare men spread themselves along the beach to assist in saving the -lives and property of their fellows in distress. Four boats got safely -in. Alas for the fifth! About half-past two o’clock this fifth boat, -like the others, without a stitch of canvas, came in sight pretty far -west, and was expected to land in “The Neuk,” opposite New Buckie. -Tossed mountain high at one moment, and the next down between the -gigantic waves, she came along in much the same circumstances as -the others. Hundreds soon gathered at the point she was expected to -reach. The boats had come so near the shore that the men on board were -perfectly well recognised by their friends, among whom there were wives -in the greatest anxiety to rescue their husbands from the angry deep, -fathers to rescue their sons, brother to welcome brother, etc. But how -sad was the scene beggars all description, for within a hundred yards -of the shore a tremendous sea struck the boat on her broadside, and -turned her right over, as quick as a man would turn his hand, the crew -of course being all cast into the water. The crowd on shore held up -their hands appalled, and cried and shrieked, many of them in perfect -distraction. The scene was heartrending in the extreme; but the first -manifestations of grief and alarm by and by toned down to mournful -wailings, although, as was to be expected, the excitement and confusion -were very great. Three of the men were never seen, having at once sunk -to rise no more. Two seemed to get on the bottom of the boat, but one -of them very shortly disappeared. The other one, however, stood up on -his feet, and put his hands to his waistcoat near the buttons, from -which act it was supposed he was preparing to strip and be in readiness -to swim. The situation was heightened by the interest of those on shore -in seeing him in this perilous position, and the grief of his friends -was intensely unspeakable when they saw the first heavy sea wash him -away from the footing he had gained, and, in its rolling fury, hide him -perhaps for ever from human eyes. The remaining three of the eight who -were on board (the crew numbered eleven, but three had not gone to sea -that day) also disappeared for a little, but in a short time they were -seen floating about on spars and pieces of the masts; and hope still -existed that rescue might be extended to them. They were driven from -one point to another with fearful velocity, and indeed were only now -and again visible. Anxiety was felt in every breast still more acutely -than ever, as these three were wafted nearer and nearer the shore; and -so sorely did they struggle, that, even against every probability, hope -whispered that their safety was possible. For full twenty minutes they -floated about in this situation, latterly coming within about twenty -yards of where the people were standing—so near that, had the sea been -ordinarily calm, hundreds were there who would have considered it no -difficult task to rush into the water and give them their hand. One man -cried to his brother to put his hair away from his eyes, when, by the -motion the latter made, it was evident he heard quite distinctly. Two -or three different times he obeyed, putting up his hand, and rubbing -his hair over his forehead. An anxious wife actually rushed into the -tide nearly to the neck, in an endeavour to rescue her husband, but her -heroic effort was completely unavailing. The tide was ebbing at the -time, but the waves, in terrible force, rushed far up on the beach, -and swept back again with fearful power. No one could keep his footing -in the water. Attempts were made to join hands and thus extend help to -the unfortunate men, but, besides the weight of the water itself, the -backwash of the waves hurled the gravel beach from below their feet, so -that to stand on it was impossible; and even while these vain efforts -were being made at rescue, the men, worn out in the raging surf, sank, -one after another, amid the cries and shrieks of their despairing -relatives. - -The number of men drowned on the north-east coast—_i.e._ at Wick, -Helmsdale, and Peterhead—during the great storm of 1848, was one -hundred, and the value of the boats and the nets that were lost upon -that remarkable occasion was at least £7000. The gale broke upon the -coast on the 19th of August, just as the fishing was being busily -prosecuted. Most of the boats ran for shelter to the nearest haven, -and it is melancholy to know that many of them foundered at the very -entrance to their harbour. The whole of the mischief was done in the -brief period of three hours. In that period many a poor woman was made -miserable, and many a hearth rendered cheerless. It is gratifying to -think that since the date of the great storm considerable improvement -has been made in the Scottish fishery harbours, and that at Wick a -great harbour of refuge is now in progress. The weather prophecies -now published by the Board of Trade, and telegraphed to all important -seaports, are also of great use to the fisher-folk, as are the large -barometers which have been erected in nearly every fishing village. -These are the elements of science which will ultimately chase away -superstition from our sea-coast villages, if indeed we can honestly -call the poetic fancies of these fisher-folks superstitions. We cannot -wonder that, as the dark remembrance of some great bereavement escapes -from the chambers of their memory, they see forms in the flying clouds, -or hear voices in the air, that cannot be seen or heard by landsmen -unaccustomed to the treacherous waters of the great deep. - -Large quantities of fish offal are used by the farmers as manure. The -intestines of the herring are regularly sold for the purpose of being -thrown upon the land, and I have heard of as many as three hundred -barrels of haddock offal being sold from one curing-yard. It is thought -by some economists that the commoner kinds of fish might be largely -captured and converted into fish guano. I have not studied that part -of the fishing question very deeply, but I am disposed to doubt the -propriety of employing fishing vessels to capture coarse fish for -manure, as I do not think it will pay to do so. In former years fish -were extensively used as manure, but that was during seasons when the -capture was so large as to produce a glut. I reprint, in the shape of -an appendix to this volume, an account of the fish-guano manufactory -at Concarneau in Finisterre, as well as some information about the -fish-manure of Norway. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE NATURAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE OYSTER. - - Proper Time for Oyster-Fishing to Begin—Description of the - Oyster—Controversies about its Natural History—Spatting of the - Oyster—Growth of the Oyster—Quantity of Spawn Emitted by the - Oyster—Social History of the Oyster—Great Men who were Fond of - Oysters—Oyster-Breeding in France—Lake Fusaro—Beef’s Discovery - of Artificial Culture—Oyster-Farming in the Bay of Biscay—The - Celebrated Green Oysters—Marennes—Dr. Kemmerer’s Plan—Lessons - to be gleaned from the French Pisciculturists—How to Manage - an Oyster-Farm—Whitstable—Cultivation of Natives—The Colne - Oyster-Trade—Scottish Oysters—The Pandores—Extent of Oyster-Ground in - the Firth of Forth—Dredging—Extent of American Oyster-Beds. - - -August is a month that has red-letter days for those who delight in the -luxuries of eating. Do we not in that month begin the carnival of “St. -Grouse?” and do we not hear in the bye-streets of London the pleasant -sounds of “Please to remember the Grotto?” It is the month that ushers -in the ever-welcome oyster. In nearly every small street and alley -early in August may be heard resounding the words “Only once a year!” -and groups of merry children building their grottoes remind us that the -long days are passing, that autumn is at hand, and that in a few brief -months the Christmas barrel of oysters will be travelling “inland” -on the rapid railway, passing in its course the friendly and welcome -exchange hamper of country produce, containing the choice pheasant and -the plump turkey. But September, and not August, is the right month for -the inauguration of the oyster season, although, by ancient custom, -perhaps originating in the impatience of our _gourmets_, the proper -date has been anticipated, and oyster-eating has become general even so -early as the 5th of August. It is wrong, however, to partake of oysters -thus early—as wrong as it was three centuries ago to eat them on St. -James’s day, although the superstition of the period gave weight to -the act; as in those days there existed a proverb that persons who ate -oysters on the 25th of July would have plenty of money all the rest of -the year. - -In those remote times the knowledge of sea-produce was exceedingly -limited, as people could only guess the proper season for indulging -in what we call “shell-fish;” and although it is not easy, from the -difficulty of obtaining access to sea animals, to obtain accurate -information about their growth and habits, yet it is pleasing to think -that we know a great deal more of those interesting creatures than -our forefathers ever did. Our worthy ancestors, for instance, were -quite content to swallow their oysters without inquiring very minutely -about how they were bred; the oyster-shell was opened simply that -its contents might be devoured along with the necessary quantity of -bread and butter and brown stout. They did not think of the delicacy -as a subject of natural history—with them it was simply a delicious -condiment. But in the present day that style of eating has been -altogether reformed: people like to know what they eat; and from the -investigations of M. Coste and other naturalists we now know as much -about the oyster, and the mollusca in general, as we do about the -Crustacea. - -Generally speaking, many curious opinions have been held about -shell-fish. At one time they were thought to be only masses of oily or -other matter scarcely alive and insensible to pain. Who could suppose, -it was asked, that a portion of blubber like the oyster, that could -only have been first eaten by some very courageous individual, could -have any feeling? But we know better now, and although the organisation -of the mollusca is not of a high order, it is perfect of its kind, -and has within it indications of organs that in beings of a higher -type serve a loftier purpose, and point out the beginnings of nature, -showing how she works her way from the simplest imaginings of animal -life to the complex human machine. The oyster has no doubt in its -degree its joys and sorrows, and throbs with life and pleasure, as -animals do that have a higher organic structure. - -Zoologically the oyster is known as _Ostræa edulis_. Its outward -appearance is familiar to even very landward people, and no human -engineer could have invented so admirable a home for the pulpy and -headless mass of jelly that is contained within the rough-looking -shell. The oyster is a curiously-constructed animal; but I fear that, -comparatively speaking, very few of my readers have ever seen a perfect -one, as oysters are very much mutilated, being generally deprived of -their beards before they are sent to table, and otherwise hurt, both -accidentally in the opening and by use and wont, as in the case of the -beard. Its mouth—it has no jaws or teeth—is a kind of trunk or snout, -with four lips, and leafy coverings or gills are spread over the body -to act as lungs, and keep from the action of the water the air which -the animal requires for its existence. This covering is divided into -two lobes with ciliated edges. Four leaves or membranous plates act -as capillary funnels, open at the farthest extremities. Behind the -gills there is a large whitish fatty part enclosing the stomach and -intestines. The vessels of circulation play into muscular cavities, -which act the part of the heart. The stomach is situated near the -mouth. The oyster has no feet, but can move by opening and closing -its shell, and it secures food by means of its beard, which acts as a -kind of rake. In fact the internal structure of the oyster, while it -is excellently adapted to that animal’s mode of life, is exceedingly -simple. - -It is not my purpose in the present work to enter into the minutiæ of -oyster life. Indeed, there have been so many controversies about the -natural history of this animal as to render it impossible to narrate -in the brief space I can devote to it a tenth part of what has been -written or spoken about the life and habits of the “breedy creature.” -Every stage of its growth has been made the stand-point for a wrangle -of some kind. As an example of the keenness with which each stage of -oyster life is now being discussed, I may mention that in the summer -of 1864 a most amusing squabble broke out in the pages of the _Field_ -newspaper on an immaterial point of oyster life, which is worth noting -here as an example of what can be said on either side of a question. -The controversy hinged upon whether an oyster while on the bed lay -on the flat or convex side. Mr. Frank Buckland, who originated the -dispute, maintained that the right, proper, and natural position of -the oyster, when at the bottom of the sea, is with the flat shell -downwards. Mr. James Lowe, a gentleman who takes great interest in -pisciculture, and who has explored the oyster-beds of France, held the -opinion that the oyster is never in its proper position except when the -flat shell is uppermost. Of course, the natural position of the oyster -is of no practical importance whatever; and I know, from personal -observation of the beds at Newhaven and Cockenzie, that oysters lie -both ways,—indeed, with a dozen or two of dredges tearing over the beds -it is impossible but that they must lie quite higgledy-piggledy, so to -speak. A great deal that is incidentally interesting was brought up in -the discussion to which I have been referring. There have been several -other disputes about points in the natural history of the oysters—one -in particular as to whether that animal is provided with organs of -vision. Various opinions have been enunciated as to whether an oyster -has eyes, and one author asserts that it has so many as twenty-four, -which again is denied, and the assertion made that the so-called -eyes projecting from the border of the mantle have no optical power -whatever; but be that as it may, I have no doubt whatever that the -oyster has a power of knowing the light from the dark. - -Without wishing to dogmatise on any point of oyster life, I think I can -bring before my readers in a brief way a few interesting facts in the -natural history of the edible oyster. - -As is well known, there is a period every year during which the oyster -is not fished; and the reason why our English oyster-beds have not been -ruined or exhausted by overfishing arises, among other causes, from -this fact of there being a definite close-time assigned to the breeding -of the mollusc. It would be well if the larger varieties of sea produce -were equally protected; for it is sickening to observe the countless -numbers of unseasonable fish that are from time to time brought to -Billingsgate and other markets, and greedily purchased. The fact that -oysters are supplied only during certain months in the year, and that -the public have a general corresponding notion that they are totally -unfit for wholesome eating during May, June, July, and August (those -four wretched months which have not the letter “r” in their names), has -been greatly in their favour. Had there been no period of rest, it is -almost quite certain that oysters would long ago—I allude to the days -when there was no system of cultivation—have become extinct, so great -is the demand for this dainty mollusc. - -Oysters begin to sicken about the end of April, so that it is well that -their grand rest commences in May. The shedding of the spawn continues -during the whole of the hot months—not but that during that period -there may be found supplies of healthy oysters, but, as a general rule, -it is better that there should be a total cessation of the trade during -the summer season, because were the beds disturbed by a search for the -healthy oysters the spawn would be scattered and destroyed. - -Oysters do not leave their ova, like many other marine creatures, but -incubate them in the folds of their mantle, and among the laminæ of -their lungs. There the ova remain surrounded by mucous matter, which is -necessary to their development, and within which they pass through the -embryo state. The mass of ova, or “spat” as it is familiarly called, -undergoes various changes in its colour, meanwhile losing its fluidity. -This state indicates the near termination of the development and the -sending forth of the embryo to an independent existence, for by this -time the young oysters can live without the protection of the maternal -organs. An eminent French pisciculturist says that the animated matter -escaping from the adults on breeding-banks is like a thick mist being -dispersed by the winds—the _spat_ is so scattered by the waves that -only an imperceptible portion remains near the parent stock. All -the rest is dissipated over the sea space; and if these myriads of -animalculæ, tossed by the waves, do not meet with solid bodies to which -they can attach themselves, their destruction is certain, for if they -do not fall victims to the larger animals which prey upon them, they -are unfortunate in not fixing upon the proper place for their thorough -development. - -Thus we see that the spawn of the oyster is well matured before it -leaves the protection of the parental shell; and by the aid of the -microscope the young animal can be seen with its shell perfect and -its holding-on apparatus, which is also a kind of swimming-pad, ready -to clutch the first “coigne of vantage” that the current may carry it -against. My theory is, that the parent oyster goes on _brewing_ its -spawn for some time—I have seen it oozing from the same animal for some -days—and it is supposed that the spawn swims about with the current -for a short period before it falls, being in the meantime devoured by -countless sea animals of all kinds. The operation of nursing, brewing, -and exuding the spat from the parental shell will occupy a considerable -period—say from two to four weeks. It is quite certain that the -close-time for oysters is necessary and advantageous, for we seldom -find this mollusc, as we do the herring and other fish, full of eggs, -so that most of the operations connected with its reproduction go on -in the months during which there is no dredging. As I have indicated, -immense quantities of the spawn of oysters are annually devoured by -other molluscs, and by fish and crustaceans of various sizes; it is -well, therefore, that it is so bountifully supplied. On occasions of -visiting the beds I have seen the dredge covered with this spawn; and -no pen could number the thousands of millions of oysters thus prevented -from ripening into life. Economists ought to note this fact with -respect to fish generally, for the enormous destruction of spawn of all -kinds must exercise a very serious influence on our fish supplies. I -may also note that the state of the weather has a serious influence on -the spawn and on the adult oyster-power of spawning. A cold season is -very unfavourable, and a decidedly cold day will kill the spat. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -Some people have asserted that the oyster can reproduce its kind in -twenty weeks, and that in ten months it is full-grown. Both of these -assertions are pure nonsense. At the age of three months an oyster is -not much bigger than a pea; and the age at which reproduction begins -has never been accurately ascertained, but it is thought to be three -years. I give here one or two illustrations of oyster-growth in order -to show the ratio of increase. The smallest, about the dimensions of a -pin’s head, may be called a fortnight old. The next size represents -the oyster as it appears when three months old. The other sizes are -drawn at the ages of five, eight, and twelve months respectively. -Oysters are usually four years old before they are sent to the London -market. At the age of five years the oyster is, I think, in its prime; -and some of our most intelligent fishermen think its average duration -of life to be ten years. - -[Illustration] - -In these days of oyster-farming the time at which the oyster becomes -reproductive may be easily fixed, and it will no doubt be found to vary -in different localities. At some places it becomes saleable—chiefly, -however, for fattening—in the course of two years; at other places it -is three or four years before it becomes a saleable commodity; but on -the average it will be quite safe to assume that at four years the -oyster is both ripe for sale and able for the reproduction of its kind. -Let us hope that the breeders will take care to have at least one -brood from each batch before they offer any for sale. Oyster-farmers -should keep before them the folly of the salmon-fishers, who kill -their grilse—_i.e._ the virgin fish—before they have an opportunity of -perpetuating their race. - -Another point on which naturalists differ is as to the quantity -of spawn from each oyster. Some enumerate the young by thousands, -others by millions. It is certain enough that the number of young is -prodigious—so great, in fact, as to prevent their all being contained -in the parent shell at one time; but I do not believe that an oyster -yields its young “in millions”—perhaps half a million is on the average -the amount of spat which each oyster can “brew” in one season. I -have examined oyster-spawn (taken direct from the oyster) by means -of a powerful microscope, and find it to be a liquid of some little -consistency, in which the young oysters, like the points of a hair, -swim actively about, in great numbers, as many as a thousand having -been counted in a very minute globule of spat. The spawn, as found -floating on the water, is greenish in appearance, and each little -splash may be likened to an oyster nebula, which resolves itself, when -examined by a powerful glass, into a thousand distinct animals. - -The oyster, it is now pretty well determined, is hermaphrodite, and -it is very prolific, as has been already observed, but the enormous -fecundity of the animal is largely detracted from by bad breeding -seasons; for, unless the spawning season be mild, soft, and warm, -there is usually a very partial fall of spat, and of course quite a -scarcity of brood; and even if one be the proprietor of a large bed of -oysters, there is no security for the spawn which is emitted from the -oysters on that bed falling upon it, or within the bounds of one’s own -property even; it is often enough the case that the spawn falls at a -considerable distance from the place where it has been emitted. Thus -the spawn from the Whitstable and Faversham Oyster Companies’ beds—and -these contain millions of oysters in various stages of progress—falls -usually on a large piece of ground between Whitstable and the Isle -of Thanet, formerly common property, but lately _given_ by Act of -Parliament to a company recently formed for the breeding of oysters. -The saving of the spawn cannot be effected unless it falls on proper -ground—_i.e._ ground with a shelly bottom is best, for the infant -animal is sure to perish if it fall among mud or upon sand; the infant -oyster must obtain a holding-on place as the first condition of its own -existence. - -Oysters have not on the aggregate spawned extensively during late -years. The greatest fall of spawn ever known in England occurred in -1827, and it is thought by practical men, as well as naturalists, that -they do not spawn at all in cold seasons, and in Britain not always -in warm seasons; and Mr. Buckland, I believe, assumes that the more -favourable spawning on the French coast of the Bay of Biscay is caused -by the greater, because more direct, influence of the Gulf Stream on -the waters there than in the English Channel, but this idea is also -disputed. If the oyster does not spawn every year it would require -to emit an enormous quantity in those favourable years when it does -spawn, so as to keep up the supply. On being exuded from the parental -shell, the spawn of the oyster at once rises to the surface, where -its vitality is easily affected, and it is often killed in certain -places by snow-water or ice. A genial warmth of sunshine and water is -considered highly favourable to its proper development during the few -days it floats about on the surface. It is thought that not more than -one oyster out of each million arrives at maturity. It is curious to -note that some oysters have immense shells with very little “meat” in -them. I recently saw in a popular tavern (date Sept. 29, 1864), several -oysters much larger externally than crown-pieces with the “meat” -about the size of a sixpence: these were Firth of Forth oysters from -Cockenzie. It is not easy to determine from the external size of the -animal the amount of “meat” it will yield—apparently, “the bigger the -oyster the smaller the meat.” In the early part of the season we get -only the very small oysters in Edinburgh—the reason assigned being that -all the best dredgers are “away at the herring,” and that the persons -left behind at the oyster-beds are only able to skim them, so that, -for a period of about six weeks, we merely obtain the small fry that -are lying on the top. It is quite certain that as the season advances -the oysters obtained are larger and of more decided flavour. In the -“natives” obtained at Whitstable the shell and the meat are pretty much -in keeping as to size, and this is an advantage. - -The Abbé Diquemarc, who has keenly observed the habits of the principal -mollusca, assures us that oysters, when free, are perfectly able to -transport themselves from one place to another, by simply causing the -sea-water to enter and emerge suddenly from between their valves; and -these they use with extreme rapidity and great force. By means of -the operation now described, the oyster is enabled to defend itself -from its enemies among the minor crustacea, particularly the small -crabs, which endeavour to enter the shell when it is half open. “Some -naturalists,” the Abbé says, “go the length of allowing the oyster -to have great foresight,” which he illustrates by an allusion to -the habits of those found at the seaside. “These oysters,” he says, -“exposed to the daily change of tides, appear to be aware that they are -likely to be exposed to dryness at certain recurring periods, and so -they preserve water in their shells to supply their wants when the tide -is at ebb. This peculiarity renders them more easy of transportation to -remote distances than those members of the family which are caught at a -considerable distance from the shore.” - -But oysters have their social as well as their natural and economic -history. The name of the courageous individual who ate the first oyster -has not been recorded, but there is a legend concerning him to the -following effect:—Once upon a time—it must be a prodigiously long time -ago, however—a man of melancholy mood, who was walking by the shores -of a picturesque estuary, listening to the monotonous murmur of the -sad sea-waves, espied a very old and ugly oyster, all coated over with -parasites and sea-weeds. It was so unprepossessing that he kicked -it with his foot, and the animal, astonished at receiving such rude -treatment on its own domain, gaped wide with indignation. Seeing the -beautiful cream-coloured layers that shone within the shelly covering, -and fancying the interior of the shell itself to be beautiful, he -lifted up the aged “native” for further examination, inserting his -finger and thumb within the shells. The irate mollusc, thinking no -doubt that this was meant as a further insult, snapped his pearly -door close upon the finger of the intruder, causing him some little -pain. After releasing his wounded digit, the inquisitive gentleman very -naturally put it in his mouth. “Delightful!” exclaimed he, opening -wide his eyes. “What is this?” and again he sucked his thumb. Then the -great truth flashed upon him, that he had found out a new delight—had -in fact accidentally achieved the most important discovery ever made up -to that date! He proceeded at once to the verification of his thought. -Taking up a stone, he forced open the doors of the oyster, and gingerly -tried a piece of the mollusc itself. Delicious was the result; and so, -there and then, with no other condiment than the juice of the animal, -with no reaming brown stout or pale chablis to wash down the repast, no -nicely-cut, well-buttered brown bread, did that solitary anonymous man -inaugurate the oyster banquet. Another way of the story is that the man -who ate the first oyster was compelled to do so for a punishment:— - - “The man had sure a palate covered o’er - With brass, or steel, that on the rocky shore - First broke the oozy oyster’s pearly coat, - And risk’d the living morsel down his throat.” - -Ever since the apocryphal period of this legend, men have gone on -eating oysters. Poets, princes, pontiffs, orators, statesmen, and wits -have gluttonised over the oyster-bed. Oysters were at one time, it is -true, in danger of being forgotten. From the fourth century to about -the fifteenth they were not much in use; but from that date to the -present time the demand has never slackened. Going back to the times -which we now regard as classic, we are told—as I will by and by relate -in more detail when I come to describe the art of oyster-farming—that -we owe the original idea of pisciculture to a certain Sergius Orata, -who invented an oyster-pond in which to breed oysters, not for his -own table, but for profit. We have all read of the feasts and -fish-dinners of the classic Italians. These were on a scale, as has -been already indicated, far surpassing our modern banquets at Greenwich -and Blackwall, even though the charge for these be, as was recently -complained in the _Times_, two and three guineas for each person. -Talking of fish-dinners reminds me of a description I have read of a -dish produced in China containing juvenile crabs. On the cover being -removed the crablets jump out on the table and are greedily seized -and eaten by the guests who are assembled. The dish is filled with -vinegar, which imparts great liveliness to the young creatures. The -shell is soft and gelatinous, and the _morceau_ is highly palatable. -Lucullus had sea-water brought to his villa in canals from the coast -of Campania, in which he bred fish in such abundance for the use of -his guests that not less than £35,000 worth was sold at his death. -Vitellius ate oysters all day long, and some people insinuate that he -could eat as many as a thousand at one sitting—a happiness too great -for belief! Callisthenes, the philosopher of Olynthus, was also a -passionate oyster-eater, and so was Caligula, the Roman tyrant. The -wise Seneca dallied over his few hundreds every week, and the great -Cicero nourished his eloquence with the dainty. The Latin poets sang -the praises of the oyster, and the fast men of ancient Rome enjoyed -the poetry during their carouse, just as modern fellows, not at all -classic, enjoy a song over their oysters in the parlour of a London or -provincial tavern. - -In all countries there are records of the excessive fondness of great -men for oysters. Cervantes was an oyster-lover, and he satirised -the oyster-dealers of Spain. Louis XI., careful lest scholarship -should become deficient in France, feasted the learned doctors of the -Sorbonne, once a year, on oysters; and another Louis invested his -cook with an order of nobility as a reward for his oyster-cookery. -Napoleon, also, was an oyster-lover; so was Rousseau; and Marshall -Turgot used to eat a hundred or two, just to whet his appetite for -breakfast. Invitations to a dish of oysters were common in the literary -and artistic circles of Paris at the latter end of last century. The -Encyclopedists were particularly fond of oysters. Helvetius, Diderot, -the Abbé Raynal, Voltaire, and others, were confirmed oyster-men. -Before the Revolution, the violent politicians were in the habit -of constantly frequenting the Parisian oyster-shops; and Danton, -Robespierre, and others, were fond of the oyster in their days of -innocence. The great Napoleon, on the eve of his battles, used to -partake of the bivalve; and Cambaceres was famous for his shell-fish -banquets. Even at this day the consumption of oysters in Paris is -enormous. According to recent statistics the quantity eaten there is -one million per day! - -Among our British celebrities, Alexander Pope was an oyster-eater -of taste, and so was Dean Swift, who was fond of lobsters as well. -Thomson, of _The Seasons_, who knew all good things, knew how good a -thing an oyster was. The learned Dr. Richard Bentley could never pass -an oyster-shop without having a few; and there have been hundreds -of subsequent Englishmen who, without coming up to Bentley in other -respects, have resembled him in this. The Scottish philosophers, too, -of the last century—Hume, Dugald Stewart, Cullen, etc.—used frequently -to indulge in the “whiskered pandores” of their day and generation. -“Oyster-ploys,” as they were called, were frequently held in the -quaint and dingy taverns of the Old Town of Edinburgh. These Edinburgh -oyster-taverns of the olden time were usually situated underground, in -the cellar-floor; and, even in the course of the long winter evenings, -the carriages of the quality folks would be found rattling up, and -setting down fashionable ladies, to partake of oysters and porter, -plenteously but rudely served. What oysters have been to the intellect -of Edinburgh in later times, who needs to be told that has heard of -Christopher North and read the _Noctes Ambrosianæ_? - -The Americans become still more social over their oysters than we do, -and their extensive seabord affords them a very large supply, although -I regret to learn that, in consequence of overfishing and of carrying -away the fish at improper seasons, the oyster-banks of that great -country are in danger of becoming exhausted. In City Island the whole -population participates in the oyster-trade, and there is an oyster-bed -in Long Island Sound which is 115 miles long. - -The oyster can be cooked in many ways, but the pure animal is the best -of all, and gulping him up in his own juice is the best way to eat him. -The oyster, I maintain, may be eaten raw, day by day, every day of the -214 days that it is in season, and never do hurt. It never produces -indigestion—never does the flavour pall. The man who ends the day with -an oyster in his mouth rises with a clean tongue in the morning, and a -clear head as well. - -The secret of there being only a holding-on place required for the -spat of the oyster to insure an immensely-increased supply having been -penetrated by the French people—and no doubt they are in some degree -indebted to our oyster-beds on the Colne and at Whitstable for their -idea—the plan of systematic oyster-culture was easy enough, as I will -immediately show. A few initiatory experiments, in fact, speedily -settled that oysters could be grown in any quantity. Strong pillars of -wood were driven into the mud and sand; arms were added; the whole was -interlaced with branches of trees, and various boughs besides were hung -over the beds on ropes and chains, whilst others were sunk in the water -and kept down by a weight. A few boat-loads of oysters being laid down, -the spat had no distance to travel in search of a home, but found a -resting-place almost at the moment of being exuded; and, as the fairy -legends say, “it grew and it grew,” till, in the fulness of time, it -became a marketable commodity. - -But the history of this modern phase of oyster-farming, as practised -on the foreshores of France, is so interesting as to demand at my -hands a rather detailed notice, for it is one of the most noteworthy -circumstances connected with the revived art of fish-culture, that -it has resulted in placing upon the shores of France upwards of 7000 -fish-farms for the cultivation of the oyster alone. - -It is no exaggeration to say, that about fifteen years ago there was -scarcely an oyster of native growth in France; the beds—and I cite -the case of France as a warning to people at home, I mean as regards -our Scottish oyster-beds—had become so exhausted from overdredging as -to be unproductive, so far as their money value was concerned, and -to be totally unable to recover themselves so far as their power of -reproductiveness was at stake. And the people were consequently in -despair at the loss of this favourite adjunct of their banquets, and -had to resort to other countries for such small supplies as they could -obtain. As an illustration of the overdredging that had prevailed, it -may be stated that oyster-farms which formerly employed 1400 men, with -200 boats, and yielded an annual revenue of 400,000 francs, had become -so reduced as to require only 100 men and 20 boats. Places where at -one time there had been as many as fifteen oyster-banks, and great -prosperity among the fisher class, had become, at the period I allude -to, almost oysterless. St. Brieuc, Rochelle, Marennes, Rochefort, etc., -had all suffered so much that those interested in the fisheries were -no longer able to stock the beds, thus proving that, notwithstanding -the great fecundity of these sea animals, it is quite possible to -overfish them, and thoroughly exhaust their reproductive power. It -was under these circumstances that M. Coste instituted that plan of -oyster-culture which has been so much noticed of late in the scientific -journals, and which appears to have been inspired by the plan of the -mussel-farms in the Bay of Aiguillon, and the oyster-parcs of Lake -Fusaro, so far at least as the principle of cultivation is concerned. -At the instigation of the French Government, he made a voyage of -exploration round the coasts of France and Italy, in order to inquire -into the condition of the sea-fisheries, which were, it was thought, in -a declining condition. It was his “mission,” and he fulfilled it very -well, to see how these marine fisheries could be artificially aided, -as the fresh-water fisheries had been aided through the rediscovery -by Joseph Remy of the long-forgotten plan of pisciculture, as already -detailed in a preceding portion of this work. - -The breeding of oysters was a business pursued with great assiduity -during what I have called the gastronomic age of Italy, the period when -Lucullus kept a stock of fish valued at £50,000 sterling, and Sergius -Orata invented the art of oyster-culture. There is not a great deal -known about this ancient gentleman, except that he was an epicure of -most refined taste (the “master of luxury” he was called in his own -day), and some writers of the period thought him a very greedy person, -a kind of dealer in shell-fish. It was thought also that he was a -housebroker or person who bought or built houses, and having improved -them, sold them to considerable advantage. He received, however, an -excellent character, while standing his trial for using the public -waters of Lake Lucrinus for his own private use, from his advocate -Licinus Crassus, who said that the revenue officer who prevented Orata -was mistaken if he thought that gentleman would dispense with his -oysters, even if he was driven from the Lake of Lucrinus, for, rather -than not enjoy his molluscous luxury, he would grow them on the tops of -his houses. - -Lake Fusaro, of which I give a kind of bird’s-eye view, is highly -interesting to all who take an interest in the prosperity of the -fisheries, as the first seat of oyster-culture. It is the Avernus -of Virgil, and is a black volcanic-looking pool of water, about a -league in circumference, which lies between the site of the Lucrine -Lake—the lake used by Orata—and the ruins of the town of Cumæ. It -is still extant, being even now, as I have said, devoted to the -highly profitable art of oyster-farming, yielding, as has often been -published, from this source an annual revenue of about £1200. This -classic sheet of water was at one time surrounded by the villas of -the wealthy Italians, who frequented the place for the joint benefit -of the sea-water baths and the shell-fish commissariat, which had -been established in the two lakes (Avernus and Lucrine). The place, -which, before then, was overshadowed by thick plantations, had been -consecrated by the superstitious to the use of the infernal gods. - -[Illustration: LAKE FUSARO. - - The accompanying engraving gives a general view of Lake Fusaro - (the Avernus of the ancients), showing here and there the stakes - surrounding the artificial banks, the single and double ranges of - stakes on which the faggots are suspended, and at one extremity the - labyrinths, in the face of which is a canal of from 2½ to 3 metres - broad and 1½ metres deep joining the lake to the sea. A small lake, - believed to be the ancient Cocytus, communicates with this canal. - The pavilion in the lake is the ordinary residence of the persons in - charge of the fishery. -] - -[Illustration: OYSTER-PYRAMID.] - -[Illustration: OYSTER-FASCINES.] - -The mode of oyster-breeding at this place, then as now, was to erect -artificial pyramids of stones in the water, surrounded by stakes of -wood, in order to intercept the spawn, the oyster being laid down on -the stones. I have shown these modes in the accompanying engravings. -Faggots of branches were also used to collect the spawn, which, as I -have already said, requires, within forty-eight hours of its emission, -to secure a holding-on place or be lost for ever. The plan of the -Fusaro oyster-breeders struck M. Coste as being eminently practical -and suitable for imitation on the coasts of France: he had one of the -stakes pulled up, and was gratified to find it covered with oysters -of all ages and sizes. The Lake Fusaro system of cultivation was -therefore, at the instigation of Professor Coste, strongly recommended -for imitation by the French Government to the French people, as being -the most suitable to follow, and experiments were at once entered upon -with a view to prove whether it would be as practicable to cultivate -oysters as easily among the agitated waves of the open sea as in -the quiet waters of Fusaro. In order to settle this point, it was -determined to renew the old oyster-beds in the Bay of St. Brieuc, and -notwithstanding the fact that the water there is exceedingly deep and -the winds very violent, immediate and almost miraculous success was -the result. The fascines laid down soon became covered with seed, and -branches were speedily exhibited at Paris, and other places, containing -thousands of young oysters. The experiments in oyster-culture tried at -St. Brieuc were commenced early in the spring of 1859, on part of a -space of 3000 acres that was deemed suitable for the reception of spat. -A quantity of breeding oysters, approaching to three millions, was -laid down either on the old beds or on newly-constructed longitudinal -banks; these were sown thick on a bottom composed chiefly of immense -quantities of old shells—the “middens” of Cancale in fact, where the -shell accumulation had become a nuisance—so that there was a more than -ordinary good chance for the spat finding at once a proper holding-on -place. Then again, over some of the new banks, fascines made of boughs -tightly tied together were sunk and chained over the beds, so as to -intercept such portions of the spawn as were likely, upon rising, to -be carried away by the force of the tide. In less than six months the -success of the operation in the Bay of St. Brieuc was assured; for, at -the proper season, a great fall of spawn had occurred, and the bottom -shells were covered with the spat, while the fascines were so thickly -coated with young oysters that an estimate of 20,000 for each fascine -was not thought an exaggeration. - -In a piscicultural report for 1860, we obtain, in connection with the -St. Brieuc experiments, an idea of the cost of oyster-breeding, which -I translate for the benefit of people at home:—“The total expenses -for forming a bank were 221 francs; and if the 300 fascines laid down -upon it be multiplied by 20,000 (the number of oysters they contain), -6,000,000 will be obtained, which, if sold at twenty francs a thousand, -will produce 120,000 francs. If, however, the number of oysters on a -fascine were to be reckoned at only 10,000, the sum of 60,000 francs -would be received, which, for an expenditure of only 221 francs, would -give a larger profit than any other branch of industry.” - -Twelve months, however, before the date of the experiments I have -been describing at St. Brieuc, the artificial culture of oysters had -successfully commenced on another part of the coast—namely, the Ile de -Re off the shore of the lower Charente (near la Rochelle), in the Bay -of Biscay, which may now be designated the capital of French oysterdom, -having more _parcs_ and _claires_ than Marennes, Arcachon, Concarneau, -Cancale, and all the rest of the coast put together, and which, before -it became celebrated for its oyster-growing, was only known in common -with other places in France for its successful culture of the vine. It -is curious to note the rapid growth of the industry of oyster-culture -on the Ile de Re. It was begun so recently as 1858, and there are now -upwards of 4000 parks and claires upon its shores, and the people may -be seen as busy in their fish-parks as the market-gardeners of Kent in -their strawberry-beds. Oyster-farming on the Ile was inaugurated by a -stone-mason having the curious name of Beef. - -This shrewd fellow, who was a keen observer of nature, and had seen -the oyster-spat grow to maturity, began thinking of oyster-culture -simultaneously with Professor Coste, and wondering if it could be -carried out on those portions of the public foreshore that were left -dry by the ebb of the waters. He determined to try the experiment on -a small scale, so as to obtain a practical solution of his “idea,” -and, with this view, he enclosed a small portion of the foreshore of -the island by building a rough dyke about eighteen inches in height. -In this park he laid down a few bushels of growing oysters, placing -amongst them a quantity of large stones, which he gathered out of the -surrounding mud. This initiatory experiment was so successful, that in -the course of a year he was able to sell £6 worth of oysters from his -stock. This result was of course very encouraging to the enterprising -mason, and the money was just in a sense found money, for the oysters -went on growing while he was at work at his own proper business as a -mason. Elated by the profit of his experiment, he proceeded to double -the proportions of his park, and by that means more than doubled his -oyster commerce, for, in 1861, he was able to dispose of upwards of -£20 worth, and this without impoverishing, in the least degree, his -breeding stock. He continued to increase the dimensions of his farm, -so that by 1862 his sales had increased to £40. As might have been -expected, Beefs neighbours had been carefully watching his experiments, -uttering occasional sneers no doubt at his enthusiasm, but, for all -that, quite ready to go and do likewise whenever the success of the -industrious mason’s experiments became sufficiently developed to -show that they were profitable as well as practical. After Beef had -demonstrated the practicability of oyster-farming, the extension -of the system over the foreshores of the island, between Point de -Rivedoux and Point de Lome, was rapid and effective; so much so that -two hundred beds were conceded by the Government previous to 1859, -while an additional five hundred beds were speedily laid down, and -in 1860 large quantities of brood were sold to the oyster-farmers at -Marennes, for the purpose of being manufactured into green oysters in -their claires on the banks of the river Seudre. The first sales after -cultivation had become general amounted to £126, and the next season -the sum reached in sales was upwards of £500, and these moneys, be it -observed, were for very young oysters; because, from an examination -of the dates, it will at once be seen that the brood had not had time -to grow to any great size. So rapid indeed has been the progress of -oyster-culture at the Ile de Re that what were formerly a series of -enormous and unproductive mud-banks, occupying a stretch of shore about -four leagues in length, are now so transformed, and the whole place so -changed, that it seems the work of a miracle. Various gentlemen who -have inspected these farms for the cultivation of oysters speak with -great hopefulness about the success of the experiment. Mr. Ashworth, so -well known for his success as a salmon fisher and breeder in Ireland, -tells me that oyster-farming on the shores of the French coast is -one of the greatest industrial facts of the present age, and thinks -that oyster-farming will in the end be even more profitable than -salmon-breeding. There is only one drawback connected with these and -all other sea-farms in France: the farmers, we regret to say, are only -“tenants at will,”[14] and liable at any moment to be ejected; but -notwithstanding this disadvantage the work of oyster-culture still goes -bravely forward, and it is calculated, in spite of the bad spatting of -the last three years, that there is a stock of oysters in the beds on -the Ile de Re—accumulated in only six years—of the value of upwards of -£100,000. - -[Illustration: OYSTER-PARKS.] - -Much hard work had no doubt to be endured before such a scene of -industry could be thoroughly organised. When the great success of -Beef’s experiments had been proclaimed in the neighbourhood, a little -army of about a thousand labourers came down from the interior of -the country and took possession, along with the native fishermen, of -the shores, portions of which were conceded to them by the French -Government at a nominal rent of about a franc a week, for the purpose -of being cultivated as oyster parks and claires. The most arduous duty -of these men consisted in clearing off the mud, which lay on the shore -in large quantities, and which is fatal to the oyster in its early -stages; but this had to be done before the shores could be turned to -the purpose for which they were wished. After this preliminary business -had been accomplished, the rocks had to be blasted in order to find -stones for the construction of the park-walls; then these had to be -built, and the ground had also to be paved in a rough and ready kind -of way; foot-roads had also to be arranged for the convenience of -the farmers, and carriage-ways had likewise to be made to admit of -the progress of vehicles through the different farms. Ditches had to -be contrived to carry off the mud; the parks had to be stocked with -breeding oysters, and to be kept carefully free from the various kinds -of sea animals that prey upon the oyster; and many other daily duties -had to be performed that demanded the minute attention of the owners. -But all obstacles were in time overcome, and some of the breeders have -been so very successful of late years as to be offered a sum of £100 -for the brood attached to twelve of their rows of stones, the cost -of laying these down being about two hundred francs! To construct an -oyster-bed thirty yards square costs about £12 of English money, and -it has been calculated that the return from some of the beds has been -as high as 1000 per cent! The whole industry of the Ile is wonderful -when it is considered that it has been all organised in a period of -seven years. Except a few privately-kept oysters, there was no oyster -establishment on the island previous to 1858. - -The following authentic statistics, collected by Mr. Thomas Ashworth, -of the oyster industry of the island of Re, when only in the fourth -year of culture, may prove interesting to my readers:— - - Parks for collecting spawn and breeding 2,424 - Fattening-ponds (claires) 839 - Supposed number of oysters in parks 74,242,038 - Aggregate number in the claires 1,026,282 - Revenue of the parks 1,086,230 francs. - Revenue of the claires 40,015 ” - Hectares of ground in parks and claires 146 - Proprietors of beds 1,700 - -[Illustration: OYSTER-CLAIRES.] - -Some gentlemen from the island of Jersey who visited Re report that -an incredible quantity of oysters has been produced on that shore, -which a few years ago was of no value, so that this branch of industry -now realises an extraordinary revenue, and spreads comfort among a -large number of families who were previously in a state of comparative -indigence. But more interesting even than the material prosperity that -has attended the introduction of this industry into the island of Re is -the moral success that has accrued to the experiment. Excellent laws -have been enacted by the oyster-farmers themselves for the government -of the colony. A kind of parliament has been devised for carrying on -arguments as to oyster-culture, and to enable the four communities, -into which the population has been divided, to communicate to each -other such information as may be found useful for the general good -of all engaged in oyster-farming. Three delegates from each of the -communities are elected to conduct the general business, and to -communicate with the Department of Marine when necessary. - -A small payment is made by every farmer as a contribution to the -general expense, while each division of the community employs a special -watchman to guard the crops, and see that all goes on with propriety -and good faith; and although each of the oyster-farmers of the Ile -de Re cultivates his own park or claire for his own sole profit and -advantage, they most willingly obey the general laws that have been -enacted for the good of the community. It is pleasant to note this. -We cannot help being gratified at the happy moral results of this -wonderful industry, and it will readily be supposed that with both -vine-culture (for the islanders have fine vineyards) and oyster-culture -to attend to, these farmers are kept very busy. Indeed, the growing -commerce—the export of the oysters, and the import of other commodities -for the benefit of so industrious a population—incidental to such an -immense growth of shell-fish as can be carried on in the 4000 parks -and claires which stud the foreground of Re must be arduous; but as -the labour is highly remunerative, the labourers have great cause for -thankfulness. It is right, however, to state that, with all the care -that can be exercised, there is still an enormous amount of waste -consequent on the artificial system of culture; the present calculation -is, that even with the best possible mode of culture the average of -reproduction is as yet only fourteenfold; but it is hoped by those -interested that a much larger ratio of increase will be speedily -attained. This is desirable, as prices have gone on steadily increasing -since the time that Beef first experimented. In 1859 the sales were -effected at about the rate of fifteen shillings per bushel, for the -lowest qualities—the highest being double that price; these were for -fattening in the claires, and when sold again they brought from two to -three pounds per bushel. - -One of the most lucrative branches of foreign oyster-farming may be -now described—_i.e._ the manufacture of the celebrated green oysters. -The greening of oysters, many of which are brought from the Ile de Re -parks, is extensively carried on at Marennes, on the banks of the river -Seudre, and this particular branch of oyster industry, which extends -for leagues along the river, and is also sanctioned by free grants -from the state, has some features that are quite distinct from those -we have been considering, as the green oyster is of considerably more -value than the common white oyster. The peculiar colour and taste of -the green oyster are imparted to it by the vegetable substances which -grow in the beds where it is manipulated. This statement, however, is -scarcely an answer to the question of “why,” or rather “how,” do the -oysters become green? Some people maintain that the oyster green is -a disease of the liver-complaint kind, whilst there are others who -attribute the green colour to a parasite that overgrows the mollusc. -But the mode of culture adopted is in itself a sufficient answer to -the question. The industry carried on at Marennes consists chiefly of -the fattening in claires, and the oysters operated upon are at one -period of their lives as white as those which are grown at any other -place; indeed it is only after being steeped for a year or two in the -muddy ponds of the river Seudre that they attain their much-prized -green hue. The enclosed ponds for the manufacture of these oysters—and, -according to all epicurean authority, the green oyster becomes “_the_ -oyster _par excellence_”—require to be watertight, for they are not -submerged by the sea, except during very high tides. Each claire is -about one hundred feet square. The walls for retaining the waters -require therefore to be very strong; they are composed of low but broad -banks of earth, five or six feet thick at the base and about three feet -in height. These walls are also useful as forming a promenade on which -the watchers or workers can walk to and fro and view the different -ponds. The flood-gates for the admission of the tide require also to -be thoroughly watertight and to fit with great precision, as the stock -of oysters must always be kept covered with water; but a too frequent -flow of the tide over the ponds is not desirable, hence the walls, -which serve the double purpose of both keeping in and keeping out the -water. A trench or ditch is cut in the inside of each pond for the -better collection of the green slime left at each flow of the tide, and -many tidal inundations are necessary before the claire is thoroughly -prepared for the reception of its stock. When all these matters of -construction and slime-collecting have been attended to, the oysters -are then scattered over the ground, and left to fatten. When placed in -these greening claires they are usually from twelve to sixteen months -old, and they must remain for a period of two years at least before -they can be properly greened, and if left a year longer they are all -the better; for I maintain that an oyster should be at least about -four years old before it is sent to table. In a privately-printed -pamphlet on the French oyster-fisheries, sent to me by Mr. Ashworth, -it is stated that oysters deposited in the claires for feeding possess -the same powers of reproduction as those kept in the breeding-ponds. -“Their progeny is deposited in the same profusion, but that progeny not -coming in contact with any solid body, it inevitably perishes, unless -it can attach itself to the vertical sides of some erection.” A very -great deal of attention must be devoted to the oysters while they are -in the greening-pond, and they must be occasionally shifted from one -pond to another to ensure perfect success. Many of the oyster-farmers -of Marennes have two or three claires suitable for their purpose. The -trade in these green oysters is very large, and they are found to be -both palatable and safe, the greening matter being furnished by the -sea. Some of the breeders or rather manufacturers of green oysters, -anxious to be soon rich, content themselves with placing adult oysters -only in these claires, and these become green in a very short time, -and thus enable the operator to have several crops in a year without -very much trouble. The claires of Marennes furnish about fifty millions -of green oysters per annum, and these are sold at very remunerative -prices, yielding an annual revenue of something like two and a half -millions of francs. - -As to the kind of ground most suitable for oyster-growth, Dr. Kemmerer, -of St. Martin’s (Ile de Re), an enthusiast in oyster-culture, gives -us a great many useful hints. I have summarised a portion of his -information:—The artificial culture of the oyster may be considered to -have solved an important question—namely, that the oyster continues -fruitful after it is transplanted from its natural abode in the deep -sea to the shores. This removal retards but never hinders fecundation. -The sea oyster, however, is the most prolific, as the water at a -considerable depth is always tranquil, which is a favourable point in -oyster-growth; but the shore oyster-banks will also be very productive, -having two chances of replenishment—namely, from the parent oysters in -the _parcs_, and from those currents that may float seed from banks -in the sea. Muddy ground is excellent for the _growth_ of oysters; -they grow in such localities very quickly, and become saleable in a -comparatively short space of time. Dry rocky ground is not so suitable -for the young oyster, as it does not find a sufficiency of food upon -it, and consequently languishes and dies. Marl is the most esteemed, -and on it the oyster is said to become perfect in form and excellent in -flavour. In the marl the young oyster finds plenty of food, constant -heat, and perfect quiet. Wherever there is mud and sun there will be -found the little molluscs, crustacea, and swimming infusoria, which are -the food of the oyster. The culture of the oyster in the mud-ponds and -in the marl—a culture which ought some day to become general—changes -completely its qualities; the albumen becomes fatty, yellow or green, -oily, and of an exquisite flavour. The animal and phosphorus matter -increases, as does the osmozone. This oyster, when fed, becomes -exquisite food. In effecting the culture of the sea-shores and of the -marl-ponds, I am pursuing a practical principle of great importance, by -the conversion of millions of shore oysters, squandered without profit, -into food for public consumption. The green oyster, to this day, has -only been regarded as a luxury for the tables of the rich; but, as I -have indicated, there are an immense number of farms or ponds on the -Seudre, and I would like to see it used as food by everyone. - -The French oyster-farmers are happy and prosperous. The wives assist -their husbands in all the lighter labours, such as separating and -arranging the oysters previous to their being placed on the claires. It -is also their duty to sell the oysters; and for this purpose they leave -their home about the end of August and proceed to a particular town, -there to await and dispose of such quantities of shell-fish as their -husbands may forward to them. In this they resemble the fisherwomen of -other countries. The Scotch fishwives do all the business connected -with the trade carried on by their husbands; it is the husbands’ duty -to capture the fish only, and the moment they come ashore their duties -cease, and those of their wives and daughters begin with the sale and -barter of the fish. - -Before going farther, it may be stated that the best mode of receiving -the spawn of the oyster has not been determined. M. Coste, whose advice -is well worthy of being followed, recommended the adoption of fascines -of brushwood to be fixed over the natural oyster-beds in order to -intercept the young ones; others again, as we have just seen, have -adopted the parcs, and have successfully caught the spawn on dykes -constructed for that purpose; but Dr. Kemmerer has invented a tile, -which he covers with some kind of composition that can, when occasion -requires, be easily peeled off, so that the crop of oysters that may -be gathered upon it can be transferred from place to place with the -greatest possible ease, and this plan is useful for the transference -of the oyster from the collecting _parc_ to the fattening _claire_. -The annexed drawing will give an idea of the Doctor’s invention. The -composition and the adhering oyster may all be stripped off in one -piece, and the tile may be coated for future use. Tiles are exceedingly -useful in aiding the oyster-breeder to avoid the natural enemies of -the oyster, which are very numerous, especially at the periods when -it is young and tender. The oysters may be peeled off the tiles when -they are six or seven months old. Spat-collectors of wood have also -been tried with considerable success. Hitherto these tiles have been -very successful, although it is thought by experienced breeders that -no bottom for oysters is so good as the natural one of “cultch,” as -the old oyster-shells are called, but the tile is often of service in -catching the “floatsome,” as the dredgers call the spawn, and to secure -that should be one of the first objects of the oyster-farmer. - -[Illustration: OYSTER-TILES.] - -We glean from these proceedings of the French pisciculturists the -most valuable lessons for the improvement and conduct of our British -oyster-parks. If, as seems to be pretty certain, each matured oyster -yields about two millions of young per annum, and if the greater -proportion of these can be saved by being afforded a permanent -resting-place, it is clear that, by laying down a few thousand -breeders, we may, in the course of a year or two, have, at any place -we wish, a large and reproductive oyster-farm. With reference to -the question of growth, Coste tells us that stakes which had been -fixed for a period of thirty months in the lake of Fusaro were quite -loaded with oysters when they came to be removed. These were found to -embrace a growth of three seasons. Those of the first year’s spawning -were ready for the market; the second year’s brood were a good deal -smaller; whilst the remainder were not larger than a lentil. To attain -miraculous crops similar to those once achieved in the Bay of St. -Brieuc, or at the Ile de Re, little more is required than to lay down -the spawn in a nice rocky bay, or in a place paved for the purpose, -and having as little mud about it as possible. A place that had a good -stream of water flowing into it is the most desirable, so that the -flock might procure food of a varied and nutritious kind. A couple of -hundred stakes driven into the soft places of the shore, between high -and low water mark, and these well supplied with branches held together -by galvanised iron wire (common rope would soon become rotten), would, -in conjunction with the rocky ground, afford capital holding-on places, -so that any quantity of spawn might, in time, be developed into fine -“natives,” or “whiskered pandores.” There are hundreds of places on the -English and Irish coasts where such farms could be advantageously laid -down. - -As showing the productiveness of some of the French oyster-beds, it -may be stated that 350,000 oysters were obtained in the space of an -hour from the Plessix bed, which is half a mile from the port of -Auray; and, within a month or two after the opening of those beds, -upwards of twenty millions were brought into port, giving employment -to 1200 fishermen. The gentlemen from Jersey who explored the French -oyster-beds saw in the bay of Arcachon, at Testé, many beds which were -highly productive. One man had laid down 500,000 oysters, and these he -estimated had increased in three years to seven millions! I may just -be allowed to give here one other illustration of oyster-growth; the -figures appertain to the Ile de Re: “The inspectors recently counted -600 full-grown oysters to the square metre, and seeing that 630,000 -square metres are now under cultivation, it follows that the oysters -on this tract of desert mud are worth from six to eight millions of -francs, the total crop being (at the time spoken of) 378,000,000 of -oysters!” - -A large oyster-farm requires a great deal of careful attention, and -several people are necessary to keep it in order. If the farm be -planted in a bay where the water is very shallow, there is great danger -of the stock suffering from frost; and again, if the brood be laid -down in very deep water, the oysters do not fatten or grow rapidly -enough for profit. In dredging, the whole of the oysters, as they are -hauled on board, should be carefully examined and picked; all below a -certain size ought to be returned to the water till their beards have -grown large enough. In winter, if the beds be in shallow water, the -tender brood must be placed in a pit for protection from the frost; -which of course takes up a great deal of time. Dead oysters ought -to be carefully removed from the beds. The proprietors of private -“layings” are generally careful on this point, and put themselves -to great trouble every spring to lift or overhaul all their stock -in order to remove the dead or diseased. Mussels must be carefully -rooted out from the beds; otherwise they would in a short time render -them valueless. The layings for example, of Mr. David Plunkett, in -Killery Bay, for which he had a licence from the Irish Board of -Fisheries, were overrun by mussels, and so rendered almost valueless. -The weeding and tending of an oyster-bed requires, therefore, much -labour, and involves either a partnership of several people—which is -usual enough, as at Whitstable—or at least the employment of several -dredgermen and labourers. But, for all that, an oyster-farm may be made -a most lucrative concern. As a guide to the working of a very large -oyster-farm—say a concern of £70,000 a year or thereabout—I shall give -immediately some data of the Whitstable Free Dredgers’ Company; but I -wish first to say that the organisation which is constantly at work -for supplying the great metropolis with oysters is more perfect than -can be said of any other branch of the fish trade. In oyster-culture -we approach in some degree to the French, although we do not, as they -do, except as regards the new company, begin at the beginning and plant -the seed. All that we have yet achieved is the art of nursing the young -“brood,” and of dividing and keeping separate the different kinds of -oysters. This is done in parks or farms on various portions of the -coasts of Kent and Essex, and the whole process, from beginning to end, -may be viewed at Whitstable, where there is a large oyster-ground and -a fine fleet of boats kept for the purpose of dredging and planting. -I have already stated that the Whitstable oyster-beds are held as by -a joint-stock company, into which, however, there is no other way of -entrance than by birth, as none but the free dredgermen of the town -can hold shares. When a man dies his interest in the company dies with -him, but his widow—if he was a married man—obtains a pension. The -sales from the public and private beds of Whitstable sometimes attain -a total of £200,000 per annum. The business of the company is managed -by twelve directors, who are known as “the Jury.” The stock of oysters -held in the private layings of the company is said to be of the value -of £200,000. The extent of the public and other oyster-ground at -Whitstable is about twenty-seven square miles. - -The oyster-farm of Whitstable is a co-operation in the best sense of -the term, and has been in existence for a long period. The layings at -Whitstable occupy about a mile and a half square, and the oyster-beds -there have been so very prosperous as to have attained the name of -the “happy fishing-grounds.” At Whitstable, Faversham, and adjoining -grounds, not counting a large surface granted to a newly-formed -company, a space of twenty-seven square miles, as I have mentioned -above, is taken up in oyster-farms, and the industry carried on in -this space of ground involves the annual earning and expenditure of a -very large sum of money. Over 3000 people are employed in the various -industries connected with the fishery, who earn capital wages all the -year round—the sum paid for labour by the different companies being set -down at over £160,000 per annum; and in addition to this expenditure -for wages, there is likewise a large sum of money annually expended -for the repairing and purchasing of boats, sails, dredges, and other -implements used in oyster-fishing. At Whitstable the course of work -is as follows:—The business of the company is to feed oysters for the -London and other markets; for this purpose they buy brood or spat, -and lay it down in their beds to grow. When the company’s own oysters -produce a spat—that is, when the spawn, or “floatsome” as the dredgers -call it, emitted from their own beds falls upon their own ground—it is -of great benefit to them, as it saves purchases of brood to the extent -of what has fallen; but this falling of the spat is in a great degree -accidental, for no rule can be laid down as to whether the oysters will -spawn in any particular year, or where the spawn may be carried to. -No artificial contrivances of the kind known in France have yet been -used at Whitstable for the saving of the spawn. I will now explain, -before going further, the ratio of oyster-growth. While in the spat -state it is calculated that a bushel measure will contain 25,000 -oysters. When the spawn is two years old it is called brood, and while -in this condition a bushel measure will hold 5500. In the next stage -of growth, oysters are called ware, and it takes about 2000 of them to -fill the bushel. In the final or oyster stage a bushel contains about -1500 individuals. Very large sums have been paid in some years by the -Whitstable company for brood with which to stock their grounds, great -quantities being collected from the Essex side, there being a number of -people who derive a comfortable income from collecting oyster-brood on -the public foreshores, and disposing of it to persons who have private -nurseries, or oyster-layings as these are locally called. The grounds -of Pont are particularly fruitful in spat, and yield large quantities -to all that require it. Pont is an open space of water, sixteen miles -long by three broad, free to all; about one hundred and fifty boats, -each with crews of three or four men, find constant employment upon -it, in obtaining young oysters, which they sell to the neighbouring -oyster-farmers, although it is certain that the brood thus freely -obtained must have floated out of beds belonging to the purchasers. The -price of brood is often as high as forty shillings per bushel, and it -is the sum obtained over this cost price that must be looked to for the -paying of wages and the realisation of profit. Oysters have risen in -price very much of late years, and brood has also, in consequence of -the scarcity of spat, been proportionally high. - -Whitstable oyster-beds are “worked” with great industry, and it is -the process of “working” that gives employment to so many people, and -improves the Whitstable oysters so much beyond those found on the -natural beds, which are known as “Commons,” in contradistinction to -the bred oysters of Whitstable and other grounds, which are called -“Natives.” These latter are justly considered to be of superior -flavour, although no particular reason can be given for their being -so, and indeed in many instances they are not natives at all—that is -in the sense of being spatted on the ground—but are, on the contrary, -a grand mixture of all kinds of oysters, brood being brought from -Prestonpans and Newhaven in the Firth of Forth, and from many other -places, to augment the stock. The so-called “native” oysters—and the -name is usually applied to all that are bred in the estuary of the -Thames—are very large in flesh, succulent and delicate in flavour, -and fetch a much higher price than any other oyster. The beds of -natives are all situated on the London clay, or on similar formations. -There can, however, be no doubt that the difference in flavour and -quantity of flesh is obtained by the Thames system of transplanting -and working that is vigorously carried on over all the beds. Every -year the whole extent of the layings is gone over and examined by -means of the dredge; successive portions are dredged over day by day, -till it may be said that almost every individual oyster is examined. -On the occasion of these examinations, the brood is detached from the -cultch, double oysters are separated, and all kinds of enemies—and -these are very numerous—are seized upon and killed. It requires about -eight men per acre to work the beds effectually. During three days a -week, dredging for what is called the “planting” is carried on; that -is, the transference of the oysters from one place to another, as may -be thought suitable for their growth, and also the removing of dead -ones, the clearing away of mussels, and so on. On the other three days -of the week it becomes the duty of the men to dredge for the London -market, when only so many are lifted as are required. A bell is carried -round and rung every morning to rouse the dredgers whose turn it is -for duty, and who at a given signal start to do their portion of the -work. As to this working of the oyster-beds, an eminent authority has -said it is utterly useless to enclose a piece of ground and simply -plant it; it is utterly useless to throw a lot of oysters down amongst -every state of filth. You must keep constantly dredging, not only the -bed itself, but the public beds outside, so as to keep the bottom fit -for the reception and growth of the young oysters, and free of its -multitudinous natural enemies. - -It may as well be explained here also, that what are called native -beds are all cultivated beds; the natural beds are uncultivated, and -are generally public and free to all comers. The Colne beds, however, -are an exception: they are natural beds, but are held by the city of -Colchester as property. Whenever a new bed is discovered anywhere -nowadays, the run upon it is so great that it is at once despoiled -of its shelly treasures; and the native beds would soon become -exhausted if they were not systematically conducted on sound commercial -principles, and regularly replenished with brood. - -As regards the oyster-cultivation of the river Colne, some interesting -statistics have been recently made public at Colchester by Councillor -Hawkins. That gentleman tells us that oyster-brood increases fourfold -in three years. The quantity of oysters in a London bushel is as -follows:—First year, _spat_, number not ascertainable; second year, -_brood_, 6400; third year, _ware_, 2400; fourth year, _oysters_, 1600; -therefore, four wash of brood (_i.e._ four pecks), purchased at say -5s. per wash, increase by growth and corresponding value to 42s. per -bushel, or a sum of eight guineas. The Whitstable dredgers, it is said, -drew £60,000 for their oysters in 1860—viz. £10,000 for “commons,” and -£50,000 for “natives;” but out of this sum they had of course to pay -for “brood.” The gross amount received by the Colne Fishery Company for -oysters sold during the last ten years, ending at July 1862, appears -by the treasurer’s account to have been £83,000; the average annual -produce of the Colne Fishery Company having been 4374 bushels for -that period. However, the quantity obtained from the river Colne by -the company bears but a small proportion to the yield from private -layings, which are in general only a few acres in extent. “The private -layings,” however, we are told, “cannot fairly be made the measure of -productiveness for a large fishery; as they may be compared to a garden -in a high state of cultivation, while the fishery generally is better -represented by a large tract of land but partially reclaimed from a -state of nature.” The difference in cost of working a big fishery and -a little one seems to be great. One of the owners of a private laying -states that, when the expense of dredging or lifting the oysters -exceeded 4s. per bushel, he gave up working, while in the Colne Fishery -dredgermen are never paid less than 12s., and sometimes as high as 40s. -a bushel. The Colne Company is managed by a jury of twelve, appointed -by the water-bailiff, who is under the jurisdiction of the corporation -of Colchester. Whenever it is time to begin the season’s operations, -the jury meet and take stock of the oysters on hand, fix the price at -which sales are to be made, and regulate the charge for dredging, which -is paid by the wash. Under direction of the jury, the foreman of the -company sets the daily stint to the men; and so the work, which is very -light, goes pleasantly forward from season to season. - -As showing in a tabular form the ratio of oyster-reproduction, I here -subjoin, from the Irish Oyster Blue Book, edited by Mr. Barry, a “Table -showing the estimated annual rate of development and increase of value, -calculated at fourfold, during a period of four years, of a breeding -oyster-bed of the extent of one acre, situated in the Thames estuary, -capable of producing a good quality of ‘natives,’ and stocked with 1000 -bushels of oysters, of 1600 each:”— - - FIRST YEAR. - - 256 bushels containing each 25,000 oysters, 1st year’s - spawn, in 1st year of growth, spat at 20s. per - bushel £ 256 - - - SECOND YEAR. - - 1000 bushels, containing each 6400 oysters, 1st year’s - spawn, in 2d year of growth, brood at 25s. per - bushel £1,250 - - 256 bushels, containing each 25,000 oysters, 2d year’s - spawn, in 1st year of growth, spat at 20s. per - bushel 256 - —————- £1,506 - - THIRD YEAR. - - 2667 bushels, containing each 2400 oysters, 1st year’s - spawn, in 3d year of growth, ware at 30s. per - bushel £4,000 - - 1000 bushels, containing each 6400 oysters, 2d year’s - spawn, in 2d year of growth, brood at 25s. per - bushel 1,250 - - 256 bushels, containing each 25,000 oysters, 3d year’s - spawn, in 1st year of growth, spat at 20s. per - bushel 256 - —————- 5,502 - - FOURTH YEAR. - - 4000 bushels containing each 1600 oysters, 1st year’s - spawn, in 4th year of growth, oysters at 35s. per - bushel £7,000 - - 2667 bushels containing each 2400 oysters, 2d year’s - spawn, in 3d year of growth, ware at 30s. per - bushel 4,000 - - 1000 bushels containing each 6400 oysters, 3d year’s - spawn, in 2d year of growth, brood at 25s. per - bushel 2,500 - - 256 bushels containing each 25,000 oysters, 4th year’s - spawn, in 1st year of growth, spat at 20s. per - bushel 256 - ———-—— 13,756 - -At Faversham, Queenborough, and Rochester, there is a large commerce -carried on in this particular shell-fish. In others of the “parks” at -these places, “natives” are grown in perfection. The company of the -burghers of Queenborough grow the fine Milton oyster so well known to -the connoisseur, and the company’s beds are well attended to. I may -note the Faversham Company, said to be the oldest among the Thames -companies, having been in existence for a few centuries. All of these -companies grow the “natives,” and I may explain that the portion of the -beds set apart for the rearing of “natives” is as sacred as the waxen -cells devoted to the growth of queen bees, and the coarser denizens of -the mid-channel are not allowed to be mixed therewith. The management -of all the Kent and Essex oyster companies is pretty much the same, but -there are also gentlemen who trade solely upon their own account; there -is Mr. Allston, for instance, a London oyster-merchant, who keeps his -own fleet of vessels, and does a very large business in this particular -shell-fish. - -The demand for native and other oysters by the Londoners alone is -something wonderful, and constitutes of itself a large branch of -commerce—as the numerous gaily-lit shell-fish shops of the Strand -and Haymarket will testify. These emporiums for the sale of oysters -and stout are mostly fed through Billingsgate, which is the chief -piscatorial bourse of the great metropolis. It is not easy to arrive -at correct statistics of what London requires in the way of oysters; -but, if we set the number down as being nearly 800,000,000 we shall -not be very far wrong. To provide these, the dredgermen or fisher -people at Colchester, and other places on the Essex and Kent coasts, -prowl about the sea-shore and pick up all the little oysters they can -find—these ranging from the size of a threepenny-piece to a shilling; -and persons and companies having layings purchase them to be nursed -and fattened for the table, as already described. At other places the -spawn itself is collected, by picking it from the pieces of stone, or -the old oyster-shells to which it may have adhered; and it is nourished -in pits, as at Burnham, for the purpose of being sold to the Whitstable -people, who carefully lay that brood in their grounds. A good idea of -the oyster-traffic may be obtained from the fact that, in some years, -the Whitstable men have paid £30,000 for brood, in order to keep up -the stock of their far-famed oysters. Mr. Hawkins says that he knows a -man who is proprietor of only three acres of oyster-layings, and yet -from that confined area he annually sells from 1500 to 2000 wash of the -best native oysters. - -The chief centre in England for the distribution of oysters is -Billingsgate, and the countless thousands of bushels of this -molluscous dainty which find their way through “Oyster Street” to -this Fish Exchange mark the everlasting demand. Oysters are sold by -the bushel, and every measure is made to pay a toll of fourpence, and -another sum of a like amount for carriage to the shore. All oysters -sold at Billingsgate are liable to this eightpenny tax. The London -oysters—and I regret to say it, for there is nothing finer than a -genuine oyster—are sophisticated in the cellars of the buyers, by being -stuffed with oatmeal till the flavour is all but lost in the fat. -The flavour of oysters—like the flavour of all other animals—depends -on their feeding. The fine _goût_ of the highly-relished Prestonpans -oysters is said to be derived from the fact of their feeding on the -refuse liquor which flows from the saltpans of that neighbourhood. I -have eaten of fine oysters taken from a bank that was visited by a -rather questionable stream of water; they were very large, fat, and -of exquisite flavour, the shell being more than usually well filled -with “meat.” What the London oysters gain in fat by artificial feeding -they assuredly lose in flavour. The harbour of Kinsale (a receptacle -for much filth) used to be remarkable for the size and flavour of its -oysters. The beds occupied the whole harbour, and the oysters there -were at one time very plentiful, and far exceeded the Cork oysters in -fame (and they have long been famous); but they were so overfished as -to be long since used up, much to the loss of the Irish people, who are -particularly fond of oysters, and delight in their “Pooldoodies” and -“Red-banks” as much as the English and Scotch do in their “Natives” -and “Pandores.” - -The far-famed Scottish oysters obtained near Edinburgh, and once so -cheap, are becoming scarce and dear, and the scalps or beds are being -so rapidly overfished that, in a short time, if the devastation be -not at once stopped, the pandore and Newhaven oysters will soon be -but names. Some of the greediest of the dredgermen actually capture -the brood, and, barrelling it up, send it away to Holland and other -places, to supply the artificial beds now being constructed off that -coast. English buyers also come and pick up all they can procure for -the Manchester and other markets. Thus there is an inducement, in the -shape of a good price, to the Newhaven men to spoliate the beds—another -illustration of “killing the goose for the golden egg.” The growth of -the railway system has also extended the Newhaven men’s market. Before -the railway period very few boats went out at the same time to dredge; -then oysters were very plentiful—so plentiful, in fact, that three -men in a boat could, with ease, procure 3000 oysters in a couple of -hours; but now, so great is the change in the productiveness of the -scalps, that three men consider it an excellent day’s work to procure -about the fifth part of that quantity. The Newhaven oyster-beds lie -between Inchkeith and Newhaven, and belong to the city of Edinburgh, -and were given in charge to the free fishermen of that village, on -certain conditions, which are at present systematically disregarded. -The rental paid by the Newhaven men to the city is £10 per annum, and -a sum of £25 per annum is paid by the same parties for the use of the -oyster-beds belonging to the Duke of Buccleuch, which are also situated -in the Firth of Forth, just off the port of Granton; and besides these -there are one or two beds in the Firth of Forth of considerable size -belonging to the crown, which have been also worked by the Newhaven -men. The beds are of great extent, and years ago used to yield for -the consumption of the city of Edinburgh from six to eight thousand -oysters a day, but I question very much if we shall obtain anything -like that quantity during this present season. The proprietor of the -most popular Edinburgh tavern experiences the greatest difficulty -in obtaining oysters; and I take this opportunity of informing the -Lord Provost of that city that, in the course of a year or two, “Auld -Reekie” will, most probably, unless the authorities actively bestir -themselves in the matter, have to obtain her oysters from Colchester or -Whitstable. Last season (1864-65), thousands of barrels full of young -oysters were disposed off to English and foreign fishermen at the rate -of about 20s. a barrel. This, surely, is a state of things dreadful -for Scotchmen to contemplate. In former and more energetic times, the -municipal authorities of the modern Athens used to venture on a voyage -of exploration to view their scalps, and afterwards hold a feast of -shells, as they do yet at _some_ oyster towns on the annual opening of -the fishery.[15] - -[Illustration: OYSTER-DREDGING AT COCKENZIE.] - -The “pandore” oysters are principally obtained at the village of -Prestonpans and the neighbouring one of Cockenzie. Dredging for oysters -is a principal part of the occupation of the Cockenzie fishermen. -There are few lovers of this dainty mollusc who have not heard of -the “whiskered pandores.” The pandore oyster is so called because -of being found in the neighbourhood of the saltpans. It is a large -fine-flavoured oyster, as good as any “native” that ever was brought -to table, the Pooldoodies of Burran not excepted. The men of Cockenzie -derive a good portion of their annual income from the oyster traffic. -The pursuit of the oyster, indeed, forms a phase of fisher life there -as distinct as at Whitstable. The times for going out to dredge are -at high tide and low tide. The boats used are the smaller-sized ones -employed in the white fishery. The dredge somewhat resembles in shape a -common clasp-purse; it is formed of network, attached to a strong iron -frame, which serves to keep the mouth of the instrument open, and acts -also as a sinker, giving it a proper pressure as it travels along the -oyster-beds. When the boat arrives over the oyster-scalps, the dredge -is let down by a rope attached to the upper ring, and is worked by one -man, except in cases where the boat has to be sailed swiftly, when -two are employed. Of course, in the absence of wind recourse is had -to the oars. The tension upon the rope is the signal for hauling the -dredge on board, when the entire contents are emptied into the boat, -and the dredge returned to the water. These contents, not including the -oysters, are of a most heterogeneous kind—stones, seaweed, star-fish, -young lobsters, crabs, actinæ—all of which are usually returned -to the water, some of them being considered as the most fattening -ground-bait for the codfish. The whelks, clams, mussels, and cockles, -and occasionally the crabs, are used by the fishermen as bait for their -white-fish lines. Once, in a conversation with a veteran dredger as -to what strange things _might_ come in the dredge, he replied, “Well, -master, I don’t know what sort o’ curiosities we sometimes get; but -I have seen gentlemen like yourself go out with us a-dredgin’, and -take away big baskets full o’ things as was neither good for eating or -looking at. The Lord knows what they did with them.” During the whole -time that this dredging is being carried on, the crew keep up a wild -monotonous song, or rather chant, in which they believe much virtue to -lie. They assert that it charms the oysters into the dredge. - - “The herring loves the merry moonlight, - The mackerel loves the wind; - But the oyster loves the dredger’s song, - For he comes of a gentle kind.” - -Talking is strictly forbidden, so that all the required conversation -is carried on after the manner of the _recitative_ of an opera or -oratorio. An enthusiastic London _litterateur_ and musician, being on -a visit to Scotland, determined to carry back with him, among other -natural curiosities, the words and music of the oyster-dredging song. -But, after being exposed to the piercing east wind for six hours, and -jotting down the words and music of the dredgers, he found it all to -end in nothing; the same words were never used, the words were ever -changing. The oyster-scalps are gone over by the men much in the way -that a field is ploughed by an agricultural labourer, the boat going -and returning until sufficient oysters are secured, or a shift is made -to another bed. - -The geographical distribution of oysters is most lavish; wherever there -is a seabord there will they be found. The old stories of ancient -mariners, who sailed the seas before the days of cheap literature, will -be recalled, and their boasted knowledge of the wonders of the fish -world—of oysters that grew on trees, and oysters so large that they -required to be carved just like a round of beef or quarter of lamb. All -these tales were formerly considered so many romances. Who believed -Uncle Jack when he gravely told his wondering nephews about oysters -as large as a soup-plate being found on the coast of Coromandel? But, -nevertheless, Uncle Jack’s stories have been found to be true: there -_are_ large oysters which require carving, and oysters _have_ been -plucked off trees. There are wonderful tales about oysters that have -been taken on the coast of Africa—plucked too from the very trees that -our good, but ignorant, forefathers did not believe in. The ancient -Romans, who knew all the secrets of good living, had the oysters of -all countries brought to their fish-stews, in order that they might -experiment upon them and fatten them for table purposes. Although they -gave the palm to those from Britain, they had a great many varieties -from Africa, and had ingenious modes of transporting them to great -distances which have been lost to modern pisciculturists. - -Many other parts of America besides the New York district are famous -for oysters; and in some parts of the American Continent they grow to -a very large size. So important, in fact, do the Americans consider -the oyster, that it has been the subject of innumerable “messages” by -Governors, Vice-Presidents, heads of departments, etc.—the last we -have seen being that of Governor Wise to the Legislature of Virginia. -According to that gentleman’s estimate, Virginia possesses an area of -about 1,680,000 acres of oyster-beds, containing about 784,000,000 of -bushels of that one mollusc. It is estimated by some naturalists that -the oyster spawns at least 3,000,000 annually; yet, notwithstanding -this enormous productive power, and the vast extent of oyster-beds -in this one state, there is danger, the governor tells us, of the -oyster being exterminated, unless measures are taken to prevent -their being dredged at improper seasons of the year. Governor Wise -proposes to confine the oyster-catching business to citizens of the -state exclusively, and to charge three cents a bushel for all the -oysters taken, which he estimates would yield an annual revenue of -480,000 dollars. The governor is of opinion that the oyster-banks so -regulated will pay a better bonus to the state than paper-money banks, -and regards them as a richer source of profit than either gold, iron, -or copper mines. Another of the American States may be mentioned for -its oyster wealth. The seabord of Georgia is famed for its immense -supplies of that mollusc, great breakwaters being formed by oysters, -which keep off the sea from the land; in fact all over America the -oyster is to be found in great abundance. In New York and other cities -evidences are to be seen on all sides of the love of the people for -this favourite mollusc. Oyster-saloons abound in all the principal -streets, and each one appears to do more business than its neighbour. -In these saloons—most of which, though handsomely fitted up, are -situated underground in the basement of some of the great mercantile -establishments for which the chief cities of the Union are famed—the -cooking of oysters is carried on at all hours, and in all modes. A -writer who has described the traffic says: “Oysters pickled, stewed, -baked, roasted, fried, and scolloped; oysters made into soups, patties, -and puddings; oysters with condiments and without condiments; oysters -for breakfast, dinner, and supper; oysters without stint or limit—fresh -as the pure air, and almost as abundant—are daily offered to the -palates of the Manhattanese, and appreciated with all the gratitude -which such a bounty of nature ought to inspire.” So much for America. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -OUR SHELL-FISH FISHERIES. - - Productive Power of Shell-Fish—Varieties of the Crustacean - Family—Study of the Minor Shell-Fishes—Demand for - Shell-Fish—Lobsters—A Lobster Store-Pond Described—Natural - History of the Lobster and other Crustacea—March of the - Land-Crabs—Prawns and Shrimps, how they are caught and cured—Scottish - Pearl-Fisheries—Account of the Scottish Pearl-Fishery—A - Mussel-Farm—How to grow Bait. - - -Shell-fish is the popular name bestowed by unscientific persons on -the crustacea and mollusca, and no other designation could so well -cover the multitudinous variety of forms which are embraced in these -extensive divisions of the animal kingdom. Fanciful disquisitions on -shell-fish and on marine zoology have been intruded on the public of -late till they have become somewhat tiresome; but as our knowledge of -the natural history of all kinds of sea animals, and particularly of -oysters, lobsters, crabs, etc., is decidedly on the increase, there is -yet room for all that I have to say on the subject of these dainties; -and there are still unexplored wonders of animal life in the fathomless -sea that deserve the deepest study. - -The economic and productive phases of our shell-fish fisheries have -never yet, in my opinion, been sufficiently discussed, and when I state -that the power of multiplication possessed by all kinds of crustacea -and mollusca is even greater, if that be possible, than that possessed -by finned fishes, it will be obvious that there is much in their -natural history that must prove interesting even to the most general -reader. Each oyster, as we have seen, gives birth to almost incredible -quantities of young. Lobsters also have an amazing fecundity, and -yield an immense number of eggs—each female producing from twelve to -twenty thousand in a season; and the crab is likewise most prolific. I -lately purchased a crab weighing within an ounce of two pounds, and it -contained a mass of minute eggs equal in size to a man’s hand; these -were so minute that a very small portion of them, picked off with the -point of a pin, when placed on a bit of glass, and counted by the aid -of a powerful microscope, numbered over sixty, each appearing of the -size of a red currant, and not at all unlike that fruit: so far as I -could guess the eggs were not nearly ripe. I also examined about the -same time a quantity of shrimp eggs; and it is curious that, while -there are the cock and hen lobster, I never saw any difference in the -sex of the shrimps: all that I handled, amounting to hundreds, were -females, and all of them were laden with spawn, the eggs being so -minute as to resemble grains of the finest sand. - -Although the crustacean family counts its varieties by thousands, and -contains members of all sizes, from minute animalculæ to gigantic -American crabs and lobsters, and ranges from the simplest to the most -complex forms, yet the edible varieties are not at all numerous. The -largest of these are the lobster (_Astacus marinus_) and the crab -(_Cancer pagurus_); and river and sea cray-fish may also be seen in -considerable quantities in London shell-fish shops; and as for common -shrimps (_Crangon vulgaris_) and prawns (_Palæmon serratis_), they are -eaten in myriads. The violet or marching crab of the West Indies, and -the robber crab common to the islands of the Pacific, are also esteemed -as great delicacies of the table, but are unknown in this country -except by reputation. - -Leaving old and grave people to study the animal economy of the -larger crustacea, the juveniles may with advantage take a peep at the -periwinkles, the whelks, or other mollusca. These are found in immense -profusion on the little stones between high and low water mark, and on -almost every rock on the British coast. Although to the common observer -the oyster seems but a repulsive mass of blubber, and the periwinkle a -creature of the lowest possible organisation, nothing can be further -from the reality. There is throughout this class of animals a wonderful -adaptibility of means to ends. The turbinated shell of the periwinkle, -with its finely-closed door, gives no token of the powers bestowed upon -the animal, both as provision for locomotion (this class of travellers -wherever they go carry their house along with them) and for reaping -the tender rock-grass upon which they feed. They have eyes in their -horns, and their sense of vision is quick. Their curiously-constructed -foot enables them to progress in any direction they please, and their -wonderful tongue either acts as a screw or a saw. In fact, simple as -the organisation of these animals appears to be, it is not less curious -in its own way than the structure of other beings which are thought to -be more complicated. In good truth, the common periwinkle (_Littorina -vulgaris_) is both worth studying and eating, vulgar as some people may -think it. - -Immense quantities of all the edible molluscs are annually collected by -women and children in order to supply the large inland cities. Great -sacks full of periwinkles, whelks, etc., are sent on by railway to -Manchester, Glasgow, London, etc.; whilst on portions of the Scottish -sea-coast the larger kinds are assiduously collected by the fishermen’s -wives and prepared as bait for the long hand-lines which are used in -capturing the codfish or other Gadidæ. As an evidence of how abundant -the sea-harvest is, I may mention that from a spot so far north as -Orkney hundreds of bags of periwinkles are weekly sent to London by the -Aberdeen steamer. - -From personal inquiry made by the writer a few months ago it was -estimated that for the commissariat of London alone there were required -two millions and a half of crabs and lobsters! May we not, therefore, -take for granted that the other populous towns of the British empire -will consume an equally large number? The people of Liverpool, -Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dublin are as fond of shell-fish -as the denizens of the great metropolis; at any rate, they eat all -they can get, and never get enough. The machinery for supplying this -ever-increasing demand for lobsters, crabs, and oysters is exceedingly -simple. On most parts of the British coast there are people who make -it their business to provide those luxuries of the table for all who -wish them. The capital required for this branch of the fisheries is -not large, and the fishermen and their families attend to the capture -of the crab and lobster in the intervals of other business. The Scotch -laird’s advice to his son to “be always stickin’ in the ither tree, it -will be growin’ when ye are sleepin’,” holds good in lobster-fishing. -The pots may be baited and left till such time as the victim enters, -whilst the men in the meantime take a short cruise in search of bait, -or try a cast of their haddock-lines a mile or two from the shore; or -the fishing can be watched over, and when the lobsters are numerous, -the pots be lifted every half hour or so. The taking of shell-fish -also affords occupation to the old men and youngsters of the fishing -villages, and these folks may be seen in the fine days assiduously -waiting on the lobster-traps and crab-cages, which are not unlike -overgrown rat-traps, and are constructed of netting fastened over a -wooden framework, baited with any kind of fish offal, or garbage, the -stench of which may be strong enough to attract the attention of those -minor monsters of the deep. A great number of these lobster-pots are -sunk at, perhaps, a depth of twelve or twenty fathoms at an appropriate -place, being held together by a strong line, and all marked with a -peculiarly-cut piece of cork, so that each fisherman may recognise -his own lot. The knowing youngsters of our fishing communities can -also secure their prey by using a long stick. Mr. Cancer Pagurus is -watched as he bustles out for his evening promenade, and, on being -deftly pitched upon his back by means of a pole, he indignantly seizes -upon it with all his might, and the stick being shaken a little has -the desirable effect of causing Mr. Crab to cling thereto with great -tenacity, which is, of course, the very thing desired by the grinning -“human” at the other end, as whenever he feels his prey secure he -dexterously hauls him on board, unhooks the crusty gentleman with a -jerk, and adds him to the accumulating heap at the bottom of the old -boat. The monkeys in the West Indies are, however, still more ingenious -than the “fisher loons” of Arran or Skye. Those wise animals, when -they take a notion of dining on a crab, proceed to the rocks, and -slyly insinuating their tail into one of the holes where the crustacea -take refuge, that appendage is at once seized upon by the crab, who -is thereby drawn from his hiding-place, and, being speedily dashed -to pieces on the hard stone, affords a fine feast to his captor. On -the granite-bound coast of Scotland the sport of crab-hunting may be -enjoyed to perfection and the wonders of the deep be studied at the -same time. A long pole with a small crook at the end will be found -useful to draw the crab from his nest, or great fun may be enjoyed -by tying during low-water a piece of bait to a string and attaching -a stone to the other end of the cord. The crab seizes upon this bait -whenever the tide flows, and drags it to its hole, so that when the -ebb of the tide recurs the stone at the end of the cord marks the -hiding-place of the animal, who thus falls an easy prey to his captor. -The natives are the best instructors in these arts, and seaside -visitors cannot do better than engage the services of some strong -fisher youth to act as guide in such perambulations as they may make on -the beach. There are few seaside places where the natives cannot guide -strangers to rock pools and picturesque nooks teeming with materials -for studying the wonders of the shore. - -Lobsters are collected and sent to London from all parts of the -Scottish shore. I have seen on the Sutherland and other coasts the -perforated chests floating in the water filled with them. They were -kept till called for by the welled smacks, which generally made the -circuit of the coasts once a week, taking up all the lobsters or crabs -they could get, and carrying them alive to London. From the Durness -shores alone as many as from six to eight thousand lobsters have been -collected in the course of a single summer, and sold, big or little, -at threepence each to the buyers. The lobsters taken on the north-east -coast of Scotland and at Orkney are now packed in seaweed and sent in -boxes to London by railway. The lobsters have been more plentiful, it -is thought, in the Orkney Islands of late years; a larger trade has -been done in them since the railway was opened from Aberdeen—at all -events, more of the animals have been caught, and the prices are double -what they used to be in the time of the welled smacks alluded to above. -The fisher-folks of Orkney confess that the trade in lobsters pays them -well. - -All kinds of crustaceans can be kept alive at the place of capture till -“wanted”—that is, till the welled vessel which carries them to London -or Liverpool arrives—by simply storing them in a large perforated -wooden box anchored in a convenient place. Nor must it be supposed -that the acute London dealers allow too many lobsters to be brought to -market at once; the supply is governed by the demand, and the stock -kept in large store-boxes at convenient places down the river, where -the sea-water is strong and the liquid filth of London harmless. But -these old-fashioned store-boxes will, no doubt, be speedily superseded -by the construction of artificial store-ponds on a large scale, similar -to that erected by Mr. Richard Scovell at Hamble, near Southampton. -That gentleman informs me that his pond has been of good service to -him. It is about fifty yards square, and is lined with brick, having -a bottom of concrete, and was excavated at a cost of about £1200. -It will store with great ease 50,000 lobsters, and the animals may -remain in the pond as long as six weeks, with little chance of being -damaged. Lobsters, however, do not breed in this state of confinement, -nor have they been seen to undergo a change of shell. There is, of -course, an apparatus of pipes and sluices for the purpose of supplying -the pond with water. The stock is recruited from the coasts of France -and Ireland; and to keep up the supply Mr. Scovell has in his service -two or three vessels of considerable size, which visit the various -fisheries and bring the lobsters to Hamble in their capacious wells, -each of which is large enough to contain from 5000 to 10,000 animals. - -The west and north-west coasts of Ireland abound with fine lobsters, -and welled vessels bring thence supplies for the London market, and it -is said that a supply of 10,000 a week can easily be obtained. Immense -quantities are also procured on the west coast of Scotland. A year or -two ago I saw on board the _Islesman_ steamboat at Greenock a cargo -of 30,000 lobsters, obtained chiefly on the coasts of Lewis and Skye. -The value of these to the captors would be upwards of £1000, and in -the English fishmarkets the lot would bring at least four times that -sum. As showing how enormous the food wealth of the sea still is, -notwithstanding the quantity taken out of it, I may cite here a few -brief particulars of a little experiment of a charitable nature which -was tried by a gentleman who took a warm interest in the Highland -fishermen, and the results of which he himself lately made public. -Commiserating the wretchedness which he had witnessed among many, who, -although anxious to labour, were unable to procure work, and at the -same time feeling that the usual method of assisting them was based on -a mistaken principle, this gentleman undertook the establishment of a -fishery upon a small scale at his own expense. He therefore expended a -sum of £600, with which he procured eight boats, completely equipped, -and a small smack of sixteen tons. The crews, consisting of thirty -men, he furnished with all the necessary fishing materials, paying -the men weekly wages ranging from nine to thirteen shillings, part of -the sum being in meal. The result of this experiment was, that these -eight boats sent to the London market in a few months as many lobsters -as reimbursed the original cost of the fishing plant. The men and -their families were thus rescued from a state of semi-starvation, and -are now living in comfort, with plenty surrounding their dwellings; -and have, besides, the satisfaction of knowing that their present -independent condition has been achieved principally by means of their -own well-sustained industry. - -A very large share of our lobsters is derived from Norway, as many as -30,000 sometimes arriving from the fjords in a single day. The Norway -lobsters are much esteemed, and we pay the Norwegians something like -£20,000 a year for this one article of commerce. They are brought over -in welled steam-vessels, and are kept in the wooden reservoirs already -alluded to, some of which may be seen at Hole Haven, on the Essex side -of the Thames. Once upon a time, some forty years ago, one of these -wooden lobster-stores was run into by a Russian frigate, whereby some -20,000 lobsters were set adrift to sprawl in the muddy waters of the -Thames. In order that the great mass of animals confined in these -places may be kept upon their best behaviour, a species of cruelty has -to be perpetrated to prevent their tearing each other to pieces: the -great claw is, therefore, rendered paralytic by means of a wooden peg -being driven into a lower joint. - -I have no intention of describing the whole members of the crustacea; -they are much too numerous to admit of that, ranging as they do from -the comparatively giant-like crab and lobster down to the millions of -minute insects which at some places confer a phosphorescent appearance -on the waters of the sea. My limits will necessarily confine me to a -few of the principal members of the family—the edible crustacea, in -fact; and these I shall endeavour to speak about in such plain language -as I think my readers will understand, leaving out as much of the -fashionable “scientific slang” as I possibly can. - -The more we study the varied crustacea of the British shores, the more -we are struck with their wonderful formation, and the peculiar habits -of their members. I once heard a clergyman at a lecture describe a -lobster in brief but fitting terms as a standing romance of the sea—an -animal whose clothing is a shell, which it casts away once a year in -order that it may put on a larger suit—an animal whose flesh is in its -tail and legs, and whose hair is in the inside of its breast, whose -stomach is in its head, and which is changed every year for a new one, -and which new one begins its life by devouring the old! an animal which -carries its eggs within its body till they become fruitful, and then -carries them outwardly under its tail; an animal which can throw off -its legs when they become troublesome, and can in a brief time replace -them with others; and lastly, an animal with very sharp eyes placed in -movable horns. The picture is not at all overdrawn. It is a wondrous -creature this lobster, and I may be allowed a brief space in which to -describe the curious provision of nature which allows for an increase -of growth, or provides for the renewal of a broken limb, and which -applies generally to the edible crustacea. - -The habits of the principal crustacea are now pretty well understood, -and their mode of growth is so peculiar as to render a close -inspection of their habits a most interesting study. As has been -stated, a good-sized lobster will yield about 20,000 eggs, and these -are hatched, being so nearly ripe before they are abandoned by the -mother, with great rapidity—it is said in forty-eight hours—and grow -quickly, although the young lobster passes through many changes -before it is fit to be presented at table. During the early periods -of growth it casts its shell frequently. This wonderful provision for -an increase of size in the lobster has been minutely studied during -its period of moulting. Mr. Jonathan Couch says the additional size -which is gained at each period of exuviation is perfectly surprising, -and it is wonderful to see the complete covering of the animal cast -off like a suit of old clothes, while it hides, naked and soft, in a -convenient hole, awaiting the growth of its new crust. In fact, it is -difficult to believe that the great soft animal ever inhabited the -cast-off habitation which is lying beside it, because the lobster -looks, and really is, so much larger. The lobster, crab, etc., change -their shells about every six weeks during the first year of their age, -every two months during the second year, and then the changing of the -shell becomes less frequent, being reduced to four times a year. It -is supposed that this animal becomes reproductive at the age of five -years. In France the lobster-fishery is to some extent “regulated.” A -close-time exists, and size is the one element of capture that is most -studied. All the small lobsters are thrown back to the water. There is -no difficulty in observing the process of exuviation. A friend of mine -had a crab which moulted in a small crystal basin. I presume that at -some period in the life of the crab or lobster growth will cease, and -the annual moulting become unnecessary; at any rate, I have seen crabs -and other crustaceans taken from an island in the Firth of Forth which -were covered with parasites evidently two or three years old. - -To describe minutely the exuviation of a lobster, crab, or shrimp -would in itself form an interesting chapter of this work, and it is -only of late years that many points of the process have been witnessed -and for the first time described. Not long ago, for instance, it was -doubtful whether or not the hermit-crabs (_Anomoura_) shed their skin; -and, that fact being settled, it became a question whether they shed -the skin of their tail! There was a considerable amount of controversy -on this delicate point, till the “strange and unexpected discovery” -was made by Mr. Harper. That gentleman was fortunate enough to catch -a hermit-crab in the very act, and was able to secure the caudal -appendage which had just been thrown off. Other matters of controversy -have been instituted in reference to the growth of various members -of the crustacea; indeed, the young of the crab in an early stage -have before now been described by naturalists as distinct species, -so great is the metamorphosis they undergo before they assume their -final shape—just as the sprat in good time changes in all probability -to the herring. Another point of controversy at one period existed in -reference to the power of crustaceans to replace their broken limbs, or -occasionally to dispense at their own good pleasure with a limb, when -it is out of order, with the absolute certainty of replacing it. - -When the female crustacea retire in order to undergo their exuviation -they are watched, or rather guarded, by the males; and if one male be -taken away, in a short time another will be found to have taken his -place. I do not think there is any particular season for moulting; the -period differs in different places, according to the temperature of the -water and other circumstances, so that we might have shell-fish (and -white-fish too) all the year round were a little attention paid to the -different seasons of exuviation and egg-laying. - -The mode in which a hen lobster lays her eggs is curious: she -lodges a quantity of them under her tail, and bears them about for -a considerable period; indeed, till they are so nearly hatched as -only to require a very brief time to mature them. When the eggs are -first exuded from the ovary they are very small, but before they are -committed to the sand or water they increase considerably in size and -become as large as good-sized shot. Lobsters may be found with eggs, -or “in berry” as it is called, all the year round; and when the hen is -in process of depositing her eggs she is not good for food, the flesh -being poor, watery, and destitute of flavour. - -When the British crustacea are in their soft state they are not -considered as being good for food; but, curiously enough, the -land-crabs are most esteemed while in that condition. The epicure who -has not tasted “soft crabs” should hasten to make himself acquainted -with one of the most delicious luxuries of the table. The eccentric -land-crab, which lives far inland among the rocks, or in the clefts of -trees, or burrows in holes in the earth, makes in the spring-time an -annual pilgrimage to the sea in order to deposit its spawn, and the -young, guided by an unerring instinct, return to the land in order -to live in the rocks or burrow in the earth like their progenitors. -In the fish-world we have something nearly akin to this. We have -the salmon, that spends one half its life in the sea, and the other -half in the fresh water; it proceeds to the sea to attain size and -strength, and returns to the river in order to perpetuate its kind. -The eel, again, just does the reverse of all this: it goes down to the -sea to spawn, and then proceeds up the river to live; and at certain -seasons it may be seen in myriad quantities making its way up stream. -The march of the land-crabs is a singular and interesting sight: they -congregate into one great army, and travel in two or three divisions, -generally by night, to the sea; they proceed straight forward, and -seldom deviate from their path unless to avoid crossing a river. These -marching crabs eat up all the luxuriant vegetation on their route: -their path is marked by desolation. The moment they arrive at the water -the operation of spawning is commenced by allowing the waves to wash -gently over their bodies. A few days of this kind of bathing assists -the process of oviposition, and knots of spawn similar to lumps of -herring-roe are gradually washed into the water, which in a short time -finishes the operation. Countless thousands of these eggs are annually -devoured by various fishes and monsters of the deep that lie in wait -for them during the spawning season. After their brief seaside sojourn, -the old crabs undergo their moult, and at this period thousands of them -sicken and die, and large numbers of them are captured for table use, -soft crabs being highly esteemed by all lovers of good things. By the -time they have recovered from their moult the army of juveniles from -the seaside begins to make its appearance in order to join the old -stock in the mountains; and thus the legion of land-crabs is annually -recruited by a fresh batch, which in their turn perform the annual -migration to the sea much as their parents have done before them. - -Before leaving the crabs and lobsters, it is worthy of remark that an -experienced dealer can tell at once the locality whence any particular -lobster is obtained—whether from the west of Ireland, the Orkney -Islands, or the coast of Brittany. The shelly inhabitants of different -localities are distinctly marked. Indeed fish are peculiarly local -in their habits, although the vulgar idea has hitherto been that all -kinds of sea animals herd indiscriminately together; that the crab and -the lobster crept about the bottom rocks, whilst the waving skate or -the swaggering lingfish dashed about in mid-water, the prowling “dogs” -busily preying on the shoals of herring supposed to be swimming near; -the brilliant shrimp flashing through the crowd like a meteor, the -elegant saithe keeping them company; the whole being overshadowed by a -few whales, and kept in awe by a dozen or so of sharks! Nothing can be -more different than the reality of the water-world, which is colonised -quite as systematically as the earth. Particular shoals of herring, -for instance, gather off particular counties; the Lochfyne herring, -as I have mentioned in the account of the herring-fishery, differs -from the herring of the Caithness coast or that of the Firth of Forth; -and any ’cute fishmonger can tell a Tweed salmon from a Tay one. The -herring at certain periods move in gigantic shoals, the chief members -of the Gadidæ congregate on vast sandbanks, and the whales occasionally -roam about in schools; while the Pleuronectidæ occupy sandy places -in the bottom of the sea. We have all heard of the great cod-banks -of Newfoundland, of the fish community at Rockall; then is there not -the Nymph Bank, near Dublin, celebrated for its haddocks? have we not -also the Faroe fishing-ground, the Dogger Bank, and other places with -a numerous fish population? There are wonderful diversities of life -in the bosom of the deep; and there is beautiful scenery of hill and -plain, vegetable and rock, and mountain and valley. There are shallows -and depths suited to different aspects of life, and there is life of -all kinds teeming in that mighty world of waters, and the fishes live - - “A cold sweet silver life, wrapped in round waves, - Quickened with touches of transporting fear.” - -The prawn and the shrimp are ploughed in innumerable quantities from -the shallow waters that lave the shore. The shrimper may be seen any -day at work, pushing his little net before him. To reach the more -distant sandbanks he requires a boat; but on these he captures his prey -with greater facility, and richer hauls reward his labour than when he -plies his putting-net close inshore. The shrimper, when he captures -a sufficient quantity, proceeds to boil them; and till they undergo -that process they are not edible. The shrimp is “the ‘Undine’ of the -waters,” and seems possessed by some aquatic devil, it darts about -with such intense velocity. Like the lobster and the crab, the prawn -periodically changes its skill; and its exertions to throw off its old -clothes are really as wonderful as those of its larger relatives of -the lobster and crab family. There are a great many species of shrimp -in addition to the common one; as, for instance, banded, spinous, -sculptured, three-spined, and two-spined. Young prawns, too, are often -taken in the “putting-nets” and sold for shrimps. Prawns are caught in -some places in pots resembling those used for the taking of lobsters. -The prawn exuviates very frequently; in fact it has no sooner recovered -from one illness than it has to undergo another. Although the prawn -and the shrimp are exceedingly common on the British coasts, when -we consider the millions of these “sea insects,” as they have been -called, which are annually consumed at the breakfast tables and in the -tea-gardens of London alone (not to speak of those which are greedily -devoured in our watering-places, or the few which are allowed to reach -the more inland towns of the country), we cannot but wonder where they -all come from, or who provides them; and the problem can only be solved -by taking into account the fact that we are surrounded by hundreds of -miles of a productive seabord, and that thousands of seafaring people, -and others as well, make it their business to supply such luxuries to -all who can pay for them. It is even found profitable to send these -delicacies to England all the way from the remote fisheries of Scotland. - -The art of “shrimping” is well understood all round the English coasts. -The mode of capturing this particular member of the Crustacea is by -what is called a shrimp-net, formed of a frame of wood and twine -into a long bag, which is used as a kind of minature trawl-net; each -shrimping-boat being provided with one or two of these instruments, -which, scraping along the sand, compel the shrimp to enter. Each boat -is provided with a “well,” or store, to contain the proceeds of the -nets, and on arrival at home the shrimps are immediately boiled for -the London or other markets. The shrimpers are rather ill-used by the -trade. Of the many thousand gallons sent daily to London, they only -get an infinitesimal portion of the money produce. The retail price -in London is four shillings per gallon, out of which the producer is -understood to get only threepence! I have been told that the railways -charge at the extraordinary rate of £9 a ton for the carriage of this -delicacy to London. It is an interesting sight to watch the shrimpers -at their work, and such of my readers as can obtain a brief holiday -should run down to Leigh, or some nearer fishing place, where they can -see the art of shrimping carried on in all its picturesque beauty. - -The fresh-water cray-fish, a very delicate kind of miniature lobster, -abundantly numerous in all our larger streams, and exceedingly -plentiful in France, may often be seen on the counters of our -fishmongers; as also the sea cray-fish, which is much larger in size, -having been known to attain the weight of ten or twelve pounds, but it -is coarser in the flavour than either the crab or lobster. The river -cray-fish, which lodges in holes in the banks of our streams, is caught -simply by means of a split stick with a bit of bait inserted at the -end. The fresh-water cray-fish has afforded a better opportunity for -studying the structure of the crustacea than any of the salt-water -species, as its habits can be more easily observed. The sea cray-fish -is not at all plentiful in the British Islands, although we have a -limited supply in some of our markets. - -There has hitherto been a fixed period for the annual sacrifice to -crustacean gastronomy. As my readers are already aware, there is a -well-known time for the supplying of oysters, which is fixed by law, -and which begins in August and ends in April. During the _r_-less -months oysters are less wholesome than in the colder weather. The -season for lobsters begins about March, and is supposed to close with -September, so that in the round of the year we have always some kind -of shell-fish delicacy to feast upon. Were a little more attention -devoted to the economy of our fisheries, we might have lobsters and -crabs upon our tables all the year round. In my opinion lobsters are -as good for food in the winter time as during the months in which they -are most in demand. It may be hoped that we shall get to understand all -this much better by and by, for at present we are sadly ignorant of the -natural economy of these, and indeed all other denizens of the deep. - -A new branch of shell-fishing has been lately revived in Scotland. I -allude to the pearl-fisheries which are now being carried on in our -large streams, and which, if prudently conducted, may become a source -of considerable wealth to the Scottish people. - -The pearl is found in a species of shell-fish which is a variety of -the mussel, not an oyster, as is commonly supposed. The pearl has -been pronounced the most beautiful of all our gems, coming, as it -does, finished and perfect, direct from the laboratory of nature, and -consequently owing nothing to the cunning of man except its discovery— - - “Ocean’s gem, the purest - Of Nature’s works! what days of weary journeyings, - What sleepless nights, what toils on land and sea, - Are borne by men to gain thee!” - -In the Eastern seas professional divers are employed to go down into -the depths of the ocean in order to obtain them—a dangerous occupation, -at one time only followed by condemned criminals. The best-known -fishery for pearls is that at Ceylon, which was a very lucrative -concern, at one time, in the hands of the industrious Dutch. - -[Illustration: THE SCOTTISH PEARL-MUSSEL.] - -Pearls are of remote antiquity. In the time of Pliny they held the -highest rank among all gems, and the Romans esteemed and largely used -them—the ladies ornamenting, with lavish extravagance, all parts of -their dress with them; and so extravagant did they become in their -use of these gems by way of personal ornament, that Seneca, the wise -moralist, reproaches a patrician by saying that his lady wore all the -wealth of his house in her ears, it being at that time the fashion -for a lady to have three or four of these valuable gems hung in -each ear-drop. As to the value of these drops from the deep, we may -instance Cleopatra’s banquet to Mark Antony, when, according to vulgar -belief, she took a pearl from her ear, worth £80,000 of our money, and -dissolving it in vinegar, swallowed it! The pearl which Cæsar presented -to the mother of Marcus Brutus is said to have been of the value of -£48,000. Then we are told that Clodius, the son of the tragedian, once -swallowed a pearl worth £8000. Actors’ sons of the present day have -been known to do extravagant things; but few of them, I suspect, could -achieve a feat like this. In the East, too, in those early days, the -pearl was held in the highest esteem. We read of one gem, still to be -seen in Persia, I believe, that had a market price set upon it equal to -£100,000 of our money; and there is another pearl mentioned as obtained -in 1587 from the island of Margarita which weighed 250 carats, the -value of which was named as being $150,000; and there are many other -instances on record of the value of pearls to which I need not make -further reference. - -When our government took up the Eastern pearl-fishery in 1797, the -annual produce was £144,000, which in the following year was increased -by £50,000, but immediately afterwards fell off, most probably from -overfishing. It revived again, and in the beginning of the present -century the pearl ground was leased to private adventurers at the -large rent of £120,000 per annum, with the wise understanding that the -bed or bank was to be divided into portions, only one of which was to -be worked at a time, so that a part of the mussels might have a good -rest. From various causes, however, the Ceylon fisheries have again -failed, and for a year or two have been totally unproductive. In a -privately-printed work on Ceylon, by James Steuart, Esq. of Colpetty, -which the author has kindly forwarded to me along with a quantity of -Oriental pearl-oyster shells, there is a very interesting description -of the Ceylon pearl-fishery, with notes on the natural history of the -oyster. In reference to the recent failure of the fishery for gems in -the Gulf of Manaar, Mr. Steuart has supplied me with the following -interesting note:— - -“The Gulf of Manaar pearl-fisheries having again ceased to be -productive, the government of Ceylon appear to be impressed with a -belief that further information is needed respecting the habits of -the pearl-oyster, and that it may be desirable to obtain the services -of a naturalist to study and report on the best means of insuring a -continuous revenue from pearls. - -“The natural history of the edible oyster is now so well understood -that its culture on artificial beds is in successful progress in many -places on the coasts of both England and France; but it is one thing to -breed and fatten edible oysters for the palate, and another to breed -the pearly mollusc of Ceylon to produce pearl. - -“That which is commonly called the pearl-oyster of the Gulf of Manaar -is classed by naturalists with the mussel in consequence of its shells -being united by a broad hinge and its having a strong fibrous byssus -with which it attaches itself to the shells of others, to rocks, -and to other substances. It had long been believed that the fish in -question had not the power of locomotion, nor of detaching its byssus -from the substances to which it adhered; but in the year 1851 it -was satisfactorily ascertained that when it had become detached it -possessed the power of extending its body from within its shells and -of creeping up the inner side of a glass globe containing sea-water. -It was, however, left to the late Dr. Kelaart, when employed by -government as a naturalist to study the habits of the fish, to discover -that, although it could not detach its byssus from the rock to which -it adhered, it had the power of casting off from its body its entire -byssus and of proceeding to some other spot, and there, by forming a -new byssus, of attaching itself to any substance near to it. It is -therefore now believed that the Manaar pearl-fish has the power of -changing its position, and this may account for the disappearance of -large quantities from the sandy places on which the brood sometimes -settles; but it is by no means so clear that these fish are able to -drag their shells after them over the rugged surface of coral rocks. - -“I have already stated that the produce of the pearl-fish of the Gulf -of Manaar varies in richness of colour, in the size of the pearl, and -the quantity of its yield, according to the nature of the ground on -which it rests, or of the food which that ground supplies. In some -cases the pearl produced barely repays the cost of fishing. It would -therefore appear to be desirable that the component parts of the -surface of the most productive banks should be subjected to chemical -analysis. And as the natural history of the mussel and the scollop does -not appear to be so well ascertained as that of the edible oyster, it -might be attended by some useful result if a prize were offered for the -best treatise on these European bivalves as being the nearest approach -to the pearly mollusc of Ceylon. With the information thus obtained, it -might not be necessary to incur the expense of sending a naturalist to -Ceylon.” - -During the past two or three summers the early industry of -pearl-seeking has been very successfully revived in Scotland, chiefly -through the exertions of Mr. Moritz Unger, a dealer in gems residing in -Edinburgh. That gentleman having, in the way of his trade, occasionally -fallen in with pearls said to be obtained in Scottish rivers, was so -struck with their great beauty that he determined to set about their -collection in a more systematic way. At that time there was in Scotland -only one professed fisher for pearls, who lived at Killin, and whose -stock was principally bought up by the late Marquis of Breadalbane. Mr. -Unger, having in view the extension of the trade, travelled over the -whole country, and announced his intention of buying, at a fixed scale -of prices, all the pearls he could obtain—taking possession, in the -meantime, of such gems as he could get from the peasantry, and paying -them a liberal price. The consequence is, that now, instead of there -being but one professed pearl-seeker in Scotland, there are hundreds -who cling to pearl-fishing as their sole occupation, and, being sober -and industrious men, they make a good living by it. - -The Scotch pearls were, in the middle ages, celebrated all over Europe -for their size and beauty. Just one hundred years ago—between the years -1761 and 1764—pearls to the value of £10,000 were sent to London from -the rivers Tay and Isla; but the trade carried on in the corresponding -years of this century is far more than double that amount. Mr. Unger -estimates the pearls found last summer (1864) to be of the value to -the finders of about £10,000; whereas, on his first tour, he bought -up, four years ago, all that were to be had for the sum of £40. Single -specimens have recently been found worth as much as £60. - -From the middle of last century till about 1860 the Scottish -pearl-fisheries were quite neglected, and large pearls were found only -as it were by accident in occasional dry seasons, when the rivers were -scant of water, and the mussels were consequently accessible without -much trouble. It was left for Mr. Unger to discern the capabilities -of the Scottish pearl as an ornamental gem of great value; and it is -now a fact that the beautiful pink-hued pearls of our Scottish streams -are admired even beyond the Oriental pearls of Ceylon. The Empress -Eugenie, Queen Victoria, and other royal ladies, as well as many of -the nobility, have been making large purchases of these Scottish gems. -In some rural districts the peasantry are making little fortunes by -pearl-seeking for only a few hours a day. Many of the undemonstrative -weavers and cobblers, whose residence is near a pearl-producing stream, -contrive, in the early morning, or after the usual day’s work, to step -out and gather a few hundreds of the pearl-containing mussels, in which -they are almost sure to find a few gems of more or less value. The -pearl-fisher requires no capital to set him up in his trade; he needs -no costly instruments, but has only to wade into the stream, put forth -his hand, and gather what he finds. - -An intelligent pearl-fisher, who resides near the river Doon, has -sent me the following graphic account of what he calls “the pearl -fever:”—“For many years back the boys were in the habit of amusing -themselves in the summer-time, when the water was shallow, by gathering -mussels and searching them for pearls, having heard somehow that money -could be obtained for them; but they often enough found that, however -difficult it might be to secure the pearl, it was still more difficult -to get it converted into cash—threepence, sixpence, or a shilling, -being the ordinary run of prices, buyers and sellers being alike -ignorant of the commodity in which they were dealing. It was not until -the middle of the summer of 1863 that the fever of pearl-seeking broke -out thoroughly on the banks of the classic Doon. The weather had been -uncommonly dry for some time, and the river had in many places become -extremely shallow; some of the women and children had been employing -their spare time in gathering mussels and opening them, and few of -those who had given it a trial failed to become the possessors of one -or more pearls. Just then Mr. Unger made his appearance, and bought up -all he could get at prices which perfectly startled the people; and, -as a consequence, young and old, male and female, rushed like ducks to -the water, and waded, dived, and swam, till the excitement became so -intense as to be called by many the ‘pearl fever.’ The banks of the -river for some time presented an extraordinary scene. Here a solitary -female, very lightly clad indeed, is seen wading up to the breast, and -as she stoops to pick up a mussel, her head is of necessity immersed in -the water. Having got hold of a shell she throws it on to the opposite -bank and stoops for another, and in this manner secures as many as -her apron will hold, and carries them home to find that, very likely, -she has more blanks than prizes among them. There, in a shallow part -of the stream, a swarm of boys are trying their fortune; there is a -great degree of impatience in their mode of fishing, for each shell is -opened and examined so soon as it is lifted. A little above them are -two scantily-clad females earnestly at work; one of them is actually -stone blind, but she gropes with her naked feet for a shell, then -picks it up with her hand, carefully opens it with a stout knife, and -with her thumb feels every part of its interior. She has been pretty -successful, and her tidy dress when she is resting from her labour -betokens the good use she makes of the proceeds of her fishing. The -spectator may next pass through the crowds of men, women, and boys -similarly employed, where the grassy banks are reddened by the constant -tread of many feet, and the smell of heaps upon heaps of putrid mussels -tells the magnitude of the slaughter. The eye is then attracted by the -sight of a man on crutches making for the river. He soon gets seated on -the right bank of the stream, where his better half, in water almost -beyond her depth, is gathering from the bottom of the muddy and all but -stagnant part of the river a quantity of shells for him to examine. Nor -were the labours of this couple unrewarded; by their united exertions -they earned in a few weeks somewhat above £8, and so little idea -had they of the value of the pearls, that on one occasion when they -expected about 15s. for a few they had despatched to the collector, -they were agreeably surprised at the receipt of three times the amount -by return of post. It was found that the fishing was most successful -where the river was deep and its motion sluggish. To get at the mussels -in such places, large iron rakes, with long teeth and handles about -twenty feet in length, were procured, and by means of these some of -the deepest parts of the river were dragged and some valuable pearls -secured; many of which were disposed of at £1 each, others at 25s., and -one at £2; while a great number ranged from 7s. 6d. to 15s. each. But -by far the greater portion were either entirely useless, or on account -of their smallness, bad shape, or colour, were parted with for a mere -trifle. Some idea of the extent of the pearl-fishery in 1863 of this -one river may be gathered from the fact that Mr. Unger paid to those -engaged in it a sum exceeding £150 for each month the fishing lasted; -and a goodly number of pearls were disposed of to private individuals -in the vicinity for their own special use, besides those that found -their way into the markets. During the continuance of the fishery -the general cry was that so much exposure of the body was likely to -introduce a variety of diseases such as had not hitherto been known in -the place; but no such effects made their appearance. And though there -were exceptional cases where the extra cash (for it was like found -money) obtained for the pearls was worse than wasted, there are many -who can point to a new suit of clothes or a good lever watch, when -asked what they had to show as the reward of the many cold drenchings -they got while dredging the Doon for pearls.” - -In 1863 a controversy arose as to which rivers produced the best -pearls, and it was then argued that only in those streams issuing from -lochs was a continuous supply of the pearl-mussel to be found, and -although there are a few pearl streams which take their rise in some -little spring and gather volume as they flow, yet their number, as -far as is known, is only four—viz. the Ugie, Ythan, Don, and Isla—and -even these are now (1865) very nearly exhausted. Many of the finest -gems have been found in the Doon, Teith, Forth, Earn, Tay, Lyon, Spey, -Conan, etc. etc. Until this summer (1865) it has been supposed that -the lochs are the natural reservoirs of the pearl-mussel, and when -in 1860-1 a portion of Loch Venachar was laid dry for the purpose of -building a sluice for the Glasgow Waterworks, innumerable shells were -found, from which the labourers gathered a great many very fine pearls. -The above theory was thereby so much confirmed that Mr. Unger was -induced in 1864 to try further experiments on Lochs Venachar, Achray, -and Lubnaig, by means of dredging, which, considering the rough mode of -procedure, was so successful, especially on a place called Lynn Achore, -at the east end of Loch Venachar, that he at last considered himself -justified in incurring considerable expense. Accordingly he procured -this summer (1865) one of Siebes’ diving apparatus, and bringing down -one of the best divers from London, proceeded to search the bottoms -of several lochs on a systematic plan. Many obstacles were thrown in -Mr. Unger’s way by the proprietors, and although he was particularly -anxious to experiment on Loch Tay, the present Earl of Breadalbane -would not grant permission for him to do so. But with the consent of -the Earl of Moray the first regular trial was made on Loch Venachar, -and it was ascertained beyond a doubt that shells were to be found in -all the sandy shallow parts of the loch; not however in beds, as people -were led to suppose from dredging experiments, but only here and there -in clusters of a dozen or so, except at the mouth of the loch, where -they were more extensive and in larger quantities. The diver also went -down in various parts of the loch to the depth of a hundred feet, -where it was found to be quite impracticable to search for anything -so small as a pearl-mussel on account of the thick muddy bottom. Mr. -Unger, nothing daunted by this partial failure, went to Sir Robert -Menzies, who not only consented at once to his trying Loch Rannoch, -but generously placed all available boats and utensils, besides the -service of several men, at his disposal; after a week’s trial, however, -Mr. Unger was reluctantly compelled for the present to desist from any -further experiments. - -Pearls are found in many of the Irish and Welsh rivers, and Mr. -Unger now receives constant accessions to his stock from the north -of Ireland. The Conway was noted for pearls in the days of Camden. -The pearl-mussels are called by the Welsh “Deluge shells,” and are -thought by the ignorant to have been left by the Flood. The river -Irt, in Cumberland, was also at one time a famous stream for pearls; -and during last century several pearls were found in the streams of -Ireland, particularly in the counties of Tyrone and Donegal. We read of -specimens that fetched sums varying from £4 to £80. - -If my readers be curious to know how many shells will have to be -opened before this toil is rewarded with a find of pearls, let them be -told that, on the average, the searcher never opens a hundred mussels -without being made happy with a few of the gems. It is remarked that -they are more certain to have pearls when they are taken from the -stony places of the river. Thousands of mussels have been found in -the sand, but these have rarely if ever contained a single pearl; -whilst the shells again that are found in soft and muddy bottoms have -plenty of gems, but they are poor in quality and bad in colour. No -pearls are ever found in a young shell, and all such may at once be -rejected. A skilful operator opens the mussel with a shell, in order -to avoid scratching the pearl; the opened fish is thrown into the -water, and it is either the mussels or the insects gathering about -them that are greedily devoured by the salmon and other fish, so -that those proprietors of streams who were becoming uneasy as to the -effects of the pearl-fishery on the salmon may set their minds at rest. -Although at one time none of the London dealers in gems would look at -a Scotch pearl, it is an interesting fact that now the fame of the -Scottish fisheries has so extended as to bring buyers from France and -other Continental countries; and, as boats and dredges are now being -introduced, it is thought that any moderate demand may be supplied. -Great quantities of pearls have been sent to the collector through the -post-office. - -An Ayrshire paper says of the Doon fishery:—“That owing to the -wholesale slaughter of the mussels last season, the pearl-fishing -this summer (1864) in the river Doon has been neither so exciting nor -remunerative. Few have paid much attention to it; but even amongst -those few rather more than £100 has been obtained for pearls since the -month of May, there being more than one individual who has earned at -least £13 during that period, having followed their avocation daily, -whilst the pearl-fishing was engaged in as a _profitable_ recreation. -As a whole the pearls of the river Doon are of an inferior quality, -£2 being about the highest price at which any of them have been sold; -these weighed from eight to twelve grains, but were far from being -very bright in colour. ‘It is all a matter of chance,’ say some of the -pearl-fishers; ‘you may fish a whole day and not make sixpence, and one -worth a pound may be, yea has been, found in the second shell.’” Such -things have frequently happened, but the earnest plodding fisher has -always been handsomely paid for his work. Though on an average a pearl -is found in every thirty shells, only one pearl in every ten is fit for -the market. It will thus be seen that one hundred and thirty shells -have to be gathered, opened, and examined, and one hundred and thirty -lives sacrificed, in order to secure one marketable pearl.[16] - -It is not unlikely that the present mania for pearl-gathering may very -speedily exhaust the supply of mussels. The energy with which the -fishing is carried on undoubtedly points to a very speedy diminution -of a shell-fish which was never very plentiful, and it would be a -very good plan to try the system of culture on hurdles which has been -found so successful for the growth of the edible mussel of the Bay of -Aiguillon, to be now described. - -Considering the importance attached by fishermen to the easy attainment -of a cheap supply of bait, it is surprising that no attempt has been -made in this country to economise and regulate the various mussel-beds -which abound on the Scottish and English coasts. The mussel is very -largely used for bait, and fishermen have to go far, and pay dear, -for what they require—their wives and families being also employed to -gather as many as they can possibly procure on the accessible places of -the coast, but usually the bait has to be purchased and carried from -long distances. I propose to show our fisher-people how these matters -are managed in France, and how they may obviate the labour and expense -connected with bait buying or gathering, by growing such a crop of -mussels as would not only suffice for an abundant supply of bait, but -produce a large quantity for sale as well. - -[Illustration: MUSSEL-STAKES.] - -Mussel-culture has been carried on with immense success on a certain -part of the coast of France for a period of no less than seven -centuries! So long ago as the year of grace 1135 an Irish barque was -wrecked in the Bay of Aiguillon. The cargo and one of the crew were -saved by the humanity of the fishermen inhabiting the coast. The name -of the one man who was thus saved from shipwreck was Walton, and he -gave to the people, in gratitude for saving his life, the germ of a -marvellous fish-breeding idea. He invented artificial mussel-culture. -An exile from Erin, Walton was ingenious enough to create a “hurdle,” -which, intercepting the spat of the mussels, served as a place for them -to grow. In a sense, the origin of this mussel-farm was accidental. -The bay where this industry is now flourishing was, at the time of -the shipwreck, and is at present, a vast expanse of mud, frequented -by sea-fowl, and it was while devising a kind of net or trap for the -capture of these that he obtained the germ of his future idea of -mussel-culture. The net or bag-trap which he employed in catching -the night birds which floated on the water was fixed in the mud by -means of tolerably strong supports, and he soon found out that the -parts of his net which were sunk in the water had intercepted large -quantities of mussel-spat, which in time grew into the finest possible -mussels, larger in size and finer in quality than those grown upon the -neighbouring mud. From less to more this simple discovery progressed -into a regular industry, which at present forms almost the sole -occupation of the inhabitants of the neighbouring shores. The system -pursued is that invented by Walton about the middle of the twelfth -century, and has been handed down from generation to generation in all -its original simplicity and ingenuity. The apparatus for the growth -of the mussel, with which the bay is now almost covered, is called -a _bouchot_, and is of very simple construction. A number of strong -piles or stakes, each 12 feet in length and 6 inches in diameter, are -driven into the mud to the depth of 6 feet, at a distance of about 2 -feet from each other, and are ranged in two converging rows, so as to -form a V, the sharp point of which is always turned towards the sea, -that the stakes may offer the least possible resistance to the waves. -These two rows form the framework of the _bouchot_. Strong branches -of trees are then twisted and interwoven into the upper part of the -stakes, which are 6 feet in height, until the whole length of the row -is, by this species of basket-work on a large scale, formed into a -strong fence or palisade. A space of a few inches is left between the -bottom of the fence and the surface of the mud, to allow the water to -pass freely between the stakes when the tide ebbs and flows. The sides -of the _bouchot_ are from 200 to 250 metres long, and each _bouchot_, -therefore, forms a fence of about 450 metres, 6 feet high. There are -now some 500 of these _bouchots_ or breeding-grounds in the Bay of -Aiguillon, making a fence of 225,000 metres, extending over a space of -8 kilometres, or 5 miles, from the point of St. Clemens to the mouth of -the river of Marans. - -[Illustration: A MUSSEL-FARM.] - -The Bay of Aiguillon, as has already been observed, is a vast field -of mud, and, when left dry at low water, it is impassable on foot. -To enable him to traverse it at low water, the _boucholeur_ uses a -canoe. This canoe, formed of plain planks of wood, is about nine feet -in length and eighteen inches in breadth and depth, the fore-end being -something like the usual shape of the bow of a boat. The _boucholeur_ -places himself at the stern of the canoe, rests his right knee on the -bottom of the boat, leans his body forward, and, seizing the two sides -of the canoe with his hands, throws out his left leg, which is encased -in a strong boot, backwards to serve as an oar. In this position he -pushes his left leg in and out of the mud, and thus propels his light -boat along the surface to whatever part of the field he wishes to -visit. Notwithstanding the windings and twistings of the confused -maze formed on the surface of the bay by the _bouchots_, long habit -enables the _boucholeur_, even in the darkest night, to distinguish -his neighbour’s establishment in the crowd. The _boucholeur_ uses his -canoe not only in transporting his mussels from the _bouchot_ to the -shore, and attending to the various operations of the mussel-field, but -also in conveying to the proper spot the stakes and hurdles necessary -for the construction and repair of the _bouchots_. The furrows left by -the canoe in the mud might, in the summer time, by hardening in the -sun, render the propulsion of his canoe across the field a very arduous -task to the _boucholeur_. Nature has, however, provided an admirable -remedy for this possible evil. A small crustacean, the _corophie_, -appears in great numbers in the mud-field about the end of the month -of April, and during the summer months levels and overturns many -leagues of these furrows, and mixes the mud with water, in searching -after the innumerable multitudes of worms (annelidæ) of all species -that infest the mud. The corophies, which are remarkably fond of these -marine worms, pursue them in every direction through the mud; and, by -their vigorous efforts to discover their prey, prevent the furrows -from forming an obstacle to the progress of the _boucholeur_. This -crustacean disappears suddenly, in a single night, towards the end of -October. - -The cultivation of mussels is carried on by the inhabitants of the -communes of Esnandes, Chavron, and Marsilly. Many of the _boucholeurs_ -possess several _bouchots_, while the poorest of them have only a share -of one _bouchot_, cultivating it, together with the other owners, -and dividing the profits among them, according to their shares. The -_bouchots_ are arranged in four divisions, according to their position -in the bay, and are distinguished as _bouchots du bas_ or _d’aval_, -_bouchots batard_, _bouchots milieu_, and _bouchots d’avant_. The -_bouchots du bas_, placed farthest from the shore, and only uncovered -during spring tides, are not formed of fences as the _bouchots_ -proper, but consist simply of a row of stakes, planted about one boat -distant from each other, and in the most favourable position for the -preservation of the _naissain_, or young of the mussels. Upon these -isolated stakes the spat is allowed to collect, which is afterwards to -be transplanted for the purpose of peopling barren or poorly-furnished -palisades in those divisions which, planted nearer the shore, are more -frequently uncovered by the tide. - -The various operations of mussel-cultivation are designated by -agricultural terms—such as sowing, planting, transplanting, etc. -Towards the end of April the seed (_semence_) fixed during February -and March to the stakes of the _bouchot du bas_ is about the size of -a grain of flax, and is then called _naissain_. By the month of July -it attains the size of a bean, and is called _renouvelain_, and is -then ready for transplantation to a less favourable state of existence -upon the _bouchot batard_, where the action of the tide would probably -have retarded its growth if transplanted earlier. In the month of -July, then, the _boucholeurs_ direct their canoes towards the isolated -stakes, bearing the _semence_, now developed into the _renouvelain_, -which they detach by means of a hook fixed to the end of a pole. Care -is taken to gather such a quantity as they are able to transplant -during low water—the only time when this operation can be carried on. -The _semence_, placed in baskets, is transported by means of the canoe -to the fences of the _bouchot batard_. The operation of fixing the -_renouvelain_ upon the palisades of the _bouchot batard_ is called _la -batrisse_. The _semence_, enclosed in bags of old net, is placed in -all the empty spaces along the palisades until the hurdles are quite -covered, sufficient space being left between the bags to admit of the -growth of the young mussels. The bags soon rot and fall to pieces, -leaving the young mussels adhering to the sides of the _bouchot_. The -mussels by and by attain a large size, and grow so close to each other -that the whole fence looks like a wall blackened by fire. - -When the mussels grow so large that they touch and overlap each other, -the cultivator thins the too-crowded ranks of the _bouchots batard_, in -order to make way for a younger generation of mussels. The mussels thus -obtained are transplanted and placed on the empty or partially-covered -hurdles, and transplanted to the _bouchot milieu_, which is uncovered -during neap-tides. This operation is performed in the manner already -described, only the larger size of the mussels renders the use of a net -to enclose them unnecessary. The labour of transplanting is continued -so long as there remain upon the _bouchot du bas_ any _renouvelain_ fit -for being placed on the _bouchots_ nearer the shore. The work must be -carried on at all times of the day and night during low water, as that -is the only period that the _bouchots_ are uncovered. There is also the -labour of replacing and covering with mussels any of the palisades that -may have sunk or been broken. - -After about a year’s sojourn on these artificial beds the mussels are -fit for the market. Before being ready for sale, they are transplanted -to the _buchots d’avant_, which are placed close to the shore to -admit of the mussels being easily gathered by the hand when ready for -the market. A very perceptible difference in quality is seen in the -mussels grown on different parts of the bay—those of the upper division -possessing the finest flavour, while those of the lower divisions are -much inferior, a circumstance caused no doubt by their suffering much -more from the influence of the wind. - -The mussel has become, by its abundance and cheapness, the daily food -of the poorer classes, and sells well throughout the year. It is, -however, only in season from the month of July till the end of January, -and it is during that period that the most important operations of the -farmer are carried on, and that the great part of the harvest is sent -to the market. During the spawning season, which lasts from the end of -February to the end of April, they lose their good flavour and become -meagre and tough. - -At the foot of the cliffs, along the shores, the _boucholeurs_ dig -large holes for the purpose of storing their implements of labour. -When a supply of mussels is required for a neighbouring market the -_boucholeurs_ bring them in their canoes to the landing-place, whence -they are conveyed by the wives to these stores, where they are cleared -and packed in hampers and baskets, which are placed upon the backs -of horses or in carts, and driven during the night to the place of -destination, which is reached in good time for the opening of the -market in the morning. About 140 horses and 90 carts are employed for -the purpose of thus supplying the neighbouring towns and villages. - -A well-peopled _bouchot_ usually yields, according to the length of -its sides, from 400 to 500 loads of mussels—that is at the rate of a -load per metre. A load weighs 150 kilogrammes (about 3 cwts.), and -sells for 5 francs. A single _bouchot_, therefore, bears about 60,000 -or 75,000 kilogrammes annually in weight, of the value of from 2000 -to 2500 francs. The whole harvest of these _bouchots_ would therefore -weigh from 30 to 35 millions of kilogrammes, which would yield a -revenue of something like a million francs. - -I hope this plan of mussel-culture will speedily be adopted on our own -coasts; it would be a saving of both time and money to the fishermen, -who cannot do without bait in large quantities, seeing that the number -of hooks required for the line-fishing has so largely increased during -late years. The procuring of the necessary quantity of mussels is -sometimes impossible; and when that is the case the men cannot proceed -to the fishing, but have to remain at home in forced idleness till the -bait can be obtained. This plan of growing the mussels might be easily -adopted by our fisher-folks, whom it is now my province to describe. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE FISHER-FOLK. - - The Fisher-People the same everywhere—Growth of a Fishing - Village—Marrying and giving in Marriage—The Fisher-Folks’ - Dance—Newhaven near Edinburgh—Newhaven Fishwives—A Fishwife’s mode - of doing Business—Superstitions—Fisherrow—Dunbar—Buckhaven—Cost of - a Boat and its Gear—Scene of the _Antiquary_: Auchmithie—Smoking - Haddocks—The Round of Fisher Life—“Finnan Haddies”—Fittie and - its quaint Inhabitants—Across to Dieppe—Bay of the Departed—The - Eel-Breeders of Comacchio—The French Fishwives—Narrative of a - Fishwife—Buckie—Nicknames of the Fisher-Folk—Effects of a Storm on the - Coast. - - -A book professing to describe the harvest of the sea must of necessity -have a chapter about the quaint people who gather in the harvest, -otherwise it would be like playing “Hamlet” without the hero. - -I have a considerable acquaintance with the fisher-folk; and while -engaged in collecting information about the fisheries, and in -investigating the natural history of the herring and other food-fishes, -have visited most of the Scottish fishing villages and many of the -English ones, nor have I neglected Normandy, Brittany, and Picardy; -and wherever I went I found the fisher-folk to be the same, no matter -whether they talked a French _patois_ or a Scottish dialect, such as -one may hear at Buckie on the Moray Firth, or in the _Rue de Pollet_ -of Dieppe. The manners, customs, mode of life, and even the dress and -superstitions, are nearly the same on the coast of France as they are -on the coast of Fife, and used-up gentlemen in search of seaside -sensations could scarcely do better than take a tour among the Scottish -fisher-folks, in order to view the wonders of the fishing season, its -curious industry, and the quaint people. - -There are scenes on the coast worthy of any sketch-book; there are also -curious seaside resorts that have not yet been vulgarised by hordes of -summer visitors—infant fishing villages, set down by accident in the -most romantic spots, occupied by hardy men and rosy women, who have -children “paidling” in the water or building castles upon the sand. -Such seascapes—for they look more like pictures than realities—may be -witnessed from the deck of the steamboat on the way to Inverness or -Ultima Thule. Looking from the steamer—if one cannot see the coast -in any other way—at one of these embryo communities, one may readily -guess, from the fond attitude of the youthful pair who are leaning on -the old boat, that another cottage will speedily require to be added -to the two now existing. In a few years there will be another; in -course of time the four may be eight, the eight sixteen; and lo! in a -generation there is built a large village, with its adult population -gaining wealth by mining in the silvery quarries of the sea; and by -and by we will see with a pleased eye groups of youngsters splashing -in the water or gathering sea-ware on the shore, and old men pottering -about the rocks setting lobster-pots, doing business in the crustaceous -delicacies of the season. And on glorious afternoons, when the -atmosphere is pure, and the briny perfume delicious to inhale—when the -water glances merrily in the sunlight, and the sails of the dancing -boats are just filled by a capful of wind—the people will be out to -view the scene and note the growing industry of the place; and, as the -old song says— - - “O weel may the boatie row, - And better may she speed; - And muckle luck attend the boat - That wins the bairnies’ bread.” - -In good time the little community will have its annals of births, -marriages, and deaths; its chronicles of storms, its records of -disasters, and its glimpses of prosperity; and in two hundred years -its origin may be lost, and the inhabitants of the original village -represented by descendants in the sixth generation. At any rate, boats -will increase, curers of herrings and merchants who buy fish will visit -the village and circulate their money, and so the place will thrive. If -a pier should be built, and a railway branch out to it, who knows but -it may become a great port. - -I first became acquainted with the fisher-folk by assisting at a -fisherman’s marriage. Marrying and giving in marriage involves an -occasional festival among the fisher-folks of Newhaven of drinking and -dancing—and all the fisher-folks are fond of the dance. In the more -populous fishing towns there are usually a dozen or two of marriages to -celebrate at the close of each herring season; and as these weddings -are what are called in Scotland penny weddings—_i.e._ weddings at -which each guest pays a small sum for his entertainment—there is -no difficulty in obtaining admission to the ceremony and customary -rejoicings. Young men often wait till the close of the annual fishing -before they venture into the matrimonial noose; and I have seen at -Newhaven as many as eight marriages in one evening. It has been -said that a “lucky” day, or rather night, is usually chosen for the -ceremony, for “luck” is the ruling deity of the fishermen; but as -regards the marriage customs of the fisher-class, it was explained -to me that marriages were always held on a Friday (usually thought -to be an unlucky day), from no superstitious feeling or notion, as -was sometimes considered by strangers, but simply that the fishermen -might have the last day of the week (Saturday) and the Sunday to -enjoy themselves with their friends and acquaintances, instead of, -if their weddings took place on Monday or Tuesday, breaking up the -whole week afterwards. I considered this a sort of feasible and -reasonable explanation of the matter. On such occasions as those of -marriage there is great bustle and animation. The guests are invited -two days beforehand by the happy couple _in propriis personis_, and -means are taken to remind their friends again of the ceremony on the -joyous day. At the proper time the parties meet—the lad in his best -blue suit, and the lass and all the other maidens dressed in white—and -walk to the manse or church, as the case may be, or the minister is -“trysted” to come to the bride’s father’s residence. There is a great -dinner provided for the happy occasion, usually served at a small inn -or public-house when there is a very large party. All the delicacies -which can be thought of are procured: fish, flesh, and fowl; porter, -ale, and whisky, are all to be had at these banquets, not forgetting -the universal dish of skate, which is produced at all fisher marriages. -After dinner comes the collection, when the best man, or some one of -the company, goes round and gets a shilling or a sixpence from each. -This is the mode of celebrating a penny wedding, and all are welcome -who like to attend, the bidding being general. The evening winds up, -so far as the young folks are concerned, with unlimited dancing. -In fact dancing at one time used to be the favourite recreation of -the fisher-folk. In a dull season they would dance for “luck,” in a -plentiful season for joy—anything served as an excuse for a dance.[17] -On the wedding night the old folks sit and enjoy themselves with -a bowl of punch and a smoke, talking of old times and old fishing -adventures, storms, miraculous hauls, etc.; in short, like old military -or naval veterans, they have a strong _penchant_ “to fight their -battles o’er again.” The fun grows fast and furious with all concerned, -till the tired body gives warning that it is time to desist, and by and -by all retire, and life in the fishing village resumes its old jog-trot. - -It would take up too much space, and weary the reader besides, were I -to give in detail an account of all the fishing places I have visited -during the last ten years. My purpose will be amply served by a glance -at a few of the Scottish fishing villages, which, with the information -I can interpolate about the fisher-folks of the coast of France, and -the eel-breeders of Comacchio, not to mention those of Northumberland -and Yorkshire, will be quite sufficient to give the general reader a -tolerable idea of this interesting class of people; and to suit my own -convenience I will begin at the place where I witnessed the marriage, -for Newhaven, near Edinburgh—“Our Lady’s Port of Grace” as it was -originally named—is the most accessible of all fishing villages; and, -although it is not the primitive place now that it was some thirty -years ago, having been considerably spoiled in its picturesqueness by -the encroachments of the modern architect, and the intrusion of summer -pleasure-seekers, it is still unique as the abode of a peculiar people -who keep up the social distinctiveness of the place. How Newhaven and -similar fishing colonies originated there is no record; it is said, -however, that this particular community was founded by King James -III., who was extremely anxious to extend the industrial resources of -his kingdom by the prosecution of the fisheries, and that to aid him -in this design he brought over a colony of foreigners to practise -and teach the art. Some fishing villages are known to have originated -in the shipwreck of a foreign vessel, when the people saved from -destruction squatted on the nearest shore and grew in the fulness of -time into a community. - -[Illustration: NEWHAVEN FISHWIVES.] - -Newhaven is most celebrated for its “fishwives,” who were declared by -King George IV. to be the handsomest women he had ever seen, and were -looked upon by Queen Victoria with eyes of wonder and admiration. The -Newhaven fishwife must not be confounded by those who are unacquainted -in the locality with the squalid fish-hawkers of Dublin; nor, although -they can use strong language occasionally, are they to be taken as -examples of the _genus_ peculiar to Billingsgate. The Newhaven women -are more like the buxom _dames_ of the market of Paris, though their -glory of late years has been somewhat dulled. There is this, however, -to be said of them, that they are as much of the past as the present; -in dress and manners they are the same now as they were a hundred -years ago; they take a pride in conserving all their traditions and -characteristics, so that their customs appear unchangeable, and are -never, at any rate, influenced by the alterations which art, science, -and literature produce on the country at large. Before the railway -era, the Newhaven fishwife was a great fact, and could be met with -in Edinburgh in her picturesque costume of short but voluminous and -gaudy petticoats, shouting “Caller herrings!” or “Wha’ll buy my caller -cod?” with all the energy that a strong pair of lungs could supply. -Then, in the evening, there entered the city the oyster-wench, with -her prolonged musical aria of “Wha’ll o’ caller ou?” But the spread -of fishmongers’ shops and the increase of oyster-taverns is doing -away with this picturesque branch of the business. Thirty years ago -nearly the whole of the fishermen of the Firth of Forth, in view of the -Edinburgh market, made for Newhaven with their cargoes of white fish; -and these, at that time, were all bought up by the women, who carried -them on their backs to Edinburgh in creels, and then hawked them -through the city. The sight of a bevy of fishwives in the streets of -the Modern Athens, although comparatively rare, may still occasionally -be enjoyed; but the railways have lightened their labours, and we do -not find them climbing the _Whale Brae_ with a hundredweight, or two -hundredweight, perhaps, of fish, to be sold in driblets, for a few -pence, all through Edinburgh. - -The industry of fishwives is proverbial, their chief maxim being, that -“the woman that canna work for a man is no worth ane;” and accordingly -they undertake the task of disposing of the merchandise, and acting as -Chancellor of the Exchequer.[18] Their husbands have only to catch -the fish, their labour being finished as soon as the boats touch the -quay. The Newhaven fishwife’s mode of doing business is well known. She -is always supposed to ask double or triple what she will take; and, -on occasions of bargaining, she is sure, in allusion to the hazardous -nature of the gudeman’s occupation, to tell her customers that “fish -are no fish the day, they’re just men’s lives.” The style of higgling -adopted when dealing with the fisher-folk, if attempted in other kinds -of commerce, gives rise to the well-known Scottish reproach of “D’ye -tak’ me for a fishwife?” The style of bargain-making carried on by the -fishwives may be illustrated by the following little scene:— - -A servant girl having just beckoned to one of them is answered by the -usual interrogatory, “What’s yer wull the day, my bonnie lass?” and the -“mistress” being introduced, the following conversation takes place:— - -“Come awa, mem, an’ see what bonnie fish I hae the day.” - -“Have you any haddocks?” - -“Ay hae I, mem, an’ as bonnie fish as ever ye clappit yer twa een on.” - -“What’s the price of these four small ones?” - -“What’s yer wull, mem?” - -“I wish these small ones.” - -“What d’ye say, mem? sma’ haddies! they’s no sma’ fish, an they’re the -bonniest I hae in a’ ma creel.” - -“Well, never mind, what do you ask for them?” - -“Weel, mem, it’s? been awfu’ wather o’ late, an’ the men canna get -fish; ye’ll no grudge me twentypence for thae four?” - -“Twentypence!” - -“Ay, mem, what for no?” - -“They are too dear, I’ll give—” - -“What d’ye say, mem? ower dear! I wish ye kent it: but what’ll ye gie -me for thae four?” - -“I’ll give you a sixpence.” - -“Ye’ll gie me a what?” - -“A sixpence.” - -“I daur say ye wull, ma bonny leddy, but ye’ll no get thae four fish -for twa sixpences this day.” - -“I’ll not give more.” - -“Weel, mem, gude day” (making preparations to go); “I’ll tak’ -eighteenpence an’ be dune wi’t.” - -“No; I’ll give you twopence each for them.” - -And so the chaffering goes on, till ultimately the fishwife will -take tenpence for the lot, and this plan of asking double what will -be taken, which is common with them all and sometimes succeeds with -simple housewives, will be repeated from door to door, till the supply -be exhausted. The mode of doing business with a fishwife is admirably -illustrated in the _Antiquary_. When Monkbarns bargains for “the -bannock-fluke” and “the cock-padle,” Maggie Mucklebackit asks four and -sixpence, and ends, after a little negotiation and much finesse, in -accepting half-a-crown and a dram; the latter commodity being worth -siller just then, in consequence of the stoppage of the distilleries. - -The fishwives while selling their fish will often say something quaint -to the customer with whom they are dealing. I will give one instance -of this, which, though somewhat ludicrous, is characteristic, and -have no doubt the words were spoken from the poor woman’s heart. “A -fishwife who was crying her “caller cod” in George Street, Edinburgh, -was stopped by a cook at the head of one of the area stairs. A cod was -wanted that day for the dinner of the family, but the cook and the -fishwife could not trade, disagreeing about the price. The night had -been stormy, and instead of the fishwife flying into a passion, as -is their general custom when bargaining for their fish if opposed in -getting their price, the poor woman shed tears, and said to the cook, -‘Tak’ it or want it; ye may think it dear, but it’s a’ that’s left to -me for a faither o’ four bairns.’” - -Notwithstanding, however, their lying and cheating in the streets -during the week when selling their fish, there are no human beings in -Scotland more regular in their attendance at church. To go to their -church on a Sunday, and see the women all sitting with their smooth -glossy hair and snow-white caps, staring with open eyes and mouth at -the minister, as he exhorts them from the pulpit as to what they -should do, one would think them the most innocent and simple creatures -in existence. But offer one of them a penny less than she feels -inclined to take for a haddock, and he is a lucky fellow who escapes -without its tail coming across his whiskers. Of late our fishwives have -been considering themselves of some importance. When the Queen came -first to Edinburgh, she happened to take notice of them, and every -printshop window is now stuck full of pictures of Newhaven fishwives -in their quaint costume of short petticoats of flaming red and yellow -colours.[19] - -The sketch of fisher-life in the _Antiquary_ applies as well to the -fisher-folk of to-day as to those of sixty years since. This is -demonstrable at Newhaven; which, though fortunate in having a pier as -a rendezvous for its boats, thus admitting of a vast saving of time -and labour, is yet far behind inland villages in point of sanitary -arrangements. There is in the “town” an everlasting scent of new tar, -and a permanent smell of decaying fish, for the dainty visitors who -go down to the village from Edinburgh to partake of the fish-dinners -for which it is so celebrated. Up the narrow closes, redolent of -“bark,” we see hanging on the outside stairs the paraphernalia of -the fisherman—his “properties,” as an actor would call them; nets, -bladders, lines, and oilskin unmentionables, with dozens of pairs of -those particularly blue stockings that seem to be the universal wear of -both mothers and maidens. On the stair itself sit, if it be seasonable -weather, the wife and daughters, repairing the nets and baiting the -lines—gossiping of course with opposite neighbours, who are engaged -in a precisely similar pursuit; and to-day, as half a century ago, -the fishermen sit beside their hauled-up boats, in their white canvas -trousers and their Guernsey shirts, smoking their short pipes, while -their wives and daughters are so employed, seeming to have no idea of -anything in the shape of labour being a duty of theirs when ashore. In -the flowing gutter which trickles down the centre of the old village we -have the young idea developing itself in plenty of noise, and adding -another layer to the incrustation of dirt which it seems to be the sole -business of these children to collect on their bodies. These juvenile -fisher-folk have already learned from the mudlarks of the Thames the -practice of sporting on the sands before the hotel windows in the -expectation of being rewarded with a few halfpence. “What’s the use of -asking for siller before they’ve gotten their denner?” we once heard -one of these precocious youths say to another, who was proposing to -solicit a bawbee from a party of strangers. - -To see the people of Newhaven, both men and women, one would be apt -to think that their social condition was one of great hardship and -discomfort; but one has only to enter their dwellings in order to be -disabused of this notion, and to be convinced of the reverse of this, -for there are few houses among the working population of Scotland which -can compare with the well-decked and well-plenished dwellings of these -fishermen. Within doors all is neat and tidy. When at the marriage I -have mentioned, I thought the house I was invited to was the cleanest -and the cosiest-looking house I had ever seen. Never did I see before -so many plates and bowls in any private dwelling; and on all of them, -cups and saucers not excepted, fish, with their fins spread wide out, -were painted in glowing colours; and in their dwellings and domestic -arrangements the Newhaven fishwives are the cleanest women in Scotland, -and the comfort of their husbands when they return from their labours -on the wild and dangerous deep seems to be the fishwife’s chief -delight. I may also mention that none of the young women of Newhaven -will take a husband out of their own community, that they are as rigid -in this matrimonial observance as if they were all Jewesses.[20] - -The following anecdotic illustration of the state of information in -Newhaven sixty years since is highly characteristic:— - -A fisherman, named Adam L——, having been reproved pretty severely for -his want of Scripture knowledge, was resolved to baulk the minister -on his next catechetical visitation. The day appointed he kept out of -sight for some time; but at length, getting top-heavy with some of his -companions, he was compelled, after several falls, in one of which he -met with an accident that somewhat disfigured his countenance, to take -shelter in his own cottage. The minister arrived, and was informed by -Jenny, the wife, that her husband was absent at the fishing. The Doctor -then inquired if she had carefully perused the catechism he had left -on his last visit, and being answered in the affirmative, proceeded to -follow up his conversation with a question or two. “Weel, Jenny,” said -the minister, “can ye tell me the cause o’ Adam’s fall?” By no means -versed in the history of the great progenitor of the human race, and -her mind being exclusively occupied by her own Adam, Janet replied, -with some warmth, “’Deed, sir, it was naething else but drink!” at the -same time calling upon her husband, “Adam, ye may as weel rise, for the -Doctor kens brawly what’s the matter; some clashin’ deevils o’ neebours -hae telt him a’ aboot it!” - -The remains of many old superstitions are still to be found about -Newhaven. I could easily fill a page or two of this volume with -illustrative anecdotes of sayings and doings that are abhorrent to the -fisher mind. The following are given as the merest sample of the number -that might be collected. - -They have several times “gone the round” of the newspapers but are none -the worse for that:— - -If an uninitiated greenhorn of a landsman chanced to be on board of -a Newhaven boat, and, in the ignorance and simplicity of his heart, -talked about “salmon,” the whole crew—at least a few years ago—would -start, grasp the nearest _iron thowell_, and exclaim, “Cauld iron!” -“cauld iron!” in order to avert the calamity which such a rash use of -the appellation was calculated to induce; and the said uninitiated -gentleman would very likely have been addressed in some such courteous -terms as “O ye igrant brute, cud ye no ca’d it redfish?” Woe to the -unfortunate wight—be he Episcopalian or Presbyterian, Churchman or -Dissenter—who being afloat talks about “the minister:” there is a kind -of undefined terror visible on every countenance if haply this unlucky -word is spoken; and I would advise my readers, should they hereafter -have occasion, when water-borne, to speak of a clergyman, to call him -“the man in the black coat;” the thing will be equally well understood, -and can give offence to none. I warn them, moreover, to be guarded and -circumspect should the idea of a cat or a pig flit across their minds; -and should necessity demand the utterance of their names, let the one -be called “Theebet” and the other “Sandy;” so shall they be landed on -_terra firma_ in safety, and neither their ears nor their feelings be -insulted by piscatory _wit_. In the same category must be placed every -four-footed beast, from the elephant moving amongst the jungles of -Hindostan to the mouse that burrows under the cottage hearth-stone. -Some quadrupeds, however, are more “unlucky” than others; dogs are -detestable, hogs horrible, and hares hideous! It would appear that -Friday, for certain operations, is the most unfortunate; for others the -most auspicious day in the week. On that day no sane fisherman would -commence a Greenland voyage, or proceed to the herring-ground, and on -no other day of the week would he be married. - -In illustration of the peculiar dread and antipathy of fishermen to -swine, I give the following extract from a volume published by a -schoolmaster, entitled _An Historical Account of St. Monance_. The -town is divided into two divisions, the one called Nethertown and the -other Overtown—the former being inhabited entirely by fishermen, and -the latter by agriculturists and petty tradesmen:—“The inhabitants -of the Nethertown entertained a most deadly hatred towards swine, as -ominous of evil, insomuch that not one was kept amongst them; and if -their eyes haplessly lighted upon one in any quarter, they abandoned -their mission and fled from it as they would from a lion, and their -occupation was suspended till the ebbing and flowing of the tide had -effectually removed the spell. The same devils were kept, however, in -the Uppertown, frequently affording much annoyance to their neighbours -below, on account of their casual intrusions, producing much damage by -suspension of labour. At last, becoming quite exasperated, the decision -of their oracle was to go in a body and destroy not the animals (for -they dared not hurt them), but all who bred and fostered such demons, -looking on them with a jealous eye, on account of their traffic. Armed -with boat-hooks, they ascended the hill in formidable procession, and -dreadful had been the consequence had they not been discovered. But -the Uppertown, profiting by previous remonstrance, immediately let -loose their swine, whose grunt and squeak chilled the most heroic blood -of the enemy, who, on beholding them, turned and fled down the hill -with tenfold speed, more exasperated than ever, secreting themselves -till the flux and reflux of the tide had undone the enchantment.... -According to the most authentic tradition, not an animal of the kind -existed in the whole territories of St. Monance for nearly a century; -and, even at the present day, though they are fed and eaten, the fisher -people are extremely averse to looking on them or speaking of them by -that name; but, when necessitated to mention the animal, it is called -‘the beast’ or ‘the brute’ and, in case the real name of the animal -should accidentally be mentioned, the spell is undone by a less tedious -process—the exclamation of ‘cauld iron’ by the person affected being -perfectly sufficient to counteract the evil influence. Cauld iron, -touched or expressed, is understood to be the first antidote against -enchantment.” - -At Fisherrow, a few miles east from Newhaven, there is another fishing -community, who also do business in Edinburgh, and whose manners and -customs are quite as superstitious as those of the folks I have been -describing. “The Fisher-raw wives,” in the pre-railway times, had a -much longer walk with their fish than the Newhaven women; neither were -they held in such esteem, the latter looking upon themselves as the -salt of their profession. Dr. Carlyle of Inveresk, whose memoirs were -recently published, in writing of the Fisherrow women of his time, -says:—“When the boats come in late to the harbour in the forenoon, so -as to leave them no more than time to reach Edinburgh before dinner, -it is not unusual for them to perform their journey of five miles -by relays, three of them being employed in carrying one basket, and -shifting it from one to another every hundred yards, by which means -they have been known to arrive at the fishmarket in less than three -quarters of an hour. It is a well-known fact, that three of these women -went from Dunbar to Edinburgh, a distance of twenty-seven miles, with -each of them a load of herrings on her back of 200 pounds, in five -hours.” Fatiguing journeys with heavy loads of fish are now saved to -the wives of both villages, as dealers attend the arrival of the boats, -and buy up all the sea produce that is for sale. In former times there -used to be great battles between the men of Newhaven and the men of -Fisherrow, principally about their rights to certain oyster-scalps. -The Montagues and Capulets were not more deadly in their hatreds than -these rival fishermen. Now the oyster-grounds are so well defined that -battles upon that question are never fought. - -Fisherrow has long been distinguished for its race of hardy and -industrious fishermen, of whom there are about two hundred in all. -They go to the herring-fishing at Caithness, at North Sunderland, at -Berwick, North Berwick, and Dunbar, and about sixty men go to Yarmouth, -on the east coast of England, a distance of about 300 miles. Ten boats, -with a complement of eight men each, go to the deep-sea white-fishing, -and two or three boats to the oyster-dredging. - -The white-fishing of Fisherrow has long been a staple source of income. -At what time a colony of fishermen was established at that village is -unknown. They are most likely coeval with the place itself. When the -Reverend Dr. Carlyle, minister of the parish of Inveresk, wrote (about -1790) there were forty-nine fishermen and ninety fishwives, but since -that time the numbers of both have of course much increased. - -The system of merchandise followed by the fishwives in the old days -of creel-hawking, and even yet to a considerable extent, was very -simple. Having procured a supply of fish, which having bestowed in a -basket of a form fitted to the back, they used to trudge off to market -under a load which most men would have had difficulty in carrying, and -which would have made even the strongest stagger. Many of them still -proceed to the market, and display their commodities; but the majority, -perhaps, perambulate the streets of the city, emitting cries which, -to some persons, are more loud than agreeable, and which a stranger -would never imagine to have the most distant connection with fish. -Occasionally, too, they may be seen pulling the door-bell of some house -where they are in the habit of disposing of their merchandise, with the -blunt inquiry, “Ony haddies the day?”[21] - -While treating of the peculiarities of these people, I may record the -following characteristic anecdote:—“A clergyman, in whose parish a -pretty large fishing-village is situated, in his visitations among -the families of the fish-carriers found that the majority of them -had never partaken of the sacrament. Interrogating them regarding -the reason of this neglect, they candidly admitted to him that their -trade necessarily led them so much to cheat and tell lies, that they -felt themselves unqualified to join in that religious duty.” It is but -justice, however, to add that, when confidence is reposed in them, -nothing can be more fair and upright than the dealings of the fisher -class; and, as dealers in a commodity of very fluctuating value, they -cannot perhaps be justly blamed for endeavouring to sell it to the best -advantage. - -At Prestonpans, and the neighbouring village of Cockenzie, the -modern system, as I may call it, for Scotland, of selling the fish -wholesale, may be seen in daily operation. When the boats arrive at the -boat-shore, the wives of those engaged in the fishing are in readiness -to obtain the fish, and carry them from the boats to the place of -sale. They are at once divided into lots, and put up to auction, the -skipper’s wife acting as the George Robins of the company, and the -price obtained being divided among the crew, who are also, generally -speaking, owners of the boat. Buyers, or their agents, from Edinburgh, -Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, etc., are always ready to purchase, -and in a few hours the scaly produce of the Firth of Forth is being -whisked along the railway at the rate of twenty miles an hour. This -system, which is certainly a great improvement on the old creel-hawking -plan, is a faint imitation of what is done in England, where the -owners of fishing-smacks consign their produce to a wholesale agent at -Billingsgate, who sells it by auction in lots to the retail dealers and -costermongers. - -Farther along on the Scottish east coast is North Berwick, now a -bathing resort, and a fishing town as well; and farther east still is -Dunbar, the seat of an important herring-fishery—grown from a fishing -village into a country town, in which a mixture of agricultural and -fishing interests gives the place a somewhat heterogeneous aspect; -and between St. Abb’s Head and Berwick-on-Tweed is situated Eyemouth, -a fishing-village pure and simple, with all that wonderful filth -scattered about which is a sanitary peculiarity of such towns. The -population of Eyemouth is in keeping with the outward appearance of -the place. As a whole, they are a rough uncultivated people, and -more drunken in their habits than the fishermen of the neighbouring -villages. Coldingham shore, for instance, is only three miles distant, -and has a population of about one hundred fishermen, of a very -respectable class, sober, well dressed, and “well-to-do.” A year or two -ago an outburst of what is called “revivalism” took place at Eyemouth, -and seemed greatly to affect it. The change produced for a time was -unmistakable. These rude unlettered fishermen ceased to visit the -public-houses, refrained from the use of oaths, and instead sang psalms -and said prayers. But this wave of revivalism, which passed over other -villages besides Eyemouth, has rolled away back, and in some instances -left the people worse than it found them; and I may perhaps be allowed -to cite the fish-tithe riots as a proof of what I say. These riots, -for which the rioters were tried before the High Court of Justiciary -at Edinburgh, and some of them punished, arose out of a demand by the -minister for his tithe of fish. - -Crossing the Firth of Forth, the cost of Fife, from Burntisland to -“the East Neuk,” will be found studded at intervals with quaint -fishing-villages; and the quaintest among the quaint is Buckhaven. -Buckhaven, or, as it is locally named, Buckhyne, as seen from the sea, -is a picturesque group of houses sown broadcast on a low cliff. Indeed, -most fishing villages seem thrown together without any kind of plan. -The local architects had never thought of building their villages in -rows or streets; as the fisher-folks themselves say, their houses -are “a’ heids and thraws,” that is, set down here and there without -regard to architectural arrangement. The origin of Buckhaven is rather -obscure: it is supposed to have been founded by the crew of a Brabant -vessel, wrecked on that portion of the Fife coast in the reign of -Philip II. The population are, like most of their class, a peculiar -people, living entirely among themselves; and any stranger settling -among them is viewed with such suspicion that years will often elapse -before he is adopted as one of the community. One of the old Scottish -chap-books is devoted to a satire of the Buckhaven people. These old -chap-books are now rare, and to obtain them involves a considerable -amount of trouble. Thirty years ago the chapmen were still carrying -them about in their packs; now it is pleasing to think they have been -superseded by the admirable cheap periodicals which are so numerous -and so easy to purchase. The title of the chap-book referred to above -is, _The History of Buckhaven in Fifeshire, containing the Witty and -Entertaining Exploits of Wise Willie and Witty Eppie, the Ale-wife, -with a description of their College, Coats of Arms, etc._ It would be -a strong breach of etiquette to mention the title of this book to any -of the Buckhaven people; it is difficult to understand how they should -feel so sore on the point, as the pamphlet in question is a collection -of very vulgar witticisms tinged with such a dash of obscenity as -prevents their being quoted here. The industrious fishermen of -Buckhaven are moral, sober, and comparatively wealthy. Indeed, many -of the Scottish fisher-folk are what are called “warm” people; and -there are not in our fishing villages such violent alternations of -poverty and prosperity as are to be found in places devoted entirely to -manufacturing industry. There is usually on the average of the year a -steady income, the people seldom suffering from “a hunger and a burst,” -like weavers or other handicraftsmen. - -As denoting the prosperous state of the people of Buckhaven, it may be -stated that most of the families there have saved money; and, indeed, -some of them are comparatively wealthy, having a bank account, as well -as considerable capital in boats, nets, and lines. Fishermen, being -much away from home, at the herring-fishery or out at the deep-sea -fishing, have no temptation to spend their earnings or waste their -time in the tavern. Indeed, in some Scottish fishing villages there -is not even a single public-house. The Buckhaven men delight in their -boats, which are mostly “Firth-built,”—_i.e._ built at Leith, on the -Firth of Forth. Many of the boats used by the Scottish fishermen are -built at that port: they are all constructed with overlapping planks; -and the hull alone of a boat thirty-eight feet in length will cost -a sum of £60. Each boat, before it can be used for the herring or -deep-sea fishery must be equipped with a set of nets and lines; say, -a train of thirty-five nets, at a cost of £4 each, making a sum of -£140; which, with the price of the hull, makes the cost £200, leaving -the masts and sails, as well as inshore and deep-sea lines and many -other _etceteras_, to be provided for before the total cost can be -summed up. The hundred boats which belong to the men of Buckhaven -consequently represent a considerable amount of capital. Each boat with -its appurtenances has generally more than one owner; in other words, -it is held in shares. This is rather an advantage than otherwise, as -every vessel requires a crew of four men at any rate, so that each -boat is usually manned by two or three of its owners—a pledge that it -will be looked carefully after and not be exposed to needless danger. -With all the youngsters of a fishing village it is a point of ambition -to obtain a share of a boat as soon as ever they can; so that they -save hard from their allowances as extra hands, in order to attain as -early as possible to the dignity of proprietorship. We look in vain, -except at such wonderful places as Rochdale, to find manufacturing -operatives in a similar financial position to these Buckhaven men; in -fact, our fishermen have been practising the plan of co-operation for -years without knowing it, and without making it known. The co-operative -system seems to prevail among the English fisher-folk as well. At -Filey, on the Yorkshire coast, many of the large fishing yawls—these -vessels average about 40 tons each—are built by little companies and -worked on the sharing principle: so much to the men who find the bait, -and so much to each man who provides a net; and a few shillings per -pound of the weekly earnings of the ship go to the owners. In France -there are various ways of engaging the boats and conducting the -fisheries. There are some men who fish on their own account, who have -their own boat, sail, and nets, etc., and who find their own bait, -whether at the sardine-fishery or when prosecuting any other branch of -the sea fisheries. Of course these boat-owners hire what assistance -they require, and pay for it. There are other men again who hire a -boat and work it on the sharing plan, each man getting so much, the -remainder being left for the owner. A third class of persons are those -who work off their advances: these are a class of men so poor as to -be obliged to pawn their labour to the boat-owners long before it is -required. We can parallel this at home in the herring-fishery, where -the advance of money to the men has become something very like a curse -to all concerned. - -The joint-stock fishing system has been prevalent in Scotland, with -various modifications, for a very long period. Ship-carpenters at one -time used to speculate in the fisheries, and build boats in order to -give fishermen a share in them, and persons who had nets would lend -them out on condition of getting a share in the speculation. The two -or three fishermen chiefly concerned would assume a few landsmen as -assistants. At the end of the season the proceeds of the fishing were -divided; the proprietors of the boat drew each one deal, every man -half a deal, and every net was awarded half a deal. The landsmen, being -counted as boys, only drew a quarter of a deal. - -The retired Buckhaven fishermen can give interesting information -about the money value of the fisheries. One, who was a young fellow -five-and-twenty years ago, told me the herring-fishery was a kind -of lottery, but that, on an average of years, each boat would take -annually something like a hundred crans—the produce, in all cases -where the crew were part owners, after deducting a fifth part or so -to keep up the boat, being equally divided. “When I was a younker, -sir,” said this person, “there was lots o’ herrin’, an’ we had a fine -winter fishin’ as well, an’ sprats in plenty. As to white fish, they -were abundant five-an’-twenty year ago. Haddocks now are scarce to -be had; being an inshore fish, they’ve been a’ ta’en, in my opinion. -Line-fishin’ was very profitable from 1830 to 1840. I’ve seen as many -as a hunder thoosand fish o’ ae kind or anither ta’en by the Buckhyne -boats in a week—that is, countin’ baith inshore boats an’ them awa at -the Dogger Bank. The lot brocht four hunder pound; but a’ kinds of fish -are now sae scarce that it taks mair than dooble the labour to mak the -same money that was made then.” - -In the pre-railway era, most of the fishermen along the east coast -of Fife (at Buckhaven, Cellardyke, St. Monance, and Pittenweem), -as also the fishermen along the south coast (North Bewick, Dunbar, -Eyemouth, and Burnmouth), used to carry their catchings of white fish -to villages up the Firth of Forth, and dispose of them to cadgers and -creel-hawkers, who had the retail trade of Edinburgh and Leith in their -own hands. These persons distributed themselves over the country in -order to dispose of their fish, and some of them would return with -farm-produce in its place. The profits realised from thus retailing -the produce of fishermen belonging to distant villages enabled those -who resided on firths bordering the large towns and cities quietly to -lie on their oars. Railways having given facilities to the east coast -of Fife fishers, as well as those on the opposite coast, to send their -produce to market from their own respective villages, and a new class -of traders having arisen—viz. fishmongers having retail shops—the -creel-hawking trade is now fast declining, and as a following result so -also must be the material wealth of the villages that were in a great -measure dependent upon it. In fact, railways have quite revolutionised -the fish trade. There are a few females, formerly creel-hawkers, who -continue still to act as retailers of fish. But many of them have taken -shops, and others stalls in retail markets, and attend the wholesale -market regularly to purchase their supplies. These retail dealers -in fish do remarkably well; but those who still continue to hawk -about a few haddocks or whitings when they can be procured find that -creel-hawking is but a precarious trade. - -I will now carry the reader with me to a very quaint place indeed, -the scene of Sir Walter Scott’s novel of _The Antiquary_—Auchmithie; -and then on to Fittie, at Aberdeen—another fishing quarter of great -originality: we will go in the steamer. - -Steamboat travelling has been in some degree superseded by the railway -carriage; but to tourists going to Inverness or Thurso the steamer -has its attractions. It is preferable to the railroad when the time -occupied in the journey is not an object. On board a fine steamboat -one has opportunities to study character, and there are always a few -characters on board a coasting steam-vessel. And going north from -Edinburgh the coast is interesting. The steamer may pass the Anster or -Dunbar herring-fleet. - - “Up the waters steerin’, - The boats are thick and thrang; - Aboon the Bass they’re bearin’, - They’ll shoot their nets ere lang. - - “The morn, like siller glancin’, - They’ll haul them han’ to han’; - Syne doon the water dancin’, - Come hame wi’ sixty cran.” - -The passengers can see the Bell Rock lighthouse, and think of the old -legend of the pirate who took away the floating bell that had been -erected by a pious abbot on the Inchcape Rock as a warning to mariners, -and who was promptly punished for his sin by being shipwrecked on -the very rock from which he had carried off the bell. After leaving -Aberdeen, the Buffers of Buchan are among the wonders of the shore, -and the sea soughs at times with mournful cadence in the great caverns -carved out by the waves on the precipitous coast, or it foams and -lashes with majestic fury, seeking to add to its dominions. All the -way, till the Old Man of Wick is descried, guarding the entrance of -Pulteneytown harbour, there are ruined castles, and ancient spires, and -curious towers perched on high sea-cliffs; or there are frowning hills -and screaming sea-birds to add to the poetry of the scene. And along -these storm-washed coasts there are wonders of nature that show the -strong arm of the water, and mark out works that human ingenuity could -never have achieved. Loch Katrine and the Pass of Glencoe have been -the fashion ever since Sir Walter Scott _made_ Scotland; but there are -other places besides these that are worth visiting. - -The supposed scene of Sir Walter Scott’s novel of _The Antiquary_, -on the coast of Forfarshire, presents a conjunction of scenic and -industrial features which commends it to notice. At Auchmithie, which -is distant a few miles from Arbroath, there is often some cause for -excitement; and a real storm or a real drowning is something vastly -different from the shipwreck in the drama of _The Tempest_, or the -death of the Colleen Bawn. The beetling cliffs barricading the sea -from the land may be traversed by the tourist to the music of the -everlasting waves, the dashing of which only makes the deep solitude -more solemn; the sea-gull sweeps around with its shrill cry, and -playful whales gambol in the placid waters. - -The village of Auchmithie, which is wildly grand and romantic, stands -on the top of the cliffs, and as the road to it is steep a great amount -of labour devolves on the fishermen in carrying down their lines -and nets, and carrying up their produce, etc. One customary feature -observed by strangers on entering Auchmithie is, that when met by -female children they invariably stoop down, making a very low curtsey, -and for this piece of polite condescension they expect that a few -halfpence will be thrown to them. If you pass on without noticing them -they will not ask for anything, but once throw them a few halfpence -and a pocketful will be required to satisfy their importunities. There -are two roads leading to Auchmithie from Arbroath, one along the -sea-coast, the other through the country. The distance is about 3½ -miles in a north-east direction, and the country road is the best; and -approaching the village in that direction it has a very fair aspect. -Two rows of low-built slate-roofed houses, and a school and chapel, -stand a few yards off by themselves. On the north side of the village -is a stately farm-house, surrounded by trees, and on the south side a -Coast-Guard station, clean, white-washed, and with a flagstaff, giving -the whole a regular and picturesque appearance. Entering the village -of Auchmithie from the west, and walking through to the extreme east -end, the imagination gets staggered to think how any class of men could -have selected such a wild and rugged part of the coast for pursuing the -fishing trade—a trade above all others that requires a safe harbour -where boats can be launched and put to sea at a moment’s warning if any -signals of distress be given. The bight of Auchmithie is an indentation -into rocky cliffs several hundred feet in perpendicular height. About -the middle of the bight there is a steep ravine or gully with a small -stream, and at the bottom of this ravine there is a small piece of -level ground where a fish-curing house is erected, and where also the -fishermen pull up their boats that they may be safe from easterly -gales. There are in all about seventeen boats’ crews at Auchmithie. -Winding roads with steps lead down the side of the steep brae to the -beach. There are a few half-tide rocks in the bight that may help to -break the fury of waves raised by easterly winds; but there is no -harbour or pier for the boats to land at or receive shelter from, and -this the fishermen complain of, as they have to pay £2 a year for the -privilege of each boat. The beach is steep, and strewed with large -pebbles, excellently adapted, they say, for drying fish upon. - -The visitor, in addition to studying the quaint people, may explore one -of the vast caves which only a few years ago were the nightly refuge -of the smuggler. Brandy Cove and Gaylet Pot are worth inspection, -and inspire a mingled feeling of terror and grandeur. The visitor -may also take a look at the “Spindle”—a large detached piece of the -cliffs, shaped something like a corn-stack, or a boy’s top with the -apex uppermost. When the tide is full this rock is surrounded with -water, and appears like an island. Fisher-life may be witnessed here -in all its unvarnished simplicity. Indeed nothing could well be more -primitive than their habits and mode of life. I have seen the women of -Auchmithie “kilt their coats” and rush into the water in order to aid -in shoving off the boats, and on the return of the little fleet carry -the men ashore on their brawny shoulders with the greatest ease and all -the _nonchalance_ imaginable, no matter who might be looking at them. -Their peculiar way of smoking their haddocks may be taken as a very -good example of their other modes of industry. Instead of splitting -the fish after cleaning them, as the regular curers do, they smoke -them in their round shape. They use a barrel without top or bottom as -a substitute for a curing-house. The barrel being inserted a little -distance in the ground, an old kail-pot or kettle, filled with sawdust, -is placed at the bottom, and the inside is then filled with as many -fish as can conveniently be hung in it. The sawdust is then set fire -to, and a piece of canvas thrown over the top of the barrel: by this -means the females of Auchmithie smoke their haddocks in a round state, -and very excellent they are when the fish are caught in season. The -daily routine of fisher-life at Auchmithie is simple and unvarying; -year by year, and all the year round, it changes only from one branch -of the fishery to another. The season, of course, brings about its -joys and sorrows: sad deaths, which overshadow the village with gloom; -or marriages, when the people may venture to hold some simple _fête_, -but only to send them back with renewed vigour to their occupations. -Time, as it sweeps over them, only indicates a period when the deep-sea -hand-lines must be laid aside for the herring-drift, or when the -men must take a toilsome journey in search of bait for their lines. -Their scene of labour is on the sea, ever on the sea; and, trusting -themselves on the mighty waters, they pursue their simple craft with -persevering industry, never heeding that they are scorched by the suns -of summer or benumbed by the frosts of winter. There is, of course, an -appropriate season for the capture of each particular kind of fish. -There are days when the men fish inshore for haddocks; and there are -times when, with their frail vessels, the fishermen sail long distances -to procure larger fish in the deep seas, and when they must remain in -their open boats for a few days and nights. But the El-dorado of all -the coast tribe is “the herring.” This abounding and delightful fish, -which can be taken at one place or another from January to December, -yields a six weeks’ fishing in the autumn of the year, to which, as has -already been stated, all the fisher-folk look forward with hope, as -a period of money-making, and which, so far as the young people are -concerned, is generally expected to end, like the third volume of a -love-story, in matrimony. - -Taking a jump from Auchmithie, it is desirable to pause a moment at the -small fishing village of Findon, in the parish of Banchory-Devenick, in -Kincardineshire, in order to say a few words about a branch of industry -in connection with the fisheries that is peculiar to Scotland. Yarmouth -is famed for its “bloaters,” a preparation of herrings slightly -smoked, well known over England; and in Scotland, as has already been -mentioned in a previous chapter, there is that unparagoned dainty, -the “Finnan haddock,” the best accompaniment that can be got to the -other substantial components of a Scottish breakfast. Indeed, the -Finnan haddock is celebrated as a breakfast luxury all over the world, -although it is so delicate in its flavour, and requires such nicety in -the cure, that it cannot be enjoyed in perfection at any great distance -from the sea-coast. George IV., who had certainly, whatever may have -been his other virtues, a kingly genius in the matter of relishes -for the palate (does not the world owe to him the discovery of the -exquisite propriety of the sequence of port wine after cheese?), used -to have genuine Finnan haddocks always on his breakfast-table, selected -at Aberdeen and sent express by coach every day for his Majesty’s -use. Great houses of brick have now been erected at various places -on the Moray Firth and elsewhere; and in these immense quantities of -haddocks and other fish are smoked for the market by means of burning -billets of green wood. Formerly the fisher-folk used to smoke a few -haddocks in their cottages over their peat-fires for family use. I -have already described how the fame of the Finnan haddock arose. The -trade soon grew so large that it required a collection to be made in -the fishing districts in order to get together the requisite quantity; -so that what was once a mere local effort has now become a prominent -branch of the fish trade. But it is seldom that the home-smoked -fish can be obtained, with its delicate flavour of peat-reek. The -manufactured Finnan or yellow haddock, smoked in a huge warehouse, -is more plentiful, of course, but it has lost the old relish. It -is pleasant to see the clean fireside and the clear peat-fire in -the comfortably-furnished cottage, with the children sitting round -the ingle on the long winter evenings, listening to the tales and -traditions of the coast, the fish hanging all over the reeking peats, -acquiring the while that delicate yellow tinge so refreshing to the -eyes of all lovers of a choice dish. - -Footdee, or “Fittie” as it is locally called, is a quaint suburb of -Aberdeen, figuring not a little, and always with a kind of comic -quaintness, in the traditions of that northern city, and in the stories -which the inhabitants tell of each other. They tell there of one -Aberdeen man, who, being in London for the first time, and visiting -St. Paul’s, was surprised by his astonishment at its dimensions into -an unusual burst of candour. “My stars!” he said, “this maks a perfect -feel (fool) o’ the kirk o’ Fittie.” Part of the quaint interest thus -attached to this particular suburb by the Aberdonians themselves -arises from its containing a little colony or nest of fisher-folk, of -immemorial antiquity. There are about a hundred families living in -Fittie, or Footdee Square, close to the sea, where the Dee has its -mouth. This community, like all others made up of fishing-folk, is a -peculiar one, and differs of course from those of other working-people -in its neighbourhood. In many things the Footdee people are like the -gipsies. They rarely marry, except with their own class; and those born -in a community of fishers seldom leave it, and very seldom engage in -any other avocation than that of their fathers. The squares of houses -at Footdee are peculiarly constructed. There are neither doors nor -windows in the outside walls, although these look to all the points -of the compass; and none live within the square but the fishermen and -their families, so that they are as completely isolated and secluded -from public gaze as are a regiment of soldiers within the dead walls of -a barrack. The Rev. Mr. Spence, of Free St. Clement’s, lately completed -plans of the entire “toun,” giving the number and the names of the -tenants in every house; and from these exhaustive plans it appears -that the total population of the two squares was 584—giving about nine -inmates for each of these two-roomed houses. But the case is even worse -than this average indicates. “In the South Square only eight of the -houses are occupied by single families; and in the North Square only -three, the others being occupied by at least two families each—one -room apiece—and four _single_ rooms in the North Square contain _two_ -families each! There are thirty-six married couples and nineteen widows -in the twenty-eight houses; and the number of distinct families in -them is fifty-four.” The Fittie men seem poorer than the generality of -their brethren. They purchase the crazy old boats of other fishermen, -and with these, except in very fine weather, they dare not venture -very far from “the seething harbour-bar;” and the moment they come -home with a quantity of fish the men consider their labours over, the -duty of turning the fish into cash devolving, as in all other fishing -communities, on the women. The young girls, or “queans,” as they are -called in Fittie, carry the fish to market, and the women sit there and -sell them; and it is thought that it is the officious desire of their -wives to be the treasurers of their earnings that keeps the fishermen -from being more enterprising. The women enslave the men to their -will, and keep them chained under petticoat government. Did the women -remain at home in their domestic sphere, looking after the children -and their husbands’ comforts, the men would then pluck up spirit and -exert themselves to make money in order to keep their families at home -comfortable and respectable. Just now there are many fishermen who -will not go to sea as long as they imagine their wives have got a -penny left from the last hawking excursion. There is no necessity for -the females labouring at out-door work. There are few trades in this -country where industrious men have a better chance to make money than -fishermen have, especially when they are equipped with proper machinery -for their calling. At Arbroath, Auchmithie, and Footdee (Fittie), the -fishing population are at the very bottom of the scale for enterprising -habits and social progress. When the wind is in any way from the -eastward, or in fact blowing hard from any direction, the fishermen at -these places are very chary about going to sea unless dire necessity -urges them. - -The people of “Fittie” are progressing in morals and civilisation. -One of the local journalists who took the trouble to visit the place -lately, in order to describe truthfully what he saw, says:—“They have -the reputation of being a very peculiar people, and so in many respects -they are; but they have also the reputation of being a dirtily-inclined -and degraded people, and this we can certify from personal inspection -they are not. We have visited both squares, and found the interior of -the houses as clean, sweet, and wholesome as could well be desired. -Their white-washed walls and ceiling, their well-rubbed furniture, -clean bedding, and freshly-sanded floors, present a picture of tidiness -such as is seldom to be met with among classes of the population -reckoned higher in the social scale. And this external order is only -the index of a still more important change in the habits and character -of our fisher-toun, the population of which, all who know it agree in -testifying, has within the past few years undergone a remarkable change -for the better in a moral point of view. Especially is this noticed in -the care of their children, whose education might, in some cases, bring -a tinge of shame to the cheek of well-to-do town’s folks. Go down to -the fisher squares, and lay hold of some little fellow hardly able to -waddle about without assistance in his thick made-down moleskins, and -you will find he has the Shorter Catechism at his tongue-end. Ask any -employer of labour in the neighbourhood of the shore where he gets his -best apprentices, and he will tell you that for industry and integrity -he finds no lads who surpass those from the fisher squares. Inquire -about the families of the fishermen who have lost their lives while -following their perilous occupation, and you will find that they have -been divided among other families in the square, and treated by the -heads of these families as affectionately as if they had been their -own.” - -As regards the constant intermarrying of the fisher class, and the -working habits of their women, I have read an Italian fable to the -following effect:—“A man of distinction, in rambling one day through -a fishing-village, accosted one of the fishermen with the remark -that he wondered greatly that men of his line of life should chiefly -confine themselves, in their matrimonial connections, to women of their -own caste, and not take them from other classes of society, where a -greater security would be obtained for their wives keeping a house -properly, and rearing a family more in accordance with the refinement -and courtesies of life. To this the fisherman replied, that to him, -and men of his laborious profession, such wives as they usually took -were as indispensable to their vocation as their boat and nets. Their -wives took their fish to market, obtained bait for their lines, mended -their nets, and performed a thousand different and necessary things, -which husbands could not do for themselves, and which women taken from -any other of the labouring classes of society would be unable to do. -‘The labour and drudgery of our wives,’ continued he, ‘is a necessary -part of our peculiar craft, and cannot by any means be dispensed with, -without entailing irreparable injury upon our social interests.’ -MORAL.—This is one among many instances, where the solid and the useful -must take precedence of the showy and the elegant.” - -As I have already mentioned, the fishers are intensely superstitious. -No matter where we view them, they are as much given to signs and omens -at Portel near Boulogne as at Portessie near Banff. For instance, -whilst standing or walking they don’t like to be numbered. Rude boys -will sometimes annoy them by shouting— - - “Ane, twa, three; - What a lot o’ fisher mannies I see!” - -It is also considered very offensive to ask fisher-people, whilst on -their way to their boats, where they are going to-day; and they do not -like to see, considering it unlucky, the impression of a very flat -foot upon the sand; neither, as I have already explained, can they go -to work if on leaving their homes in the morning a pig should cross -their path. This is considered a particularly unlucky omen, and at -once drives them home. Before a storm, it is usually thought, there is -some kind of warning vouchsafed to them; they see, in their mind’s eye -doubtless, a comrade wafted homeward in a sheet of flame, or the wraith -of some one beckons them with solemn gesture landward, as if saying, -“Go not upon the waters.” When an accident happens from an open boat, -and any person is drowned, that boat is never again used, but is laid -up high and dry, and allowed to rot away—rather a costly superstition. -Then, again, some fisher-people perform a kind of “rite” before going -to the herring-fishery, in drinking to a “white lug”—that is, that when -they “pree” or examine a corner or lug of their nets, they may find -it glitter with the silvery sheen of the fish, a sure sign of a heavy -draught. - -But the fishermen of other coasts are quite as quaint, superstitious, -and peculiar as those of our own. The residents in the _Faubourg de -Pollet_ of Dieppe are just as much alive to the signs and tokens of the -hour as the dwellers in the square of Fittie, or those who inhabit the -fishing quarter of Boulogne. It is a pity that the guide-books say so -little about these and similar places. The fishing quarter of Boulogne -is not unlike Newhaven: there is the same “ancient and fish-like -smell,” the same kind of women with a very short petticoat, the only -difference being that our Scottish fishwives wear comfortable shoes and -stockings. We can see too the dripping nets hung up to dry from the -windows of the tumble-down-like houses, and the _gamins_ of Boulogne -lounge about the gutter’s side on the large side stones, or run up -and down the long series of steps just the same as the fisher-folks’ -children do at home. - -[Illustration: A FRENCH FISHWOMAN.] - -It is only, however, by penetrating into the quaint villages situated -on the coasts of Normandy and Brittany, that we can gain a knowledge -of the manners and customs of those persons who are daily engaged in -prosecuting the fisheries. The clergymen of their districts, as may be -supposed, have great power over them, and all along the French coast -the fisher-people have churches of their own, and they are constantly -praying for “luck,” or leaving propitiatory gifts upon the altars, as -well as going pilgrimages in order that their wishes may be realised. -A dream is thought of such great consequence among these people, that -the women will hold a conference, early in the day, in order to its -interpretation. Each little village has its storied traditions, many -of them of great interest, and some of them very romantic. I can only -briefly allude, however, to one of these little stories. Some of my -readers may have heard of the Bay of the Departed on the coast of -Brittany, where, in the dead hour of night, the boatmen are summoned -by some unseen power to launch their boats and ferry over to a sacred -island the souls of men who had been drowned in the surging waters. The -fishermen tell that, on the occasion of those midnight freights, the -boat is so crowded with invisible passengers as to sink quite low in -the water, and the wails and cries of the shipwrecked are heard as the -melancholy voyage progresses. On their arrival at the Island of Sein, -invisible beings are said to number the invisible passengers, and the -wondering awe-struck crew then return to await the next supernatural -summons to boat over the ghosts to the storied isle, which was in long -back days the chief haunt of the Druidesses in Brittany. A similar -story may be heard at Guildo on the same coast. Small skiffs, phantom -ones it is currently believed, may be seen when the moon is bright -darting out from under the castle cliffs, manned by phantom figures, -ferrying over the treacherous sands the spirits whose bodies lie -engulphed in the neighbourhood. Not one of the native population, so -strong is the dread of the scene, will pass the spot after nightfall, -and strange stories are told of phantom lights and woeful demons that -lure the unsuspecting wayfarer to a treacherous death. - -The Parisian fishwives are clean and buxom women, like their sisters -of Newhaven, and they are quite as celebrated if not so picturesque -in their costume. About a century and a half ago—and I need not go -further back—there were a great number of fishwives in Paris, there -being not less than 4000 oyster-women, who pursued their business -with much dexterity, and were able to cheat their customers as well, -if not better than any modern fishwife. One of their best tricks was -to swallow many of the finest oysters under the pretence of their -not being fresh. Among the Parisian fishwives of the last century we -are able to pick out Madame Picard, who was famed for her poetical -talent, and was personally known to many of the eminent Frenchmen of -the last century. Her poems were collected and published in a little -volume, and ultimately by marriage this fishwife became a lady, having -married a very wealthy silk merchant. The fishwives of Paris have -long been historical: they have figured prominently in all the great -events connected with the history of that city. A deputation from these -market-women, gorgeously dressed in silk and lace, and bedecked with -diamonds and other precious stones, frequently took part in public -affairs. Mirabeau was a great favourite of the Parisian fishwives; at -his death they attended his funeral and wore mourning for him. These -Poissardes took an active part in the revolution of 1789, and did deeds -of horror and charity that one has a difficulty in reconciling. It was -no uncommon sight, for instance, to see the fishwives carrying about on -poles the heads of obnoxious persons who had been murdered by the mob. - -As I am on the subject of the foreign fisher-folk, I may as well say -a few words more about the quaint eel-breeders of Comacchio, to whom -I have already had occasion to allude. According to M. Coste, the -social life of the people at Comacchio, who are engaged in the work -of eel-culture, is very curious; but I think the industrial phase is -so much mixed up with the social as to render the two inseparable. The -community is in a sense—that is, so far as discipline is concerned—a -military one, and strict laws are laid down for the conduct of the -fishery. A large number of the men live in barracks, and observe the -monkish rule of passive obedience. Each of the islands of the lagoon -may be described as a small farm, having a chief cultivator, a few -servants, a plentiful supply of the necessary implements of labour, -its living-house, and its store for the harvest. It appears so natural -to the people to suppose these stations to be farms, that they have -from the very earliest times described the various basins as fields, -just as if they were composed of earth instead of water; and of these -places there are no less than four hundred, the most important of them -belonging to the state, the rest being private property. The government -of the whole lagoon is exclusively in the hands of the farmer-general -or his representative, who rents the fisheries from the Pope. There is -a large body of men employed by him, who are divided into brigades, -and whose business lies in the construction of the dykes, and in the -management of the flood-gates during the seeding of the lagoon, and -the organisation of the labyrinths during the fishing-season. This -cultivating brigade numbers about three hundred men; the police brigade -consists of one hundred and twenty persons; and besides these there is -an administrative brigade of one hundred individuals. A great deal of -work has to be done by the persons employed, whether at the various -farms, in the offices, or in the kitchen, for at Comacchio a large -portion of the fish is cooked for the market. Upon each farm there are -about twelve labourers, who live in a barrack under severe discipline, -having all things in common. There is a master who exercises -absolute power in his own domain; he is paid a salary of four scudi -seventy-five baiocchi per month, with two and a half pounds of fish -per day, and during summer-time, when the fish are scarce, he gets an -additional allowance of money. The rate of wages at this place appears -exceedingly small when contrasted with the payment of English labour. -The wages of the learners or apprentices are exceedingly modest; they -are remunerated with the “sair-won penny-fee” of 26s. per annum, in -addition to their food! But then the poor people of Comacchio—the -widow, the orphan, the aged and the infirm labourer—are all maintained -at the expense of the community. - -But it is right to mention also that a greater than a mere salaried -interest in the labours incidental to the working of these fish-farms -is kept up by the greater portion of the _employes_ having a share of -or commission on the produce, which in good years amounts to as much as -twelve Roman ecus for each man. The captain is, of course, responsible -in every way for his farm, both that the labour be properly carried on, -and also for the moral conduct of the men under his charge, to whom -he is bound to set a good example, as well of neatness in dress as -activity in business. - -Exiled in the valley which they cultivate, each family finds it -necessary to devote its attention to those domestic offices so -necessary for economy and comfort. The _vallanti_ take in turn, as -our soldiers do, the duty of cooking. They place the fish which they -receive as a part of their wages in a common stock, to which is added -such provision as the messenger may have brought from the town. -When the cook has prepared the repast, they all sit down to table -in one company, from the head man to the most humble servant; but -although they mix thus promiscuously together, military etiquette is -strictly observed—the foreman occupies the place of honour, having -the under-foreman and the secretary by his side, next come the -vallanti, and then the apprentices and cleaners. A benediction is then -pronounced, after which the foreman serves out to each man his proper -modicum of food, taking care to respect those rights of precedence -which have been indicated. Eels, cooked upon the gridiron, form the -staple of the repast, and the dinner is washed down with a little -bosco-eli-esco wine. After dinner is over, the labourers return to -their work. When evening arrives some remain awake all night, seated in -arm-chairs, and others lie down in hard beds similar to those of the -barracks. None of the _employes_ of the valley are allowed to be absent -from duty without a written permission, and heavy fines are exacted -on any occasion of this rule being infringed. The discipline of each -valley is the same, and one cannot conceive of a more monotonous life -than that led by these humble fishermen, which season after season is -ever the same, and goes on for years in one dull unvarying round. An -unexpected tourist excites quite a commotion among the simple people, -and they have great hopes that as the place becomes known to the outer -world their prison life will ultimately be ameliorated. - -The fish season is opened with great solemnity of prayer, and many -of those other ceremonies of the church peculiar to Roman Catholic -communities—one of which is the consecration of the lagoon. The -labyrinths, which have been constructed from hurdles in each watery -field (see plan in “Fish Culture”) are crowded with fish, so that -there is comparatively little trouble in the capture, and the salter -waters of the sea being let in, the migratory instinct of the animal -is excited, so that it becomes an easy prey to the fishermen. Upon the -occasion of taking a great haul of fish in any particular valley, a gun -is fired to announce the glad tidings to the other islanders, and next -day a feast is held to celebrate the capture, which must, however, be -of a certain amount. - -The town of Comacchio is chiefly a long street of one-storied houses, -situated on the principal island of the lagoon. There is a cathedral in -the town, but it is entirely destitute of any architectural character, -and there is a tower, from the top of which a good view of the lagoon -and its various islands may be obtained; but in an industrial point -of view the chief feature of the place is the great kitchen where -the cure of the fish is carried on, one of the peculiarities of -Comacchio being that a large portion of the eels are cooked before -being sent to market. The kitchen where the eels are cooked is a large -room containing a number of fireplaces ranged along one side. These -fireplaces are about five feet square, and in front of each of them -are hung six or seven spits on which the eels are impaled and roasted. -The fire is placed on a low grate, and immediately below the spits is -a trough or duct to catch the grease, that drops from the eels while -cooking. Before being roasted the fish undergo an operation. A workman -seated before a block of wood, with a small hatchet in his hand, seizes -the eels one by one and with great dexterity cuts off the head and -tail, which are given to the poor, divides the body of the eel into -several pieces of equal length according to its size, and throws them -into a basket at his side. Each piece at the same time is slightly -notched to facilitate the work of the next operator, who with equal -skill and quickness puts the bits on the spit. It is only the large -eels, however, that are decapitated and divided, the smaller ones are -simply notched and stuck on the spit. The spits thus filled are next -handed to the women in front of the fire. Two women are necessary for -each fireplace: one regulates the fire; the second looks after the -roasting of the eels, which is the most important part of the labour, -carefully shifting the spits from a higher to a lower position in front -of the fire until the fish are properly done, when the spits are taken -off by the woman, who places them aside for the next operation. This -woman also attends to the grease that collects in the trough below the -spits, and puts it in jars for future use. Besides these fireplaces, -there are a number of furnaces fitted with large circular frying-pans, -which are exclusively attended to by men. All the fish for which the -spit is unsuitable are fried in these pans with a mixture of the grease -dropped from the eels and olive-oil. They are exposed to the air for -some time, even during very warm weather, before being cooked. This -operation renders them fitter for preservation. The eels roasted on -spits, and the fish cooked in the frying-pans, are placed in baskets of -openwork to _dreep_ and cool. They are then packed in barrels of large -and small sizes. The packing is carefully and regularly done similar -to the method of packing herrings. A mixture of vinegar and salt is -poured into the barrel before it is closed up. The vinegar must be of -the strongest, and the salt employed is grey rock-salt instead of white -salt. Previous to exportation the barrels are branded with different -letters according to the nature of the fish contained in them. - -Another method of preserving the fish is by salting. In the room -devoted to this operation is a raised quadrangular space inclined so as -to have a flow into a kind of ditch or trough, similar to that which -receives the grease from the eels in the kitchen. On this raised space -a layer of grey rock-salt is spread, and upon this salt the eels are -disposed, laid at full length and closely squeezed together. Another -layer of salt is spread upon the eels, and then another layer of eels -is disposed crosswise on the first row, and so on until the pile is -sufficiently high. A layer of salt is spread on the top, which is -crowned by a board heavy with weights to press the fish close together -and prevent the air from penetrating into the pile. The brine that -exudes from the heap of fish and salt flows into the trough already -mentioned. When the fish are considered to be well impregnated with the -salt, which requires a period of twelve or fifteen days according to -the size of the eels, the fish are taken down and packed in barrels, -the same as the cooked eels, but without any liquid. There is a third -mode of preparation, which consists in first immersing them for some -time in the brine obtained from the above process of salting and then -drying them. It is found necessary to put them into this liquid when -alive, as otherwise the entrails would not absorb enough of salt to -preserve them. In order to render the operation still more effective, -powdered salt is introduced into the intestines by a wooden rod. After -this they are washed in lukewarm water, and then hung up to dry below -the ceiling of the kitchen or in a room somewhat smoky. The eels dried -in this manner become of a bronze colour and are called smoked, a name -which is also applied to all the fish prepared by the drying process, -although smoke has nothing to do with the process. When the fish are -destined for speedy consumption they are only half-dried. A barrel of -pickled eels contains one hundred and fifty pounds weight, and costs a -little more than ninety-seven francs. The fish of Comacchio are sent to -all parts of Italy, and in Venice, Rome, and Naples they are greatly in -demand. - -As I have already indicated, the income obtained at Comacchio from this -one fish is something wonderful; labour being so cheap, the profits are -of course proportionately large. The population of the lagoon is about -seven thousand individuals, and, as I have endeavoured to show, their -mode of life is exceedingly primitive, the one grand idea being the -fishery, of the ingenuity and productiveness of which the population -are very proud. - -The short and simple annals of the fisher-folk are all tinged with -melancholy—there is a skeleton in every closet. There is no household -but has to mourn the loss of a father or a son. Annals of storms and -chronicles of deaths form the talk of the aged in all the fishing -villages. The following narrative is a sample of hundreds of other sad -tales that might be collected from the coast people of Scotland. It -was related to a friend by a woman at Musselburgh:—“Weel, ye see, sir, -I hae’na ony great story till tell. At the time I lost my guidman I -was livin’ doon by at the Pans (Prestonpans, a fishing village). The -herrin’ season was ower aboot a month, and my guidman had laid by a -guid pickle siller, and we had skytched oot a lot o’ plans for the -futur’. We had nae bairns o’ oor ain, although we had been married for -mony years; but we had been lang thinkin’ o’ takin’ in a wee orphint -till bring up as oor ain; and noo that the siller was geyan’ plenty, we -settled that Mairon M’Farlane should come hame till us by the beginnin’ -o’ November. My guidman was thinkin’ aboot buyin’ a new boat, although -his auld ane was no sae muckle the waur for wear. I was thinkin’ aboot -askin’ the guidman for a new Sunday’s goon; in fac’, we were biggin’ -castles in the air a’ on the foundation o’ the herrin’ siller; but -hech, sir, it’s ower true that man—ay, and woman tae—purposes, but the -Great Almighty disposes. The wee orphint wasna till find a new faither -and mither in my guidman and me; the auld boat wasna till mak’ room for -a new ane; and my braw Sunday goon, which, gin I had had my choice, -would hae been a bricht sky-blue ane, was changed intae black—black as -nicht, black as sorrow and as death could mak’ it. There was a fine -fishin’ o’ the haddies, and the siller in the bank was growing bigger -ilka week, for the wather was at its best, and the fish plentifu’. -Aweel, on the nicht o’ the seventeent o’ November, after I had put a’ -the lines in order, and gien Archibald his supper, aff he gangs frae -the herbour wi’ his boat, and four as nice young chiels as ye ever -set an ee on for a crew. An’ there wasna muckle fear o’ dirty wather, -although the sun had gaen doon rayther redder than we could hae wished. -Some o’ the new married, and some o’ the lasses that were sune tae be -married, used tae gang doon tae the herbour, and see their guidmen and -their sweethearts awa’. I was lang by wi’ that sort o’ thing; no that -my love was less, but my confidence was mair, seein’ that it had been -tried and faund true through the lang period o’ fourteen years. As I -was tidyin’ up the hoose afore gangin’ till my bed, I heard the men in -the boats cryin’ till ane anither, as they were workin’ oot intae the -firth. Tae bed I gaed, and lookin’ at the low o’ the fire, as it keepit -flichterin’ up and deein’ awa’, sune set me soond asleep. What daftlike -things folks think, see, and dae in their sleep. I dreamt that nicht -that I was walkin’ alang the sands till meet my guidman, wha had landed -his boat at Morrison’s Haven. The sun was shinin’ beautifu’, and the -waves were comin’ tumlin’ up the sand, sparklin’ and lauchin’ in the -sunlicht, dancin’ as if they never did ony ill. I saw my guidman at the -distance, and I put my best fit forrit till meet him. I was as near him -as tae see his face distinckly, and was aboot tae cry oot, ‘Archibald, -what sort o’ fishin’ hae ye had?‘ when a’ on a suddint a great muckle -hand cam’ doon frae the sky, and puttin’ its finger and thoom roond -my guidman, lifted him clean oot o’ my sicht jist in a meenit. The -fricht o’ the dream waukened me, and I turned on my side and lookit at -whaur the fire ought tae be, but it was a’ blackness. The hoose was -shakin’ as if the great muckle hand had gruppit it by the gavel, and -was shakin’ it like a wunnelstraw. Hech, sir, ye leeve up in a toon o’ -lands, and dinna ken what a storm is. Aiblins ye get up in the mornin’ -and see a tree or twa lyin’ across the road, and a lum tummilt ower the -rufe, and a kittlin’ or twa smoort aneath an auld barrel; but bless ye, -sir, that’s no a storm sic as we folk on the seaside ken o’. Na, na! -The sky—sky! there’s nae sky, a’ is as black as black can be; ye may -put your hand oot and fill your nieve wi’ the darkness, exceppin’ the -times when the lichtnin’ flashes doon like a twisted threid o’ purple -gowd; and then ye can see the waves lookin’ ower ane anither’s heads, -and gnashin’ their teeth, as ye micht think, and cryin’ oot in their -anger for puir folk’s lives. Siccan a nicht it was when I waukened. My -guidman had been oot in mony a storm afore, sae I comforted mysel’ wi’ -thinkin’ that he would gey and likely mak for North Berwick or Dunbar -when he saw the wather airtin’ for coorse. I wasna frightened, yet I -couldna sleep for the roarin’ o’ the wind. Mornin’ cam’. I gaed doon -till the shore, and a’ the wives and sweethearts o’ the Pans gaed wi’ -me. There was a heavy fog on the sea, sae thick that neither Inchkeith -nor the Law were to be seen. Naething was there but the sea and the -muckle waves lowpin’ up and dashin’ themselves tae death on the rocks -and the sands. Eastwards and westwards we lookit, an’ better lookit, -but naething was till be seen but the fog and the angry roaring sea—no -a boat, no a sail was visible on a’ the wild waters. Weel, we had a -lang confab on the shore as tae what our guidmen and our sweethearts -micht aiblins hae dune. It was settled amang us without a doot that -they had gane intill North Berwick or Dunbar, and sae we expeckit that -in the afternoon they would maybe tak’ the road and come hame till -comfort us. After denner we—that is, the wives and sweethearts—took the -gait and went as far as Gosfort Sands till meet our guidmen and the -lads. The rain was pourin’ doon like mad; but what was that till us? -we were lookin’ for what was a’ the world till our bosoms, and through -wind and weet we went tae find it, and we nayther felt the cauld blast -nor the showers. Cauldly and greyly the short day fell upon the Berwick -Law. Darker and darker grew the gloamin’, but nae word o’ them we loo’d -afore a’ the world. The nicht closed in at lang and last, and no a -soond o’ the welcome voices. Eh, sir, aften and aften hae I said, and -sang ower till mysel’, the bonny words o’ poetry that says— - - ‘His very foot has music in’t, - As he comes up the stair.’ - -But Archibald’s feet were never mair till come pap, pappin, in at the -door. Twa sorrowfu’ and lang lang days passed awa’, and the big waves, -as if mockin’ our sorrow, flang the spars o’ the boats up amang the -rocks, and there was weepin’ and wailin’ when we saw them, or in the -grand words o’ the Book, there was ‘lamentation and sorrow and woe.’ We -kent then that we micht look across the sea, but ower the waters would -never blink the een that made sunshine around our hearths; ower the -waters would never come the voices that were mair delightfu’ than the -music o’ the simmer winds when the leaves gang dancing till their sang. -My story, sir, is dune. I hae nae mair tae tell. Sufficient and suffice -it till say, that there was great grief at the Pans—Rachel weepin’ for -her weans, and wouldna be comforted. The windows were darkened, and the -air was heavy wi’ sighin’ and sabbin’.” - -Resuming our tour, I may hint to the reader that it is well worth -while, by way of variety, to see the fishing population of the various -towns on the Moray Firth. Taking the south side as the best point -of advantage, it may be safely said that from Gamrie to Portgordon -there may be found many studies of character, and bits of land-, or -rather sea-scape, that cannot be found anywhere else. Portsoy, Cullen, -Portessie, Buckie, Portgordon, are every one of them places where -all the specialities of fisher life may be studied. Buckie, from its -size, may be named as a kind of metropolis among these ports; and -it differs from some of them inasmuch as it contains, in addition -to its fisher-folk, a mercantile population as well. The town is -divided and subdivided by means of its natural situation. There is -Buckie-east-the-burn, New Buckie, Nether Buckie, Buckie-below-the-brae, -Buckie-aboon-the-brae, and, of course, Buckie-west-the-burn. A curious -system of “nicknames” prevails among the fisher-people, and most -notably among those on the Moray Firth, and in some of the Scottish -weaving villages as well. In all communications with the people -their “to” (_i.e._ additional), or, as the local pronunciation has -it, “tee” names, must be used. At a public dinner a few months ago -several of the Buckie fishermen were present; and it was noticeable -that the gentlemen of the press were careful, in their reports of the -proceedings, to couple with the real names of the men the appellations -by which they were best known—as “Mr. Peter Cowie, ‘langlegs,’ proposed -the health, etc.” So, upon all occasions of registering births, -marriages, or deaths, the “tee” name must be recorded. If a fisherman -be summoned to answer in a court of justice, he is called not only by -his proper name, but by his nickname as well. In many of the fishing -villages, where the population is only a few hundreds, there will not, -perhaps, be half a dozen surnames, and the whole of the inhabitants -therefore will be related “through-ither,” as such intermixture is -called in Scotland. The variety of nicknames, therefore, is wonderful, -but necessary in order to the identification of the different members -of the few families who inhabit the fishing villages. The different -divisions of Buckie, for instance, are inhabited by different clans; -on the west side of the river or burn there are none but Reids and -Stewarts, while on the east side we have only Cowies and Murrays. Cowie -is a very common name on the shores of the Moray Firth; at Whitehills, -and other villages, there are many bearing that surname, and to -distinguish one from the other, such nicknames as Shavie, Pinchie, -Howdie, Doddlies, etc., are employed. In some families the nickname -has come to be as hereditary as the surname; and when Shavie senior -crosses “that bourne,” etc., Shavie junior will still perpetuate the -family “tee” name. All kinds of circumstances are indicated by these -names—personal blemishes, peculiarities of manner, etc. There is, -in consequence, Gley’d Sandy Cowie, Gley’d Sandy Cowie, dumpie, and -Big Gley’d Sandy Cowie; there is Souples, Goup-the-Lift, Lang-nose, -Brandy, Stottie, Hawkie, etc. Every name in church or state is -represented—kings, barons, bishops, doctors, parsons, and deacons; and -others, in countless variety, that have neither rhyme nor reason to -account for them. - -As an instance of the many awkward _contretemps_ which occur through -the multiplicity of similar names in the northern fishing villages, the -following may be recorded:—In a certain town lived two married men, -each of them yclept Adam Flucker, and their individuality was preserved -by those who knew them entitling them as Fleukie (Flounder) Flucker, -and Haddie (Haddock) Flucker. Fleukie was blessed with a large family, -with probable increase of the same, and cursed with a wife who ruled -him like a despot. Haddie had possessed for many years a treasure of a -wife, but prospect of a family there was none. Now these things were -unknown to the carrier, who had newly entered on his office. From the -store of an inland town he had received two packages, one for Haddie (a -fashionable petticoat of the gaudiest red), and the other for Fleukie -(a stout wooden cradle), to supply the place of a similar article worn -out by long service. The carrier, in simplicity of ignorance, reversed -the destination of the packages, which, of course, were returned to the -inland merchant with threats of vengeance and vows never to patronise -his store again. - -Let the reader take, as an example of the quaint ways and absurd -superstitions of the Moray Firth fisher-folk, the following little -episode, which took place in the Small-Debt Court at Buckie, at the -instance of a man who had been hired to assist at the herring-fishery, -and who was pursuing his employer for his wages:— - -On the case being called, the pursuer stated that he had been dismissed -by the defender from his employment without just cause, indeed without -any cause at all; and the defender, on being asked what he had to say, -at once admitted the dismissal, and to the great astonishment of the -Sheriff, confessed that he had nothing to assign as a reason for it, -except the fact that the pursuer’s name was “Ross.” - -“Ye see, my Lord, I did engage him, though I was weel tauld by my -neibors that I sudna dee’t, and that I cudna expect te hae ony luck wi’ -him, as it was weel kent that ‘Ross’ was an unlucky name. I thocht this -was nonsense, but I ken better noo. He gaed te sea wi’ us for a week, -and I canna say but that he did’s wark weel eneuch; but we never gat a -scale. Sae the next week, I began to think there beet te be something -in fat my neibors said; sae upo’ the Monday I wadna tak’ him oot, and -left him ashore, and that very night we had a gran’ _shot_; and ye ken -yersel’, my Lord, that it wad hae been ower superstishus to keep him -after that, and sae I wad hae naething mair te dae wi’ him, and pat him -aboot’s business.” - -The Sheriff was much amused with this novel application of the -word “superstitious;” but, in spite of that application, he had no -difficulty in at once deciding against the defender, with expenses, -taking occasion while doing so to read him a severe lecture upon his -ignorance and folly. The lecture, however, has not been of much use, -for I have ascertained that the “freit” in question is still as rife as -ever, and that there is scarcely an individual among the communities -of white-fishers on the Banffshire coast who, if he can avoid it, will -have any transaction with any one bearing the obnoxious name of “Ross.” - -I should now like to give my readers a specimen of the patois or -dialect spoken by the Moray Firth fisher-folk, although it is -somewhat difficult to do it effectively on paper; but I will try, -taking a little dialogue between the fishermen and the curer about a -herring-fishing engagement as the best mode of giving an idea of the -language and pronunciation of the Buckie bodies:— - - -SCENE—_A Curer’s Office_. PRESENT—_The_ CURER _and the three_ “SHAVIES.” - -_Curer_—Well, Shavie, ye’ve had a pretty good fishing this year. - -_Shavie senior_—Ou ay, it’s been geyan gweed. - -_Shavie tertius_—Fat did ye say, man? gweed—it’s nae been better than -last. - -_Curer_—Well, laddie, what was wrong with last year’s fishing? - -_Bowed Shavie_—Weel awat, man, it was naething till brag o’, an’ fat’s -mair, I lost my beets at it; ye’ll be gaun till gie’s a new pair neist -fishin’. - -_Shavie senior_—Ay, that was whan he _k_-nockit his _k_-nee again the -boat-shore and brak his cweet. - -_Curer_—Well, but lads, what about next fishing? - -_Shavie senior_—Ou, is’t neist fishin’ ye’re wantin’ till speak o’? - -_Curer_—Yes; will you engage? - -_Shavie junior_—Fat are ye gaun till offer? - -_Curer_—Same as last. - -_Bowed Shavie_—Fat d’ye say, man? - -_Curer_—Fourteen shillings a cran and fifteen pound bounty. - -_Shavie senior_—Na, na, Maister Cowie; that winna dee ava, man. - -_Bowed Shavie_—We can get mair nor that at Fitehills. - -_Shavie junior_—I’ll be fuppit, lathie, if I dinna hae mair siller an’ -mair boonty tee. - -_Curer_—Well, make me an offer. - -_Shavie senior_—Ou ay, man; we’ll tak’ saxteen shillin’ the cran an’ a -boonty o’ twunty pound, an’ a pickle cutch, an’ a drappie whisky; an’ -that’s ower little siller. - -_Curer_—Well, I suppose I must give it. - -_Bowed Shavie_—Gie’s oor five shillin’ then, an we’re fixed wi’ you an’ -clear o’ a’ ither body. - -And so, on the payment of these five shillings by way of arles, the -bargain is settled, and the men engaged for the next herring-season. - -As will be inferred from these details, the fisher-folk, as a body, -are not literary or intellectual. They have few books, and many of -them never look at a newspaper. It is not surprising, therefore, that -only one author has arisen among the fisher-people—Thomas Mathers, -fisherman, St. Monance, Fifeshire. We have had many poets from the -mechanic class, and even the colliers from the deep caverns of the -earth have begun to sing. Mathers’ volume is entitled, _Musings in -Verse by Sea and Shore_. The following lines will at once explain the -author’s ambition and exhibit his style:— - - “I crave not the harp o’ a Burns sae strong, - Nor the lyre o’ a sweet Tannahill; - For those are the poets unrivalled in song, - Can melt every heart, and inspire every tongue, - Frae the prince to the peasant, at will. - - “To weep wi’ the wretched, the hapless to mourn, - To glow wi’ the guid and the brave; - To cheer the lone pilgrim, faint and forlorn, - Wi’ breathin’s that kindle and language that burn, - Is the wealth and the world I would crave.” - -The British fisher-people as a class are very sober and industrious, -and they are becoming more intelligent, and, it is to be presumed, -less superstitious. The children in the fishing villages are being -educated; and in time, when they grow to man’s and woman’s estate, -they will no doubt influence the fisheries for the better. Many of the -seniors are now teetotal, and while at the herring-fishing prefer tea -to whisky. The homes of some of the fisher-folks, on the Berwickshire -and Northumberland coasts, are clean and tidy, and the proprietors seem -to be in possession of a great abundance of good cheer. - -It is, no doubt, considered by some to be an easy way to wealth to -prosecute the herring or white fisheries, and secure a harvest grown -on a farm where there is no rent payable, the seed of which is sown -in bountiful plenty by nature, which requires no manure to force it -to maturity, and no wages for its cultivation. But it is not all gold -that glitters. There are risks of life and property connected with -the fishery which are unknown to the industries that are followed on -the land. There are times, as I have just been endeavouring to show, -when there is weeping and wailing along the shore. The days are not -always suffused in sunshine, nor is the sea always calm. The boats go -out in the peaceful afternoon, and the sun, gilding their brown sails, -may sink in golden beauty in its western home of rosy-hued clouds; -but anon the wind will freshen, and the storm rise apace. The black -speck on the distant horizon, unheeded at first, soon grows into a -series of fast-flying clouds; and the wind, which a little ago was -but a mere capful, soon begins to rage and roar, the waves are tossed -into a wilder and wilder velocity, and in a few hours a great storm is -agitating the bosom of the wondrous deep. The fishermen become alarmed; -hasty preparations are made to return, nets are hauled on board, sails -are set and dashed about by the pitiless winds, forcing the boats to -seek the nearest haven. Soon the hurricane bursts in relentless fury; -the fleet of fishing-boats toss wildly on the maddening waves; gloomy -clouds spread like a pall over the scene; while on the coast the waters -break with ravening fury, and many a strong-built boat is dashed to -atoms on the iron rocks in the sight of those who are powerless to aid, -and many a gallant soul spent in death, within a span of the firm-set -earth. Morning, so eagerly prayed for by the disconsolate ones who -have all the long and miserable night been watching from the land, -at length slowly dawns, and reveals a shore covered with fragments -of wood and clothes, which too surely indicate the disasters of the -night. The _débris_ of boats and nets lie scattered on the rocks and -boulders, dumb talebearers that bring sorrow and chill penury to many -a household. Anxious children and gaunt women— - - “Wives and mithers maist despairin’”— - -with questioning eyes, rush wildly about the shore, piercing with -their frightened looks the hidden secrets of the subsiding waters; and -here and there a manly form, grim and stark and cold, cold in the icy -embrace of death, his pale brow bound with wreaths of matted seaweed, -gives silent token of the majesty of the storm. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -CONCLUDING REMARKS. - - Are there more Fish in the Sea than ever came out of it?—Modern - Writers on the Fisheries—Were Fish ever so abundant as is - said?—Salmon-Poaching—Value of Salmon—Sea-Fish—Destruction of the - Young—Is the demand for Fish beginning to exceed the Supply?—Evils - of Exaggeration—Fish quite Local—Incongruity of Protecting one Fish - and not another—Difficulties in the way of a Close-Time—Duties of the - Board of White-Fisheries—Regulation of Salmon Rivers—Justice to Upper - Proprietors—The one Object of the Fishermen—Conclusion. - - -The idea of a slowly but surely diminishing supply of fish is no -doubt alarming, for the public have hitherto believed so devoutly -in the frequently-quoted proverb of “more fish in the sea than ever -came out of it,” that it has never, except by a discerning few, been -thought possible to overfish; and, consequently, while endeavouring -to supply the constantly-increasing demand, it has never sufficiently -been brought home to the public mind that it is possible to reduce the -breeding stock of our best kinds of sea-fish to such an extent as may -render it difficult to repopulate those exhausted ocean colonies which -in years gone by yielded, as we have been often told, such miraculous -draughts. It is worthy of being noticed that most of our public writers -who venture to treat the subject of the fisheries proceed at once to -argue that the supply of fish is unlimited, and that the sea is a -gigantic fish-preserve into which man requires but to dip his net to -obtain at all times an enormous amount of wholesome and nutritious food. - -This style of writing on the fisheries comes largely into use whenever -there is a project of a joint-stock fishing company placed before the -public. When that is the case obscure little villages are pointed to as -the future seats of enormous prosperity, just because they happen to be -thought of by some enterprising speculator as the nucleus of a fishing -town; and we are straightway told that Buckhorn or Kirksalt, or some -equally obscure place, could be made to rival those towns in Holland -whose wealth and prosperity originated in even smaller beginnings. We -are likewise informed, on the occasions of giving publicity to such -speculations, that “the sea is a liquid mine of boundless wealth, and -that thousands of pounds might be earned by simply stretching forth -our hands and pulling out the fish that have scarcely room to live in -the teeming waters of Great Britain,” etc. etc. I would be glad to -believe in these general statements regarding our food fisheries, were -I not convinced, from personal inquiry, that they are a mere coinage -of the brain. There are doubtless plenty of fish still in the sea, but -the trouble of capturing them increases daily, and the instruments of -capture have to be yearly augmented, indicating but too clearly to -all who have studied the subject that we are beginning to overfish. -We already know, in the case of the salmon, that the greed of man, -when thoroughly excited, can extirpate, for mere immediate gain, any -animal, however prolific it may be. Some of the British game birds -have so narrowly escaped destruction that their existence, in anything -like quantity, when set against the armies of sportsmen who seek their -annihilation, is wonderful. - -The salmon has just had a very narrow escape from extermination. It -was at one time a comparatively plentiful fish, that could be obtained -for food purposes at an almost nominal expense, and a period dating -eighty years back is thought to have been a golden age so far as the -salmon-fisheries were concerned. But, in my opinion, it is more than -questionable if salmon, or indeed any of our sea or river animals, ever -were so magically abundant as has been represented. At the time, a -rather indefinite time, however—ranging from the beginning to the end -of last century, and frequently referred to by writers on the salmon -question—when farm-servants were compelled to eat of that fish more -frequently than seemed good for their stomachs, or when the country -laird, visiting London, ordered a steak for himself, with “a bit o’ -saumon for the laddie,” and was thunderstruck at the price of the fish, -we must bear in mind, as a strong element of the question, that there -were few distant markets available; it was only on the Tweed, Tay, -Severn, and other salmon streams that the salmon was really plentiful. - -No such regular commerce as that now prevailing was carried on in fresh -salmon at the period indicated. In fact, properly speaking, there was -no commerce beyond an occasional dispatch to London per smack, or the -sale of a few fish in country market-towns, and salmon has been known -to be sold in these places at so low a rate as a penny or twopence a -pound weight. Most of these fish, at the time I have indicated, were -boiled in pickle, or split up and cured as kippers. In those days -there were neither steamboats nor railways to hurry away the produce -of the sea or river to London or Liverpool; it is not surprising, -therefore, that in those good old times salmon could almost be had -for the capturing. Poaching—that is poaching as a trade—was unknown. -As I have already stated, when the people resident on a river were -allowed to capture as many fish as they pleased, or when they could -purchase all they required at a nominal price, there was no necessity -for them to capture the salmon while it was on the beds in order to -breed. Farm-servants on the Tay or Tweed had usually a few poached -fish, in the shape of a barrel of pickled salmon, for winter use. At -that time, as I have already said in treating of the salmon, men went -out on a winter night to “burn the water,” but then it was simply by -way of having a frolic. In those halcyon days country gentlemen killed -their salmon in the same sense as they killed their own mutton—viz. for -household eating; there was no other demand for the fish than that of -their own servants or retainers. Farmers kept their smoked or pickled -salmon for winter use, in the same way as they did pickled pork or -smoked bacon. The fish, comparatively speaking, were allowed to fulfil -the instincts of their nature and breed in peace: those owners, too, of -either upper or lower waters, who delighted in angling, had abundance -of attractive sport; and, so far as can be gleaned from personal -inquiry or reading, there was during the golden age of the salmon a -rude plenty of home-prepared food of the fish kind, which, even with -the best-regulated fisheries, we can never again, in these times of -increasing population, steam-power, and augmented demand, hope to see. - -At present the very opposite of all this prevails. Farmers or cottars -cannot now make salmon a portion of their winter’s store: permission to -angle for that fish is a favour not very easily procured, because even -the worst upper waters can be let each season at a good figure; and -more than all that, the fish has become individually so valuable as to -tempt persons, by way of business, to engage extensively in its capture -at times when it is unlawful to take it, and the animal is totally -unfit for food. A prime salmon is, on the average, quite as valuable -as a Southdown sheep or an obese pig, both of which cost money to rear -and fatten; and at certain periods of the year salmon has been known to -bring as much as ten shillings per pound weight in a London fish-shop! -There have been many causes at work to bring about this falling-off -in our supplies; but ignorance of the natural history of the fish, -the want of accord between the upper and lower proprietors of salmon -rivers, the use of stake and bag nets, poaching during close-times, -and the consequent capture of thousands of gravid fish, as well as the -immense amount of overfishing by the lessees of fishing stations, are -doubtless among the chief reasons. - -If these misfortunes occur with an important and individually valuable -fish like the salmon, which is so well hedged round by protective -laws, and which is so accessible that we can watch it day by day in -our rivers—and that such misfortunes have occurred is quite patent to -the world, indeed some of the best streams of England, at one time -noted for their salmon, are at this moment nearly destitute of fish—how -much more is it likely, then, that similar misfortunes may occur to -the unwatched and unprotected fishes of the sea, which spawn in a -greater world of water, with thousands of chances against their seed -being even so much as fructified, let alone any hope of its ever being -developed into fish fit for table purposes? In the sea the larger fish -are constantly preying on the smaller, and the waste of life, as I -have elsewhere explained, is enormous: the young fish, so soon as they -emerge from their fragile shell, are devoured in countless millions, -not one in a thousand perhaps escaping the dangers of its youth. -Shoals of haddocks, for instance, find their way to the deposits of -herring-spawn just as the eggs are bursting into life, or immediately -after they have vivified, so that hundreds of thousands of these -infantile fry and quickening ova are annually devoured. The hungry -codfish are eternally devouring the young of other kinds, and their own -young as well; and all throughout the depths of ocean the strong fishes -are found to be preying on the weak, and a perpetual war is being waged -for daily food. Reliable information, it is true, cannot easily be -obtained on these points, it being so difficult to observe the habits -of animals in the depths of the ocean; and none of our naturalists can -inform us how long it is before our white fish arrive at maturity, and -at what age a codfish or a turbot becomes reproductive; nor can our -economists do more than guess the percentage of eggs that ripen into -fish, or the number of these that are likely to reach our tables as -food. - -As has been mentioned in a previous chapter of this volume, the supply -of haddocks and other Gadidæ was once so plentiful around the British -coasts, that a short line, with perhaps a score of hooks, frequently -replenished with bait, would be quite sufficient to capture a few -thousand fish. The number of hooks was gradually extended, till now -they are counted by the thousand, the fishermen having to multiply the -means of capture as the fish become less plentiful. About forty years -ago the percentage of fish to each line was very considerable. Eight -hundred hooks would take about 750 fish; but now, with a line studded -with 4000 hooks, the fishermen sometimes do not take 100 fish. It was -recently stated by a correspondent of the _John o’ Groat Journal_, a -newspaper published in the fishing town of Wick, that a fish-curer -there contracted some years ago with the boats for haddocks at 3s. 6d. -per hundred, and that at that low price the fishing yielded the men -from £20 to £40 each season; but that now, although he has offered the -fishermen 12s. a hundred, he cannot procure anything like an adequate -supply. - -As the British sea-fisheries afford remunerative employment to a -large body of the population, and offer a favourable investment for -capital, it is surely time that we should know authoritatively whether -or not there be truth in the falling-off in our supplies of herring -and other white fish. At one of the Glasgow fish-merchants’ annual -soirees, held a year or two ago it was distinctly stated that all -kinds of fish were less abundant now than in former years, and that in -proportion to the means of capture the result was less. Mr. Methuen -reiterated such opinions again and again. “I reckon our fisheries,” -said this enterprising fish-merchant on one occasion, “if fostered -and properly fished, a national source of wealth of more importance -and value than the gold-mines of Australia, because the gold mines are -exhaustible; but the living, propagating, self-cultivating gift of God -is inexhaustible, if rightly fished by man, to whom they are given -for food. It is evident anything God gives is ripe and fit for food. -‘Have dominion,’ not destruction, was the command. Any farmer cutting -his ripe clover grass would not only be reckoned mad, but would, in -fact, be so, were he to tear up the roots along with the clover, -under the idea that he was thus obtaining more food for his cattle, -and then wondering why he had no second crop to cut. His cattle would -starve, himself and family be beggared, and turned out of their farm -as improvident and destructive, who not only beggared themselves, but -to the extent of their power impoverished the people by destroying the -resources of their country. The farmer who thus destroys the hopes of a -rising crop by injudicious farming is not only his own enemy, but the -enemy of his country as well.” Such evidence could be multiplied to -any extent if it were necessary, but I feel that quite enough has been -said to prove the point. It is a point I have no doubt upon whatever, -and persons who have studied the question are alarmed, and say it is -no use blinking the matter any longer—that the demand for fish as an -article of food is not only beginning to exceed the supply, but that -the supply obtained, combined with waste of spawn and other causes, -is beginning to exceed the breeding power of the fish. In the olden -time, when people only caught to supply individual wants, fish were -plentiful, in the sense that no scarcity was ever experienced, and the -shoals of sea-fish, it was thought at one time, would never diminish; -but since the traffic became a commercial speculation the question has -assumed a totally different aspect, and a sufficient quantity cannot -now be obtained. Who ever hears now of monster turbot being taken by -the trawlers? Where are the miraculous hauls of mackerel that used to -gladden the eyes of the fishermen? Where are now the waggon-loads of -herring to use as manure, as in the golden age of the fisheries? I do -not require to pause for the reply—echo would only mock my question -by repeating it. Exhausted shoals and inferior fish tell us but too -plainly that there _is_ reason for alarm, and that we have in all -probability broken at last upon our capital stock! - -What then, if this be so, will be the future of the British fisheries? -I have already, and more than once, in preceding pages, hinted my -doubts of the existence of the enormous fish-supplies of former days; -in my opinion the supposed plentifulness of all kinds of fish must in -a large degree have been a myth, or at least but relative, founded in -all probability on the fluctuating demand and the irregular supply. -Were there not an active but unseen demolition of the fish-shoals, and -were these shoals as gigantic as people imagine them to be, the sea -would speedily become like stirabout, so that in time ships would not -be able to sail from port to port. Imagine a few billions of herrings, -each pair multiplying at the rate of thirty thousand per annum! picture -the codfish, with its million ratio of increase; and then add, by way -of enhancing the bargain, a million or two of the flat fish family -throwing in their annual quota to the total, and figures would be -arrived at far too vast for human comprehension. In fact, without -some compensating balance, the waters on the globe would not contain -a couple of years’ increase! If fish have that tendency to multiply -which is said, how comes it that in former years, when there was not -a tithe of the present demand, when the population was but scant, and -the means of inland carriage to the larger seats of population rude and -uncertain, the ocean did not overflow and leave its inhabitants on its -shores? - -It seems perfectly clear that we have hitherto seriously exaggerated -the stock; it could never have been of the extent indicated, because -then no draughts could have had any great effect, no matter how -enormous they might have been. From various natural causes, some of -which I have indicated in a former chapter, the stock has been kept -in balance; and it seems now perfectly clear that by a course of -fishing so excessive as that carried on at present, coupled with the -destruction incidental to unprotected breeding, we must at all events -speedily narrow if not exhaust the capital stock. We have done so in -the case of the salmon; and the best remedy for that evil which has yet -been discovered is cultivation—pisciculture, in fact—which science, or -rather art, I have already treated of on its own merits. In ancient -days the land yielded sufficient roots and fruits for the wants of its -then population without cultivation; but as population increased and -larger supplies became necessary, cultivation was tried, and now in all -countries the culture of the land is one of the main employments of the -people. The sea, too, must be cultivated, and the river also, if we -desire to multiply or replenish our stock of fish. - -As to the introduction of strange fishes, either sea or river, I for -one will be glad to see them, if they are suitable. It would of course -be a great misfortune to introduce any fish into our waters that -would only become fat by preying on those fishes which are at present -plentiful. Some naturalists think that the introduction of _Silurus_ is -a misfortune; I am not of that opinion, because in the kind of water -suitable for the growth of _Silurus glanis_ no other fish of any value -is to be found, so that no ill could be done. The introduction into our -British waters of another fish has been advocated—viz. the _Goorami_. -It is a Chinese fish and has been introduced with great success into -the Mauritius, and M. Coste is of opinion that it may be acclimatised -in France, indeed he is trying the experiment. The Goorami, it seems, -is a delicious fish, so far as its flavour is concerned, and grows to -a great size in a short time. I need not say any more on this part of -my subject. If the man is a benefactor to his country who makes two -blades of grass grow where only one grew before, what shall be said of -the man who introduces to us a new food-fish? - -Were we better acquainted with the natural history of fish, it -would be easy to regulate the fisheries. The everlasting demand for -sea-produce has caused the sea-fishing, like the salmon-fishing, to be -prosecuted at improper seasons, and fish have been, indeed are daily, -to a large extent, sold in a state that renders them quite improper -for human food. Another cause of the constantly-lessening supplies -may be also mentioned. Up till a recent period it was thought _all_ -fish were migratory, and the reason usually assigned for unsuccessful -fishing was that the fish had removed to some other place! Thus the -fact of a particular colony having been fished up was in some degree -hidden, chiefly from ignorance of the habits of the animal. This -migratory instinct, so far as our principal sea-fish are concerned, -is purely mythical. The rediscovery of the Rockall cod-bank must tend -to dissipate these old-fashioned suppositions of our naturalists. All -fish are local, from the salmon to the sprat, and each kind has its -own abiding-place. The salmon keeps unfailingly to its own stream, the -oyster to its own bank, the lobster to its particular rock, and the -herring to its own bay. Fishermen are beginning now to understand this, -and can tell the locality to which a particular fish belongs, from -the marks upon it. A Tay salmon differs from a Tweed one, and Norway -lobsters can be readily distinguished from those brought from Orcadia. -Then, again, the fine haddocks caught in the bay of Dublin differ much -from those taken in the Firth of Forth, whilst Lochfyne herrings and -Caithness herrings have each distinct peculiarities. - -In regard to the enormous waste of spawn which I have chronicled, -what more can I say? I have in various pages of this work shown how -fish-roe is wasted, and at the risk of censure for again repeating -myself (I have already more than once done so purposely), I must once -more ask attention to the millions of cod ova criminally wasted in the -French sardine-fishery. I am presuming, in making this allusion, that -cod are expressly caught with full roes for the purpose of supplying -this bait. The English fishermen can hit on the sprat shoals without a -ground-bait; surely the French fishermen can do what we do. - -The regulation of the herring-fisheries (and the proper protection -of the herring) is surrounded with innumerable difficulties, because -of our scant knowledge of the natural history of the animal. I have -already, and more than once, in the preceding pages of this work, -alluded to the striking incongruity of protecting one fish during its -spawning time, and yet making the same time in the life of another fish -the legal period for its capture. But a close-time for the herring, -from the fact of that fish breeding on some part of the coast all the -year round, although not impossible, will be difficult to arrange. If, -as is pretty certain, there be races of herring that breed in every -month of the year, would it be advisable to shut up the fisheries? -and if, as some writers on the natural history of the herring assert, -that fish only collects into shoals at the time it is called on to -obey its procreative instinct, at what other period of its existence -could it be captured, even admitting that at that time of its life -it is least fitted to become the food of mankind? True, we have only -gone on fishing for herrings in a routine way at particular seasons of -the year, and, were the experiment tried, we might hit on the shoals -at a more congenial time. The shoals of particular districts—if, as I -assume, the herring is very local—will have each their own spawning -time, and there might be a few weeks’ close season then—not so much -to save the taking of the gravid fish, as to allow them a quiet -interval, during which they might deposit their spawn. The period of -the herring’s reproduction might, I think, be easily determined by -constructing a sea-pond, where a few of these fish could breed, and the -growth of the young fish be carefully watched. - -In the case of the salmon there is no difficulty about a close-time, -because we know the breeding seasons of each river; but it would -be difficult to divide the sea into compartments; and even if we -could, and a close-time were to be instituted, would not the strict -logic of the position dictate that the close-time should be for the -protection of the fish during their breeding season? But again, if it -be granted that the breeding season is the only time that we can take -the fish, would not such a close-time be practically putting an end -to the fishing? It is a curious fact, as well as a curious fishing -anomaly, that we have had a close-time for herrings on the west coast -of Scotland but not on the east coast! And I can trace no good that -the close-time has accomplished; it is not known that it increases -the supply of fish, but it is known that a close-time impedes the -prosecution of the other fisheries by depriving the poor men of a -supply of bait. The fishermen often use the herring as a bait for other -fishes. - -Although Scotland is the main seat of the herring-fishery, I should -like to see statistics, similar to those collected in Scotland, taken -at a few English ports for a period of years, in order that we might -obtain additional data from which to arrive at a right conclusion as -to the increase or decrease of the fishery for herring. So far as the -capture and cure of herrings are concerned, we have in Scotland, what -ought to be in every country, an excellent fishery police. The Hon. Mr. -Bouverie Primrose, when giving evidence before a fishery commission, -described the official duties of the Board of Scottish White-fish -Fisheries as being:—“To give clearances to herring-fishery vessels -going out to sea, and to receive notices from curers on shore of their -intention to cure; to see to the measures for the delivery of fresh -herring, as between buyer and seller; to the size of the barrel for -British white cured herring, and to the quality of the cure, branding -the first quality, and collecting the fees for the same; attending -on the exportation; to inspect the exports in order to see that they -were in proper order; preventing the use of such nets as Parliament -had declared to be illegal; protecting the sprat fishermen in their -rights of boundary; maintaining order on the fishery grounds, and in -connection therewith carrying out the police regulations for naming and -numbering boats and their sails; receiving and restoring lost fishing -property; building fishery piers and harbours; protecting the spawn -of herring and the herring-fisheries generally, according to Act of -Parliament; maintaining herring close-time as fixed and appointed by -Parliament; furnishing returns and statistics of the herring-fisheries -of Scotland and the Isle of Man, and aiding in maintaining the fishery -convention with France. The functions of the Board extended over the -whole coast of Scotland, and in regard to statistics to the Isle of -Man, and in respect to the branding of herring over the northern -portion of the coast of Northumberland.” - -Might not the functions of the Board be so extended as to embrace a -statistical inquiry into the capture of haddocks, cod, and ling (other -than those to be cured), turbot, etc., in Scotland? We all agree -heartily enough in Scotland with the Board’s functions of harbour -improvement and fishery police, and we do not grudge, therefore, in any -degree, the £15,000 which are expended for its maintenance. Scotland -gets so small a portion of the public money in proportion to what it -contributes to the revenue that no one would desire to see it deprived -of this small grant. The only question connected with it is its proper -expenditure. I object entirely to a portion of the duties of the -Board—_i.e._ certifying the quality of the cure. Government might as -well step in to certify the manufacture of Dunlop cheese or Glasgow -cotton. True, the brand has now to be paid for, and moreover is not -at all compulsory, so that curers may trade on their own name if they -please, and it is satisfactory to think that they are now doing so in -an annually increasing degree. - -The salmon-fisheries may be left to their proprietors; the county -gentlemen, and others who own salmon-fisheries, seem now to be -thoroughly alive to the great danger of overfishing, which has hitherto -been the bane of this valuable animal. The chief requisites for a -great salmon river and a series of healthy and productive fisheries -are—first, a good spawning ground and a provision for the fish -attaining it with the least possible trouble; second, a long rest -during the spawning season; as also, third, a weekly close-time of -many hours. To insure protection to the eggs and to the young fish -during the tenderest period of their lives, I would have, as an aid -to the natural spawning-beds, artificial breeding-ponds and egg-boxes -on every large river; and it would be well if the proprietors of all -our larger salmon streams would agree to work their fisheries, as was -long ago proposed, on the plan of a joint-stock company, the shares -to be allocated on some equitable plan so that both lower and upper -proprietors would share in the produce of the river. It is needless to -point out to owners of salmon properties the advantages and saving that -would at once accrue from such a mode, and such a plan would especially -be the best way of settling the existing differences between the upper -and lower holders. It was well said by the Commissioners appointed to -inquire into the salmon-fisheries of England and Wales, that “it has -been found by experience in all the three countries that the surest -way to increase the stock is to give the upper proprietors an interest -in preserving them. The upper waters are, in fact, the nursery of the -fish; it is there that the breeding operations take place, it is there -that the wasteful destruction committed by poachers and depredators, -if suffered to have their way, is carried on. It lies with those to -whom the rights of fishing, and the lands adjacent to those parts of -the streams belong, either to permit the ruinous waste of the breeding -fish to go on, or to take measures for protecting them. They cannot -take either course without in the one case conferring a benefit, and -in the other permitting an injury, to all the parties lower down. But -it is almost needless to say that they _will_ not make exertions or -incur expense to preserve the fish, unless encouraged to do so by being -allowed to reap some share of the produce of the waters.” - -The laws of Scotland as to her salmon rivers are confessedly -defective—confessed by the constant efforts to amend them, often ending -in only making them worse. This will be eternal if some attempt be not -made to act according to the reason of the thing; clearing the ground, -and starting on a new and rational principle, instead of tinkering or -trying to tinker what is past mending, and never ought to have been. -Rivers are subjects entirely different in their nature from lands. A -man, having secured a patch of land, may (as is generally understood) -do anything he pleases with what he calls “his own” but render it a -nuisance. This is wrong; for his obligation to the country, if not -to himself, is to use it to the best advantage for the public good. -As to rivers, this obligation is more distinct. They are more of the -nature of public property, both as regards the public generally and -those holding property on their banks and so having private interests -in them. No man at the mouth of a river has any moral or legal right -to stop the fish from ascending to their breeding-places. This, clear -as it may seem, is not generally recognised, and hence the loss to the -country, and misery to the useful and valuable animals bred in them, or -that might be bred in them, from the ignorant and reckless self-seeking -of some, and the negligence or pointed disregard of all interests -displayed by others.[22] - -I have not in the course of this work intruded many of my own theories -as to fish and fishing upon the reader; but I have not been studying -the subject for twelve years without theorising a little, and when -the proper time comes I shall have a great deal more to say about the -natural history of our food-fishes than I have said in the present -volume. In the meantime I am anxious, as regards the whole of the -sea fisheries, to inculcate the duty of collecting more and better -statistics than we have ever yet obtained. - -Our great farm, the sea, is free to all—too free; there is no seed -or manure to provide, and no rent to pay. Every adventurer who can -procure a boat may go out and spoliate the shoals; he has no care for -the growth or preservation of animals which he has been taught to think -inexhaustible. In one sense it is of no consequence to a fisherman that -he catches codlings instead of cod; whatever size his fish may be, -they yield him what he fishes for—money. What if all the herrings he -captures be crowded with spawn? what if they be virgin fish that have -never added a quota to the general stock? That is all as nothing to -the fisherman as long as they bring him money. It is the same in all -fisheries. Our free unregulated fisheries are, in my humble opinion, a -thorough mistake. If a fisherman, say with a capital of £500 in boats, -nets, etc., had invested the same amount of money in a breeding-farm, -how would he act? Would he not earn his living and increase his capital -by allowing his animals to breed? and he would certainly never cut -down oats or wheat in a green state. But the fish-farmers do all these -things, and the Fishery Board stamps them with approval. We must -look better into these matters; and I would crave the expenditure -by government of a few thousand pounds definitely to settle, by -well-devised experiments, all those points in the natural history of -the herring and other white fish which clog the prosecution of these -particular fisheries. Surely it would not be difficult, as I have -already suggested, to construct a sea-pond where we could observe -the spawn from the time of its deposit till the period at which it -quickened into life; and we could note the growth of the fish and so -fix beyond cavil the period at which our most important food fishes -become reproductive. Further, could not the fisherman be made to pay a -small sum of money annually by way of licence, he being bound at the -same time to give in a schedule to a registrar, or some other officer -to be appointed, of the number and gross weight of the different kinds -of fish caught, the number of lines and hooks used in the capture, and -the time taken to capture them? Many other changes might be made in -the machinery and time of capture; these, however, I will take another -opportunity to point out; my present purpose has simply been to bring -into a focus our various fishing industries and describe to the public -the HARVEST OF THE SEA. - - - - - APPENDIX. - - - I. OBSERVATIONS ON FISH-GUANO. - -“The importance of this field of industry has been fully appreciated -in France, and a factory has been established at Concarneau, in the -department of Finisterre. A full report of a visit to the factory -having been made by the distinguished chemist M. Payen, and the -well-known agriculturist M. Pommier, to the French Agricultural -Society, we purpose presenting our readers with the chief points -contained in that report, in the hope that another year may not pass -over without some attempt of the like kind being made upon our coasts. - -“The experiments which led to the establishment of the factory, of -which we are now to speak, were made by a M. de Molon, and have -extended over a period of four years. On several occasions he had -employed the offal obtained in the preparation of sardines, on the -coast of Brittany, to manure his land in Finisterre. The results which -he obtained led him to imagine that this offal, and a multitude of -marine fish of little commercial value, might furnish an important -resource to agriculture. This fact, observed since a long time, -especially in countries where deep-sea fishing is a permanent industry, -was not new; but such a manure was by its very nature restricted to the -agriculture of the coasts—fish or fish-offal not being capable of being -economically transported more than short distances. It is also evident -that these materials should be immediately employed—that they are not -susceptible of preservation, and that the manure not admitting of -being applied to the soil, except at certain seasons, it must at once -be evident that the employment of fish-offal, spite of its richness -in fecundating elements, could never be generalised, or offer large -resources to agriculture. - -“M. de Molon, however, conceived that a far vaster and more -advantageous agricultural resource might be drawn from this -inexhaustible wealth of the ocean, by so treating the offal of the -coast fisheries, and the immense quantities of common fish which are of -no use to the fishermen, as to ensure their preservation, concentrate -their fecundatory properties, and render them as transportable as -Peruvian guano—to do, in fine, what we have shown to be practicable in -our former article. - -“M. de Molon made a number of experiments from this point of view, -and finally settled upon this plan: To boil the fish; to extract as -much as possible of the water and oil which they contain; dry them and -reduce them to powder. After he had obtained this powder in a perfectly -dry state he had it analysed, first by M. Moride, at Nantes; then at -Rennes, by M. Malaguti; and finally, by M. Payen, in Paris. - -“These analyses, several times repeated, yielded as a mean the -following percentage as results:— - - Water 1·00 - Nitrogenous organic matter 80·10 - Soluble salts, consisting principally of chloride of sodium, - carbonate of ammonia, and traces of sulphate 4·50 - Phosphate of lime and magnesia 14·10 - Carbonate of lime 0·06 - Silica 0·02 - Magnesia and loss 0·22 - —————- - 100·00 - -“In other words, these repeated analyses indicate that dried -fish-powder would contain about— - - 12 per cent of nitrogen, and - 14 ” of bone earth— - -that is to say, it would be nearly as rich as the best Peruvian guano. -(According to the results of analyses made on herrings, an average -manure made from that fish, and containing 10 per cent of water, -would contain about 13½ per cent of nitrogen, and between 11 and -12 per cent of bone earth. The small fish containing but little bone -earth accounts for the difference in both cases.) To the scientific -analysis M. de Molon wished to add the sanction of practice; he -applied 400 kilogrammes (880·8 lbs.) per hectare (2 acres, 1 rood, -and 35 perches), or 3 cwts. 0 qr. 20 lbs. per statute acre, of the -fish-powder, half in autumn and half in spring, as a top-dressing to -wheat. The results which he obtained were so evident that his doubts -were dissipated, his conviction became full and entire, and he resolved -to make every effort to discover a means of rendering as economical as -possible the manufacture of a manure equally powerful, and which should -advantageously compete with Peruvian guano. - -“Having made his calculations, his ideas were at once directed to -Newfoundland, where the produce of the cod-fishery in a fresh condition -amounts to more than 1,400,000 tons annually. - -“The cod, previous to being salted and dried, is deprived of its head, -its intestines, and the backbone, which together make about one-half of -its total weight. This offal, which amounts to at least 700,000 tons, -is thrown into the sea, or is lost without utility. - -“In 1850 M. de Molon fitted out a vessel, and confided his project to -one of his brothers, furnishing him with the utensils necessary to -experiment upon and manufacture the fish-powder. The results of this -voyage confirmed his anticipations, and M. de Molon junior brought back -to France a certain quantity of fish-manure, which was found to be -identical in composition with that manufactured in France. - -“In 1851 M. de Molon junior again departed for Newfoundland, taking -with him all the means of manufacturing, the materials necessary to -construct a factory, and houses for one hundred and fifty workmen, whom -he also took with him; finally, all the means necessary to found a -permanent establishment. He fixed himself at Kerpon, at the extremity -of the island, near the Strait of Belle-isle, on a creek which was -visited every year by a great number of fishing vessels, and whose -shores abound in fish. At present this establishment is in regular -work, and has, we believe, sent within the last two or three months a -considerable quantity of fish-manure to France. - -“Whilst his younger brother was thus establishing himself in -Newfoundland, M. de Molon wished to have in France an establishment of -the same kind placed immediately under his own eyes, which would serve -to perfect the process of manufacture, and offer to all the practical -confirmation of facts, the importance of which had long since been -indelibly fixed upon his own mind. It was at this epoch that M. de -Molon associated himself with a M. Thurnyssen, who understood the vast -field of enterprise which was thus opened up. - -“This factory was erected by them at Concarneau, between Lorient and -Brest, in the department of Finisterre. This is a mere fishing village, -not far from the town of Quimper, containing scarcely two thousand -inhabitants, and built upon a rock in the middle of a bay formed by -the ocean. The catching and preparation of the sardine, which employs -about three hundred to four hundred boats annually, is almost the only -industry of the district, if we except a factory for the manufacture of -iodine. - -“The factory of MM. de Molon and Thurnyssen is placed at the end of -the port, and the boats come and discharge their fish under its walls. -In its actual condition this factory is capable of manufacturing -daily about 4 to 5 tons of fish-manure, in a perfectly dry condition, -which represents 16 to 20 tons of fish or of fish-offal in its fresh -state. The proprietors receive all the offal of the curing-houses of -Concarneau and those of Lorient; and in addition all the coarse fish -which were previously thrown into the sea, or which were even abandoned -on the very quays of Concarneau, to the great detriment of public -health. - -“The factory is entirely constructed of deal planks—that is to -say, with all the economy possible, and contains the following -articles of plant: A steam-engine of ten-horse power, and a boiler -of eighteen-horse power; two boiling-pans _à la bascule_, with -steam-jackets for boiling the fish at the temperature of a water bath; -twenty-four screw presses to press the material when boiled; a rasp -exactly similar to those employed in beet-sugar factories; a large -stove; a Chaussenot’s coccle-furnace, for heating the stove; a conical -iron mill, similar to a coffee-mill. - -“The following is the mode of employing these various utensils: The -fish or the offal is introduced by the upper part of the boiling-pans -into the interior, one of which is capable of containing about 10 -cwts., and the other from 16 cwts. to one ton. The vessel is then -hermetically closed, and steam of about 50 to 55 lbs. pressure -admitted into the steam-jacket, the steam-room of which is about two -inches wide, and into a tube nearly eight inches in diameter, placed -vertically in the interior of the pan. The boiling is completed in an -hour; then by a simple movement the pan may be made to swing upon its -bearings, the steam allowed to escape, and the cover being removed, the -boiled fish is allowed to fall into a receptacle. Workmen then convey -it in baskets to the presses placed alongside the boilers. - -“The great difficulty was to find a means of submitting this fish-magma -to the action of the press without losing the fine portions. This -was accomplished in this way: Under each of the presses is placed a -cylinder of sheet iron open at both ends, about twenty inches high, and -twelve inches in diameter. This cylinder is strengthened by four small -iron rings or hoops, and is pierced with a number of very fine holes. -A loose bottom or wooden plate is fitted into this cylinder, which is -then nearly filled with the boiled fish, and upon this is laid another -plate of wood similar to the bottom. One or two blocks are then laid -upon this cover, and when all the cylinders are filled, a man turns -alternately the screw of each press. In proportion as the pressure -operates, the water and oil contained in the fish is seen to exude -from the perforations of the cylinder. These liquids flow into gutters -which conduct them to a common channel by which they flow into barrels -placed underneath, and so graduated that when the first is filled, the -overflow passes into the second, and so on in succession, without the -intervention of any workman. After reposing for some time, the oil -floats on the surface, and is collected and stored in barrels in the -cellar. The average quantity of fish-oil thus extracted represents very -nearly 2½ per cent of the fresh fish. - -“When the boiled mass is sufficiently pressed, the presses are -loosened, and the cylinders removed and turned upside down, close -to the reservoir, to allow any liquid which may have mounted to -the surface to flow away; on then tapping the bottom wooden plate, -the pressed mass may be taken out of the cylinder in the form of -two compact cakes about four inches in thickness. These cakes are -immediately conveyed by a workman to the hopper of the rasp, placed -close at hand; this rasp, set in motion by the steam-engine, reduces -the cakes to a sort of pulp, which is carried by children as fast as -formed to the stove. - -“The stove, situate on the first floor, is externally 20 metres long -(65 feet 7½ inches), and 5 metres (16 feet 5 inches, nearly) wide; -it is divided lengthwise into five chambers, 85 centimetres (2 feet -9½ inches, nearly) wide. Each of these chambers contains in its -length twenty frames or trays, 1 metre (3 feet 3⅓ inches) long, and -85 centimetres (2 feet 9½ inches, nearly) wide, having a bottom -of coarse linen. These trays rest upon two bars, which run the whole -length of the chamber. Five series of such trays are superimposed in -each chamber, which makes one hundred in each chamber, or five hundred -in the whole stove. At each end of these chambers is a number of -openings, which can be closed by a door; each opening corresponds with -a series of trays. - -“When the rasped fish-cake is put upon a frame, it is introduced into -the stove through one of the openings just mentioned; a second is then -introduced, which causes the first to slide along the bars; then a -third, and so on until twenty have been placed. The second series of -trays is then introduced in the same way by the opening next above. -The operation is proceeded with in this way until the five series are -introduced into each of the five chambers. It takes about two hours -to two hours and a half to fill the stove with the five hundred trays -which it is capable of receiving. - -“A current of air heated by the coccle-oven of Chaussenot to a -temperature of from 140° to 158° Fahr., circulates through the five -chambers, according as each is filled with the trays of fish, the draft -being maintained by a chimney. - -“As soon as the last tray is introduced into the stove, the first is -fit to be withdrawn. This is effected in the simplest manner; a child -placed at one extremity of the stove introduces a tray freshly charged, -this pushes without any effort the whole series ranged upon the bars, -and causes the last in the series at the lower end of the stove to -slide out, where it is received by another child; a fresh tray is again -introduced, and another is pushed out, and so on for the whole stove. -In this way the action of the stove is constant, being filled as fast -as it is emptied, without the workpeople being exposed to the action -of the heat, and without suffering in the least from it, and being -nevertheless able to communicate to one another the details of the -work, the chambers acting as conductors for the voice. - -“This stove constitutes one of the most important features in -the system of M. de Molon; it dries rapidly, regularly, and with -comparatively small expenditure of heat, since 100 kilogrammes (220 -lbs.) of coal a day are sufficient for heating the coccle; and the -continuity of its action is perfect. - -“According as the dried fish is withdrawn from the chambers it is -thrown into a heap, on a board close by, from which it is put with -a shovel into the mill-hopper by a child. The mill reduces it to a -sufficiently fine and perfectly dry powder, which is at once put in -sacks or casks, and sealed in order that there may be no means of -adulterating it. - -“To any one acquainted with the processes and machinery employed -in the manufacture of beet-sugar, it will at once be evident that -the organisation of the process just described was the result of an -acquaintance with that manufacture. This is another instance of the -benefits conferred upon France by the beet-sugar industry, for to -that branch of manufacture it may be truly said to owe the rise of -its present manufacturing system. A branch of industry requiring a -combination of chemical and mechanical skill carried on in the midst of -a rural population, especially if connected with agriculture, has far -more influence upon the permanent prosperity of a people materially and -intellectually, than the greatest branch of industry entirely confined -to the civic population. - -“To carry on all the operations just described, only six men are -employed at Concarneau, who receive about 1s. a day, and ten children, -who receive from sixpence to sevenpence. Under those conditions, -and without working at night, this factory is capable, as we have -already remarked, of producing from four to five tons of dry manure -a day, representing about eighteen to twenty tons of fish or offal; -that is, one hundred parts of fresh fish yield about twenty-two parts -of fish-powder. By working at night, which will be done during the -ensuing year, when the fishery shall have been better organised, -this establishment will be able to produce from eight to ten tons of -manure. M. de Molon estimates the number of days in the year during -which the fishermen could fish at from 200 to 250. In only counting -200 working days, the establishment at Concarneau could thus produce -from 1600 to 2000 tons of manure annually, which, at the rate of three -cwts. per statute acre, would suffice to manure from 10,000 to 13,000 -acres of land, and would represent, at 22 per cent of dried manure, -a fishing of 9000 to 10,000 tons. The sardine-fishery and the offal -of the curing-houses, formerly lost, would furnish about one-half -of that quantity; but M. de Molon has pointed out a fact from which -would appear to result the incontestable facility of obtaining at -Concarneau far greater quantities of fish than those mentioned above, -by the fishery of the coal-fish, which is sometimes found in immense -quantities on the coast, but which the fishermen do not often take, as -they could find no sale for them. - -“The factory of Concarneau, with the organised fishery which M. de -Molon intends to establish (sixty to seventy-eight well-equipped -boats), and by doubling its present plant, which is also intended, will -quadruple the quantity of dry manure which is now produced in working -only ten hours per day. - -“In addition to the 180 kilogrammes of coal burned in heating the -stove, we may add that 130 more (286½ lbs.) are consumed by the -steam-engine, making a total of 230 kilogrammes, or little more than -four and a half cwts., or about one cwt. of coal to one ton of manure. - -“The fish-manure fetches about 8s. per cwt. in the locality, and is -eagerly sought after by the farmers, who expect the most signal results -to agriculture from the extension of the manufacture; while the oil -which, as already remarked, constitutes about 2½ per cent of the raw -fish, would be worth from 3s. to 3s. 4d. per gallon. These figures show -at once that the manufacture must be profitable—a fact which is fully -guaranteed by Messrs. Payen and Pommier, who, as a commission sent from -the Agricultural Society in order to report upon the project, had the -privilege of examining the books of the concern, and of thus satisfying -themselves of its commercial success. - -“The factory of Concarneau, as we have already noticed, was only -founded in order to serve as a model, not alone for those which may -be established on different points of the French coast, but also in -foreign countries. In addition to the factory established under the -superintendence of M. de Molon junior, in Newfoundland, and which in -its actual condition is capable of furnishing from 8000 to 10,000 tons -of manure annually, it is proposed to establish others on the same -coast, and also on the coasts of the North Sea, on such a scale as -will furnish sufficient manure to completely replace the guano now -imported from Peru. - -“When we recollect what a large amount of offal has hitherto been -wasted upon our coasts, the vast quantity of coarse fish which have -been rejected and thrown again into the sea; but above all, when we -consider the enormous extent of ocean, teeming with animal life, which -has contributed so little to the sustenance of mankind, we cannot help -thinking that at Concarneau has been laid the foundation of a great -branch of industry, which is destined to renovate the worn-out soils of -the richly-populated countries of Europe.” - - - II. LIST OF AUTHORITIES. - -Having been frequently asked by correspondents for a list of the chief -authorities on fish, I beg to subjoin the titles of a few of the works -I have had occasion to consult while preparing this volume:— - - A Review of the Domestic Fisheries of Great Britain and Ireland, by - Robert Fraser, Esq. Edinburgh, 1818. - - A Short Narrative of the Proceedings of the Society appointed to - manage the British White Herring Fishery, etc., by Thos. Cole. London, - 1750. - - A Treatise on Food and Diet, by Jonathan Pereira, M.D., etc., 1843. - London: Longman and Co. - - A Treatise on the Management of Fresh-Water Fish, by Gottlieb Boccius, - 1841. London: Van Voorst. - - An Account of the Fish-Pool, etc., by Sir Richard Steell. London, 1718. - - An Account of Three New Specimens of British Fishes, by Richard - Parnell, 1837. Royal Society, Edinburgh. - - An Essay towards a Natural History of the Herring, by James Solas - Dodd, Surgeon. London, 1752. - - Angler’s and Tourist’s Guide, by Andrew Young, Invershin, 1857. A. and - C. Black, Edinburgh. - - British Fish and Fisheries. Religious Tract Society. - - Ceylon, Notes on, by James Steuart, Esq. of Colpetty. Printed for - Private Circulation, 1862. - - Couch’s Fishes of the British Islands, 1865. Groombridge. - - Directions for Taking and Curing Herrings; and for Curing Cod, Ling, - Tusk, and Hake, by Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, Bart. Edinburgh 1846. - - Elements de Pisciculture, par M. Isidore L’Amy. Paris, 1855. - - Evidence of the Royal Commission on the operation of the Acts relating - to Trawling for Herring on the Coasts of Scotland. Presented to both - Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. 1863. - - Experimental Observations on the Development and Growth of Salmon Fry, - etc., by John Shaw, 1840. Edinburgh: A. and C. Black. - - Fish and Fishing in the Lone Glens of Scotland, by Dr. Knox, 1854. - Routledge and Co. - - Fish-Hatching, by Frank T. Buckland, 1863. Tinsley Brothers. - - Fisheries, The, considered as a National Resource, etc., 1856. - Milliken, Dublin. - - Forrester’s Fish and Fishing in the United States, 1864. Townsend, New - York. - - Guide du Pisciculture, par J. Remy, 1854. Paris: Lacroix. - - Guide Pratique du Pisciculture, par Pierre Carbonnier, 1864. Paris: - Lacroix. - - Herring-Fishery, on the Existing State of the, 1854. Herald Office, - Aberdeen. - - Howitt’s Angler’s Manual, 1808. Liverpool. - - Ichthyonomy, 1857. Swinnerton and Brown, Macclesfield. - - Illustrated London Almanac, 1864. London. - - Irish Quarterly Review. W. B. Kelly, Dublin. - - L’Alienation des Rivages, par M. Coste. Paris, 1863. - - La Pêche en Eau Douce et en Eau Salée, par Alphonse Karr, 1860. Paris: - Michel Levy Freres. - - Letter to a Member of Parliament recommending the Improvement of the - Irish Fishery. Dublin, 1729. - - Multiplication Artificelle des Poissons, par J. P. J. Koltz. Paris: - Lacroix. - - Natural History and Habits of the Salmon, etc., by Andrew Young, 1854. - Longman and Co. - - Natural History of the Salmon, as ascertained at Stormontfield. By - William Brown, 1862. Glasgow: Thomas Murray. - - Naturalist’s Library, by Sir William Jardine, 1843. Edinburgh. - - Notice Historique sur L’Etablissement de Pisciculture de Huningue, - 1862. Strasbourg: Berger Levrault. - - Note sur les Huitrieres Artificelles de Terrains Emergents, par M. - Coste. Paris. - - Observations on the Fisheries of the West Coast of Ireland, etc., by - Thomas Edward Symons, 1856. London: Chapman and Hall. - - Oyster, The, where, how, and when to find, breed, cook, and eat it. - Trubner and Co. - - Pisciculture, Pisciculteurs, et Poissons, par Eugene Voel, 1856. - Paris: F. Chamerot. - - Pisciculture et la Production des Sangsues, par Auguste Jourdier, - 1856. Paris: Hatchette and Co. - - Pisciculture et Culture des Eaux, par P. Trigneaux. Paris: Libraire - Agricole de la Maison Rustique. - - Pisciculture Pratique et sur l’Eleve et la Multiplication des - Sangsues, par Quenard, 1855. Paris: De Dusacq. - - Propagation of Oysters, by M. Coste and Dr. Kemmerer. Brighton, 1864. - Pearce. - - Proposals for Printing by Subscription a Complete Natural History of - Esculent Fish, etc., by James Solas Dodd. - - Report by the Commissioners for the British Fisheries of their - Proceedings in the Year ended 31st December 1862, being the Fishing of - 1862. - - Ditto for the years 1863-64. - - Reports of the Commissioners of Crown Lands of Canada, 1863-64-65. - - Report of the Royal Commissioners on the operation of the Acts - relating to Trawling for Herring on the Coasts of Scotland. Presented - to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. 1863. - - Salmon and other Fish, Propagation of, by Edward and Thomas Ashworth, - 1853. E. H. King, Stockport. - - Sea-Side and Aquarium, by John Harper, 1858. Nimmo, Edinburgh. - - Sea-Side Divinity, by the Rev. Robert W. Fraser, M.A., 1861. J. Hogg - and Sons. - - Shetland, Description of the Island of, etc., 1753. James, London. - - Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon, by Sir J. Emerson Tennent, - 1861. London: Longman and Co. - - The Field, the Country Gentleman’s Newspaper. - - The Herring, its Natural History and National Importance, by John - Mitchell, F.R.S., etc. Edinburgh, 1864. - - The Interest of Scotland Considered, etc. Edinburgh, 1733. - - The Structure and Physiology of Fishes Explained, etc., by Alexander - Monro, M.D. Edinburgh, 1785. - - The Young Angler’s Guide, etc., 1839. J. Cheek, London. - - Tweed Fisheries Acts, 1857-59. Eyre and Spottiswoode. - - Vacation Tourists, 1862-3. London: Macmillan, 1864. - - Voyage d’Exploration sur la Littoral de la France et de L’Italie, par - M. Coste. Paris, 1861, Imprimerie Impériale. - - Yarrell’s British Fishes. London: Van Voorst. - - ⁂ Various numbers of _Macmillan’s Magazine_, the _Cornhill Magazine_, - etc., have also been consulted, and quoted from, by permission of the - publishers. - - III. WICK HERRING HARVEST OF 1865. - - ┌───────┬──────┬───────┬───────┬────────┬────────┬─────────┬───────────┐ - │Date. │ Boats│ Daily │ Daily │Season’s│Season’s│ Quality.│ Weather. │ - │ │ out. │ Ave- │ catch.│average.│ catch. │ │ │ - │ │ │ rage. │ Crans.│ Crans. │ Crans. │ │ │ - │ │ │ Crans.│ │ │ │ │ │ - ├───────┼──────┼───────┼───────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┼───────────┤ - │Jun 23│ 19 │ 5 │ 97 │ 0 │ 126 │ Good │Wet. │ - │ ” 24│ 14 │ ½ │ 7 │ 0 │ 133 │ Do. │Cold and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ blowy. │ - │ ” 27│ 25 │ 2 │ 50 │ 0 │ 183 │ Do. │Changeable.│ - │ ” 28│ 25 │ 2 │ 50 │ 0 │ 233 │ Do. │Thick. │ - │ ” 30│ 30 │ 6 │ 180 │ 0 │ 413 │ Do. │ Do. │ - │July 1│ 34 │ 3 │ 102 │ ½ │ 515 │ Do. │Mild and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ clear. │ - │ ” 4│ 75 │ 0 │ 10 │ ½ │ 525 │ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 6│ 48 │ 0 │ 3 │ ½ │ 528 │ Do. │ Do.—rains.│ - │ ” 11│ 120 │ 1¾ │ 188 │ ¾ │ 716 │Excellent│ Do. │ - │ ” 12│ 200 │ ½ │ 100 │ ¾ │ 816 │ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 13│ 50 │ 1 │ 50 │ ¾ │ 866 │ Do. │Wet. │ - │ ” 14│ 20 │ 1 │ 20 │ ¾ │ 886 │ Do. │Wet. │ - │ ” 15│ 100 │ 0 │ 10 │ ¾ │ 896 │ Do. │Fine. │ - │ ” 18│ 20 │ ½ │ 10 │ ¾ │ 906 │ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 19│ 30 │ 0 │ 0 │ ¾ │ 906 │ │ Do. │ - │ ” 20│ 56 │ 0 │ 0 │ ¾ │ 906 │ │ Do. │ - │ ” 21│ 120 │ ¼ │ 30 │ ¾ │ 936 │ Mixed │ Do. │ - │ ” 22│ 200 │ 0 │ 20 │ ¾ │ 956 │ Do. │Mild. │ - │ ” 25│ 500 │ 0 │ 40 │ 1 │ 996 │Excellent│Calm and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ clear. │ - │ ” 26│ 500 │ 0 │ 80 │ 1 │ 1,076 │ Large │ Do. │ - │ ” 27│ 500 │ 0 │ 40 │ 1 │ 1,116 │ Mixed │ Do. │ - │ ” 29│ 60 │ 2 │ 120 │ 1⅓ │ 1,236 │Excellent│Breezy. │ - │Aug. 1│ 900 │ ¾ │ 750 │ 2 │ 1,986 │ Do. │Mild and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ clear. │ - │ ” 2│ 950 │ ½ │ 500 │ 2½ │ 2,486 │ Do. │Very wet. │ - │ ” 3│ 970 │ ¾ │ 750 │ 3 │ 3,236 │ Do. │Heavy rain.│ - │ ” 4│ 970 │ 1 │ 970 │ 4 │ 4,206 │ Do. │Calm. │ - │ ” 5│ 970 │ 1 │ 970 │ 5½ │ 5,176 │ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 8│ 976 │ 2½ │ 2,440 │ 8 │ 7,616 │ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 9│ 970 │ 12 │11,640 │ 20 │ 19,256 │ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 10│ 976 │ 7 │ 6,832 │ 27 │ 26,088 │ Do. │Very clear.│ - │ ” 11│ 970 │ 6 │ 5,820 │ 32½ │ 31,908 │¼ spent │Wet and │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ rough. │ - │ ” 15│ 50 │ 1 │ 50 │ 32½ │ 31,958 │ Good │Very │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ rough. │ - │ ” 16│ 900 │ ¼ │ 225 │ 33 │ 32,183 │ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 17│ 100 │ 1 │ 100 │ 33 │ 32,283 │ Spent │ Do. │ - │ ” 18│ 930 │ 2 │ 1,860 │ 35 │ 34,143 │Excellent│Fine. │ - │ ” 19│ 977 │ ½ │ 487 │ 35½ │ 34,630 │ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 22│ 977 │ 6 │ 5,862 │ 41½ │ 40,492 │ Do. │ Do. │ - │ ” 23│ 977 │ 6 │ 5,862 │ 47½ │ 46,354 │¼ spent │Breezy. │ - │ ” 24│ 977 │ 12 │11,724 │ 59½ │ 58,978 │⅓ spent │Mild. │ - │ ” 25│ 977 │ 10 │ 9,770 │ 69½ │ 67,848 │¼ spent │ Do.—frost.│ - │ ” 26│ 975 │ 8 │ 7,800 │ 77½ │ 75,648 │½ spent │Breezy— │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ rain. │ - │ ” 29│ 977 │ 0 │ 10 │ 77½ │ 75,658 │ Good │ Do. │ - │ ” 30│ 30 │ 0 │ 0 │ 77½ │ 75,658 │ │Rough— │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ rain. │ - │ ” 31│ 200 │ ¼ │ 50 │ 77½ │ 75,708 │ Do. │ Do. │ - │Sept. 1│ 500 │ 0 │ 0 │ 77½ │ 75,708 │ │Very │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ rough. │ - │ ” 5│ 300 │ 0 │ 0 │ 77½ │ 75,708 │ │Changeable.│ - │ ” 12│ 9 │ 1 │ 9 │ 77½ │ 75,717 │Excellent│Fine. │ - │ ” 13│ 30 │ 1 │ 30 │ 77½ │ 75,747 │ Do. │Changeable.│ - │ ” 14│ 50 │ 6 │ 300 │ 78 │ 76,047 │ Do. │Fine. │ - │ ” 15│ 60 │ 0 │ 3 │ 78 │ 76,050 │ Do. │Changeable.│ - └───────┴──────┴───────┴───────┴────────┴────────┴─────────┴───────────┘ - - _Northern Ensign._ - - - IV. TOTAL CATCH OF HERRINGS AT ALL THE STATIONS ON THE NORTH-EAST - COAST DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS. - - ┌─────────────┬────────┬────────┬────────┬────────┬———————-┐ - │Stations. │ 1861. │ 1862. │ 1863. │ 1864. │ 1865. │ - ├─────────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼─────———┤ - │Wick │ 89,728 │ 90,644 │ 90,099 │ 90,033 │ 76,055 │ - │Lybster, etc.│ 16,828 │ 17,150 │ 24,982 │ 19,120 │ 18,946 │ - │Dunbeath │ 6,720 │ 6,162 │ 6,800 │ 5,248 │ 5,100 │ - │Helmsdale │ 26,670 │ 26,500 │ 24,982 │ 29,120 │ 13,020 │ - │Brora │ 1,620 │ 1,809 │ 1,554 │ 2,460 │ 1,225 │ - │Cromarty │ 18,060 │ 11,232 │ 13,600 │ 15,000 │ 10,200 │ - │Burghhead │ 7,920 │ 9,090 │ 10,320 │ 11,770 │ 10,580 │ - │Hopeman │ 11,614 │ 9,686 │ 10,150 │ 5,824 │ 8,418 │ - │Findhorn │ 1,080 │ 294 │ │ │ 560 │ - │Lossiemouth │ 10,175 │ 10,881 │ 12,020 │ 5,985 │ 14,742 │ - │Portgordon │ 2,783 │ 4,664 │ 4,312 │ 1,160 │ 800 │ - │Portsoy │ 1,974 │ 3,290 │ 2,112 │ 920 │ 1,290 │ - │Cullen │ 2,380 │ 4,200 │ 3,424 │ 1,320 │ 406 │ - │Portknockie │ 2,691 │ 3,542 │ 3,092 │ 1,872 │ 2,695 │ - │Findochty │ 2,660 │ 4,480 │ 3,752 │ 2,040 │ 1,900 │ - │Portessie │ 1,881 │ 2,180 │ 1,350 │ 1,380 │ 1,320 │ - │Buckie │ 5,320 │ 8,600 │ 8,249 │ 3,850 │ 7,700 │ - │Whitehills │ 2,792 │ 4,753 │ 2,211 │ 1,200 │ 1,624 │ - │Macduff │ 4,200 │ 7,884 │ 4,898 │ 2,400 │ 3,962 │ - │Gardenstown │ 6,642 │ 12,908 │ 6,386 │ 2,948 │ 7,952 │ - │Pennan │ 819 │ 1,215 │ 368 │ 265 │ 520 │ - │Rosehearty │ 4,620 │ 7,828 │ 6,898 │ 4,602 │ 6,100 │ - │Pitullie │ 1,720 │ 3,768 │ 1,500 │ 720 │ 1,980 │ - │Fraserburgh │ 16,581 │ 42,944 │ 24,970 │ 26,793 │ 28,112 │ - │Peterhead │ 32,600 │ 52,461 │ 31,535 │ 32,680 │ 35,741 │ - │Boddam │ 5,890 │ 5,445 │ 4,680 │ 3,640 │ 5,358 │ - ├─────────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼─────———┤ - │ TOTAL │285,878 │353,610 │304,780 │272,350 │266,211 │ - └─────────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴─────———┘ - - - ESTIMATED NUMBER OF HANDS EMPLOYED—1865. - - ┌───────────┬──────────┬───────┬───────┐ - │ │Fishermen.│Others.│ Total.│ - ├───────────┼──────────┼───────┼───────┤ - │Caithness │ 6,500 │ 3,100 │ 9,600 │ - │Sutherland │ 2,100 │ 1,500 │ 3,600 │ - │Cromarty │ 1,200 │ 1,000 │ 2,200 │ - │Moray │ 1,800 │ 1,200 │ 3,000 │ - │Banff │ 1,800 │ 1,200 │ 3,000 │ - │Aberdeen │ 3,800 │ 2,400 │ 6,200 │ - ├───────────┼──────────┼───────┼───────┤ - │ TOTAL │ 17,200 │10,400 │27,600 │ - └───────────┴──────────┴───────┴───────┘ - - - - -INDEX. - - - A fishing “toon” described, 446. - - A fishwife’s proverb, 425. - - A lobster-spill in the Thames, 389. - - A Member of Parliament on the fish supply, 67. - - A widow’s story, 463. - - About “natives,” 369. - - Absurd statement about herring spawn, 236. - - Absurdity of eating cod-roe, 291. - - Across the Channel, 56. - - Acclimatisation of fish, 125, 482. - - Account of a fisherman’s wedding-dance, 421. - - Account of the latest spawning season at Stormontfield, 108. - - Adaptability of means to end in shell-fish, 384. - - Admiration of Scottish pearls, 403. - - Advance of money in the herring trade, 255. - - Advantages of a close-time for oysters, 338. - - Advantages of the tile system in oyster-culture, 363. - - Advice to fishermen as to bait, 417. - - Age at which oysters are sent to be greened, 360. - - Age at which oysters are sent to market, 339. - - Age of herring before they spawn, 237. - - Aggregate sailings of the Wick boats, 279. - - Agriculture in France, 77. - - All fish unwholesome at time of spawning, 242. - - Allston the London oyster-merchant, 373. - - Ambition of fisher lads, 440. - - America, oysters in, 380. - - American pike, 143. - - American sociality over oysters, 346. - - Amount of attention required by a large oyster-farm, 365. - - Ancient fishing industries, 40. - - Ancient ideas as to fish, 8. - - Ancient knowledge of the oyster, 333. - - Anecdote of a minister’s visit to a fisherman, 432. - - Anecdote of a London _litterateur_, 379. - - Anecdotes of a fishwife, 428. - - Angler-fish, 156. - - Anglers’ fishes, 129, 137. - - Anglers and angling, 132. - - Angling all the year round, 132. - - Angling localities, 137. - - Angling in the Thames, 150. - - Angling on the Tay, 212. - - Angling sport in Scotland, 130. - - Annual revenue of the river Tay fisheries, 213. - - Annual sacrifice to crustacean gastronomy, 397. - - Anomalies in salmon growth, 105, 180. - - Antidote to enchantment, the fisherman’s, 435. - - Antiquity of pearls, 398. - - Apparatus for catching lobsters, 161. - - Apparatus for pisciculture, 115. - - Appendix, 491. - - Approach of the herring season, 246. - - Arcachon, Bay of, 365. - - Are herrings of the same shoal all of the same age?, 238. - - Are the pisciculturists robbing Peter to pay Paul?, 88. - - Are there more fish in the sea than ever came out of it?, 474. - - Arran, the island of, 165. - - Arrival of salmon ova in Australia, 120. - - Arctic Seas, no herrings in the, 231. - - Artificial oyster-breeding, 350. - - Artificial oyster-breeding in Marennes, 75. - - Artificial spawning, 86, 87. - - Art of dredging oysters, 378. - - Art of shrimping, 396. - - Art of trawling, 311. - - Ashworth’s experiments, 117. - - Ashworth’s opinion of oyster-culture, 354. - - Attention required by an oyster-farm, 365. - - Auchmithie, 444. - - Auctioneers of fish, 437. - - August herring-fishery at Wick, 280. - - Authentic contradiction to Pennant’s theory, 231. - - Authorities, list of, quoted, 499. - - Avarice of salmon-fishery lessees, 200. - - Average age at which salmon are killed, 207. - - Average capture of herrings per boat in 1820, 279. - - Average number of crans of herring taken by each boat in 1862, 276. - - Average of oyster-reproduction at Re, 358. - - Averages of the catch of herrings in 1862, 276. - - Aversion of fisher-people to be counted, 453. - - Awkward _contretemps_, 468. - - - Bad effects of trawling, 315. - - Bag-nets, their baneful influence on the salmon-fisheries, 208. - - Bain, Mr. Donald, on the salmon question, 222, 489. - - Bait for line-fishing, 306. - - Bait for lobsters, 385. - - Bait for sea-angling, 158. - - Bait, importance of cheap, 410. - - Balance of nature, 33. - - Bale in Switzerland, 80. - - Bannock-fluke, the, 297. - - Bargain-making by fishwives, 426. - - Bargains made by boat-owners, 257. - - Barnet, Mr., of Kinross, 140. - - Barking trawlers, 309. - - Barrack-life in Comacchio, 458. - - Barrels, great numbers of, on the quays at Wick, 268. - - Basins for the young fish at Huningue, 85. - - Bass, the, of Lake Wennern, 125. - - Battle of the swine at St. Monance, 434. - - Bay of Aiguillon, 412. - - Bay of the Departed, 455. - - Bay of St. Brieuc, 351. - - Beef, the stone-mason of the island of Re, 352. - - Bell Rock, 444. - - Benefits derived from a good fishery, 44. - - Best conditions of fish for spawning, 341. - - Best kind of boats for herring-fishing, 272. - - Best kinds of fish to rear on the artificial plan, 97. - - Best spawning-ground for herring, 238. - - Best way of marking young salmon, 196. - - Billingsgate, 65. - - Billingsgate salesman’s, a, letter on trawling, 319. - - Bird’s-eye view of Fusaro, 349. - - Bit of dialogue, 470. - - Black-beetle, a wonderful, 17. - - Bloaters and red-herrings, 270. - - Board of White Fisheries, 486. - - Boat speculation by ship-carpenters, 441. - - Bolam, evidence on trawling by Thomas, 314. - - _Bouchots_ for growing mussels, 411. - - Boulogne, 454. - - Bounty given in the herring-trade, 255. - - Brand, the, 263. - - Breeding-ponds for salmon at Stormontfield, 99. - - Breeding-pyramid for oysters, 350. - - Brewing of oyster-spat, 337. - - Brilliancy of fish-colour, 2. - - British oyster-eaters, 345. - - Brown, Mr. Wm., of Perth, on the salmon, 194. - - Buckhaven, 438, 439. - - Buckie, 466. - - Buckie fishermen, 302. - - Buisse, suite of ponds at, 93. - - Burning the water, 204. - - Business, how it is conducted at Re, 358. - - Buist’s notes on Stormontfield, 111. - - Buist’s opinions about the parr, 183. - - - Calculations as to herring increase, 7. - - “Caller Ou,” 425. - - Cancale, 58. - - Cancale, the shell-middens of, 351. - - Canoe used by the _boucholeurs_ of Aiguillon, 413. - - Capital of French oysterdom, 352. - - Caprice of the herring, 244. - - Capturing herrings with a seine-net, 250. - - Carlisle of Inveresk, Dr., 435. - - Carp, 144. - - Carp-breeding, 147. - - Carp-ponds, 147. - - Carriage of fish in France, cost of, 61. - - Catch of herrings in 1862-63, 272. - - Catching shell-fish, 385. - - Causes assigned for caprice of herring, 244. - - Cause of attraction to the male fish while spawning, 9. - - Cause of the parr anomaly, 105. - - Census of Fittie, 450. - - Census of persons employed in the herring-fishery, 275. - - Ceremonies among the eel-breeders of Comacchio, 459. - - Ceremony of marriage among fishermen, 421. - - Ceylon pearl-fishery, 398. - - Chance fishing, 301. - - Changes in the Crustacea, 392. - - Character of the fisher-folk, 471. - - Character of the Scottish fishwife, 324. - - Charming May, 138. - - Charitable fishery experiment, 388. - - Charr, 153. - - Cheek on angling, 135. - - Chief British salmon-streams, 209. - - Chief fishing-grounds in the North Sea, 306. - - Chinese pisciculture, 69, 70. - - Claires for greening oysters, 360. - - Claires for oysters, view of, 357. - - Clannishness of the fisher-folk, 481. - - Classification of fish, 1. - - Cleanliness of the Newhaven fisherwomen, 431. - - Cleghorn, Mr. John, of Wick, on the herring, 231, 232. - - Clements, John, of Hull, his evidence, 316. - - Close-times for herrings quite possible, 242. - - Close-time for lobsters in France, 391. - - Close-time for oysters, 336. - - Clyde, the river, 163. - - Coarse work of the herring-gutters, 270. - - Coast fishing-boats, 272. - - Cod and haddock fishing very laborious, 301. - - Codfish, number of eggs in a, 5. - - Codfish, description of the, 291. - - Codfish, how it grows, 31. - - Cod-liver oil, 292. - - Cod-roe at dinner, 243. - - Coldingham fishermen, good behaviour of, 438. - - Colne oyster-beds, 370. - - Cold seasons unfavourable to oyster-breeding, 338. - - Colour of fish, 2. - - Comacchio, 19, 457. - - Comacchio, drawing of a division of, 48. - - Comfort of a fisherman’s dwelling, 430. - - Commencement of the great gale on the Moray Firth, 324. - - Commerce in fish, 34. - - Commerce in herrings, 254. - - Commerce in salmon, 198. - - Commerce in shell-fish, 384. - - Commercial value of salmon, 199. - - Commissioners’ report on the herring-fishery for 1864, 275. - - Common carp, 146. - - “Commons,” in oyster nomenclature, 368. - - Community of fishers at Fittie, 449. - - Comparative tables of the fishery at Wick, 281. - - Concluding remarks on the Fisheries, 474. - - Conclusion, 490. - - Condition of trawl-fish, 320. - - Conditions under which the herring is found, 240. - - Conduct of the white-fisheries, 301. - - Connecticut, fish-manufactory in, 136. - - Consumption of fish, 67. - - Consumption of oysters in London, 373. - - Contents of a dredge, 378. - - Continental demand on our fisheries, 286. - - Controversies about oyster life, 335. - - Controversies about the salmon, 178. - - Controversy about the parr, 181. - - Controversy about the pearl rivers, 406. - - Controversy among fishermen at Lochfyne, 250. - - Controversy in Scotland as to fixed engines of salmon-capture, 206. - - Conversation with a Strasbourg _pêcheur_, 88. - - Cooking of pike, 143. - - Cooking of oysters, 346. - - Co-operation among fishermen, 309, 441. - - Co-operation better than competition, 223. - - Cornwall in the pilchard season, 251. - - Coromandel oysters, 379. - - Corry in Arran, view of, 171. - - Coste, Professor, 76. - - Coste’s, Professor, plan of oyster-culture, 347. - - Coste’s recommendation to the French Government, 350. - - Couch, Mr. Jonathan, on the food of the pilchard, 251. - - Couch on the mackerel, 21. - - _Couleur de rose_ statements as to the fisheries, 475. - - Councillor Hawkins on the Colchester oyster, 370. - - Course of the fisheries, 55. - - Course of the herring-fishery, 229. - - Course of oyster-farming, 365. - - Course of work on the oyster-beds at Whitstable, 365. - - Crab-catching, 386. - - Cray-fish, 397. - - Creel-hawking, 436. - - Crustacean commerce, 387. - - Cullercoats fisherman, evidence of a, 312. - - Cultivating the mussel-farm, 413. - - Cultivation of “natives,” 369. - - Cultivation of our lochs, 140. - - Culture of mussels, 410. - - Culture of oysters, 346. - - Culture of oysters, progress in, 354. - - Culture of turtle on the artificial plan, 96. - - Curing of cod in Scotland, 293. - - Cure of herrings in Scotland, 1862-63, 273. - - Curing pilchards, 253. - - Curing sprats to be sold as sardines, 253. - - Curious forms of fish, 3. - - Curiosities of superstition at Newhaven, 433. - - - Daily statement of the number of herring-boats at Wick in 1862, 276. - - Danube salmon, 89, 98. - - Dates marking chief incidents of salmon life, 195. - - Dealing in herrings, 254. - - Decline of creel-hawking in Scotland, 443. - - Decline of the cod-fishery, 303. - - Decrease of the Scottish haddock-fishery, 318. - - Decreasing size of haddocks, 315. - - Dee salmon-fisheries, 112, 113. - - Delineation of flat fishes, 297. - - Demand for fish in Catholic countries, 277. - - Demand for oysters, 373. - - Demand for white fish, 286. - - Dempster’s discovery of packing salmon in ice, 36, 202. - - Departure of the herring-fleet from the Texel, 45. - - Description of Auchmithie, 445. - - Description of a drift-net, 248. - - Description of a lobster-trap, 385. - - Description of a mussel-farm, 412. - - Description of a periwinkle, 384. - - Description of a trawler, 309. - - Description of green oyster-claires, 359, 360. - - Description of Newhaven, near Edinburgh, 430. - - Description of the lobster, 390. - - Description of the oyster, 334. - - Description of the pilchard-fishery, 252. - - Design for a complete suite of salmon-ponds, 103. - - Desire for more herring statistics, 283. - - Destruction of young fish, 478. - - Destructive power of the trawl-net, 308. - - Development of the herring, 240. - - Dexterity of the herring-gutters, 270. - - Diagram of herring-netting and fish, 282. - - Dialect of the Moray Firth fisher-folk, 469. - - Dialogue between a fishwife and her customer, 427. - - Differences in size, shape, and flavour of the herrings of different - places, 230. - - Different countries must have different fishing seasons, 299. - - Different kinds of cured herrings, 271. - - Different kinds of sea-fish, 155. - - Difficulties in the way of collecting spat, 362. - - Difficulties of obtaining accurate information about the herring, 235. - - Difficulty of obtaining statistics of fisheries, 66, 285. - - Dimensions of the great _heer_, 228. - - Diminution of lobsters, 318. - - Discipline of Comacchio, 457. - - Disparity in size of young salmon, 106. - - Distinct races of herrings, 230. - - Dish of crablets, 344. - - Distribution of cured eels, 462. - - Distribution of fish, 37. - - Diving for pearls in Scotland, 407. - - Division of labour in Fittie, 450. - - Do fish live a separate life?, 9. - - Does an oyster yield its young in millions?, 339. - - Dogfish, diminution of, in 1862, 274. - - Dogger Bank fishery, 303. - - Doon pearl-fishery, 408. - - Doon pearls inferior, 409. - - Do the herring live singly up till the period of spawning?, 238. - - Double migration of the salmon, 193. - - Doubts as to former abundance of fish, 479. - - Dr. Dod on the herring and sprat, 239. - - Drawbacks to oyster-farming in France, 354. - - Drawing of a two-year-old smolt, 189. - - Drawings of the pearl-mussel, 399. - - Dredging for oysters at Cockenzie, 377. - - Dredging for pearls, 407. - - Dress of a Newhaven fishwife described, 429. - - Drift _versus_ trawl nets, 250. - - Dunbar herring-fleet, 443. - - Duke of Athole’s marked fish, 190. - - Dutch fishing industry, 41. - - Duties of fishermen, 490. - - Duty charged on French fish, 61. - - Duty of the coopers at the herring curing, 262. - - - Early fish commerce, 35. - - Earnings of trawlers, 319. - - Economy of the herring shoals, 277. - - Edible Crustacea described, 391. - - Edible molluscs, 384. - - Edinburgh oyster-ploys, 345. - - Edinburgh oyster-taverns, 345. - - Eel-breeders, the, of Comacchio, 45. - - Eel-cooking at Comacchio, 460. - - Eel-curing at Comacchio, 461. - - Eel-fair, 19. - - Eel, the, 17. - - Effects of the concentration of a thousand boats on one shoal of - herrings, 283. - - Effects of a storm on the Moray Firth, 472, 473. - - Effects of royal notice on the fishwives, 429. - - Effects of the discovery of Mr. Dempster, 205. - - Egg-boxes at Huningue, 83. - - Egg-boxes at Stormontfield, 104. - - Egg-laying by the hen lobster, 392. - - Eggs of the salmon kind just hatching, 13. - - Emotions of the first oyster-eater, 343. - - Enemies of the salmon, 199. - - Engaging of boats for the herring-fishery, 255. - - English lakes, the, 153. - - English river scenery, 148. - - English salmon-fisheries, 217. - - English trawl fishermen, 308. - - Enterprise of the Scottish herring-curers, 259. - - Enthusiasm of those concerned in the herring-harvest, 246. - - Episode of a cradle, 468. - - Erroneous information as to pearls, 409. - - Estimated quantity of oysters in various stages of growth, 368. - - Evidence on the trawl question, 312. - - Exaggeration as to supplies of fish, 481. - - Example of a well-managed salmon stream, 215. - - Examples of nicknames among fishermen, 467. - - Excess of herrings cured in 1862, 273. - - Excitement on shore during a storm, 326. - - Excitement on the coast during the herring season, 247. - - Expense of forming an oyster-bank, 352. - - Expenses of fishing-vessels, 310. - - Experience as to the Tweed fisheries, 224. - - Experiment in fructifying fish-eggs, 8. - - Experiments in oyster-breeding in the Bay of St. Brieuc, 351. - - Experiments in pearl-fishing in the Scottish lochs, 406. - - Experiments with salmon ova in ice, 119. - - Exportation of salmon ova, 119. - - Exquisite flavour of the green oyster, 362. - - Extension of legislation on the salmon question, 204. - - Extension of pisciculture, 117. - - Extension of the Scotch pearl-fishery, 402. - - Extension of the salmon trade, 205. - - Extent of business done in oysters at Whitstable, 366. - - Extent of French fisheries, 91. - - Extent of oyster-beds in the Firth of Forth, 375. - - Extent of the Gadidæ family, 287. - - Extent of the mussel-farm in the Bay of Aiguillon, 412. - - Extent of the river Tay, 209. - - Extent of trawling, 311. - - Extraordinary scene on the river Doon, 404. - - Exuviation of the lobster, 391. - - Eyemouth, 438. - - - Fable, Italian, 452. - - Facts of the herring question, brought out before the British - Association, 232. - - Failure of the Ceylon pearl-fisheries, 400. - - Faithfulness of salmon to their old haunts, 193. - - Falling-off in the herring supply attributed to the trawl, 314. - - Falling-off of certain rivers, 205. - - Falling-off of oyster supplies in France, 347. - - Fancy picture of the growth of a fishing hamlet, 419. - - Fascines for oyster-breeding, 351. - - Farms for oysters in Kent and Sussex, 366. - - Faroe cod-banks, exhaustion of, 303. - - Faversham oyster-grounds, 367. - - Fearful scene, 329. - - Feats performed by Fisherrow women, 435. - - Fecundity of crabs, 383. - - Fecundity of fish, 5. - - Fecundity of lobsters, 383. - - Fecundity of shell-fish, 383. - - Feeding and digestive power of fish, 4. - - Feeding-ground, influence of the, on fish, 29. - - Fife, the coast of, 438. - - Figures appertaining to herring-fishery of 1862-63, 273. - - Figures illustrating the August herring-fishery at Wick, 280. - - Figures of the Dutch fishery, 44. - - Figures of the Wick catch of herrings, 279. - - Findon, 448. - - Fine flavour of the green oyster, 362. - - Finesse by a fishwife, 427. - - Finnan haddocks, 290, 448. - - Firth-built fishing-boats, 440. - - Firth of Forth whitebait, 24. - - Fish auctioneers, 437. - - Fish cadgers and hawkers, 442. - - Fish-breeding in Norway, 75. - - Fish-capture by line, 305. - - Fish-commerce, 34. - - Fish-commerce in France, 60. - - Fish-communities, 295. - - Fish-culture, 69. - - Fish-culture in Italy, 71. - - Fish-dinners, 23. - - Fisher-folk’s philosophy of marriage, 431. - - Fisher-folk, the, 418. - - Fisheries of Holland, 44. - - Fishermen’s antipathy to swine, 434. - - Fishermen, differences of opinion among, 30. - - Fishermen of Eyemouth, condition of the, 438. - - Fishermen’s belief in luck, 257. - - Fishermen’s children, 445. - - Fishermen should grow their own bait, 147. - - Fishermen’s nicknames, 466. - - Fishermen’s wives, 323. - - Fisher-names, 467. - - Fisher-people’s notions of religious duty, 437. - - Fisher-people the same everywhere, 418. - - Fisherrow, 435. - - Fisher weddings, 420. - - Fishery statistics by a Buckhaven man, 442. - - Fishes of the salmon family, 198. - - Fish-guano, observations on, 491. - - Fishing boats, best kind of, 272. - - Fish insensible to pain, 3. - - Fish labyrinth at Comacchio, 46. - - Fish life and growth, 1. - - Fishmarket at Bale, 81. - - Fish-offal as manure, 331. - - Fish-poachers, 135. - - Fish-ponds, 38. - - Fish quite local, 482. - - Fish-shoal, growth of, 32. - - Fish-table, 300. - - Fish-tithe riots at Eyemouth, 438. - - Fishwives at church, 428. - - Fishwives’ finesse in bargaining, 427. - - Fishwives of Newhaven, 424. - - Fishwives of Paris, 456. - - Fittie, 449. - - Fixed engines of capture, 205, 206. - - Flat fish, 156. - - Flat fish consumed in London, 298. - - Flat fish family, the, 297. - - Flavour of different herrings, 230. - - Flavour of fish, 28. - - Floating with the tide, 266. - - Fluctuation in the take of herrings at Wick, 232. - - Fondness for dancing of the fisher-people, 421. - - Fondness of gannets for herring, 283. - - Food of the herring, 243. - - Food of the mussel, 414. - - Food of the oyster, 361. - - Food of the salmon, 192. - - Footdee or Fittie, 449. - - Forbes Stuart and Co.‘s tables of the London salmon supply, 221. - - Foresight of the oyster, 342. - - Former abundance of fish doubted, 479. - - Former scarcity of the haddock, 288. - - Forming an oyster-farm, 355. - - Foul salmon at Billingsgate, 204. - - Four years’ work at oyster-farming, 356. - - France, fishing industry in, 58. - - Francis Sinclair, a herring-fisherman of Wick, 265. - - Free Dredgers’ Company at Whitstable, 366. - - Free fisheries a mistake, 489. - - Free oyster-grounds, 368. - - French boats interfering with the fishery, 318. - - French fishwoman, 454. - - French foreshores, industry on, 57. - - French legend, 455. - - French North Sea fisheries, 59. - - French oyster-eaters, 344. - - Frequent examination of oysters at Whitstable, 369. - - Fresh herrings, 258. - - Fresh-water fish, commerce in, 35. - - Fresh-water fish not of much food value, 129. - - Friday an unlucky day, 433. - - From the parr to the smolt, 187. - - Full _versus_ shotten herrings, 241. - - Functions of the Board of Fisheries, 486. - - Fusaro, Lake, 348. - - Future of the fisheries, 481. - - - Galbert’s trout establishment, 92. - - Gadidæ, 285. - - Gadidæ family, the, 289. - - Galway fisheries, 117. - - Gathering-in of the boats to the herring-fishery, 246. - - Gathering the mussel-harvest in Aiguillon, 413. - - General machinery of fish-capture, 304. - - Geographical distribution of the herring, 234. - - Geographical distribution of the oyster, 379. - - Geologists’ paradise, 164. - - George the Fourth’s fondness for Finnan haddocks, 448. - - German pisciculture, 98. - - Gipsy anglers, 135. - - Glen Sannox, 175. - - Glut of herrings at Billingsgate, 258. - - Goatfell, 165. - - Golden carp, 140, 145. - - Gold-fish in factory ponds, 145. - - Government by gyneocracy, 426. - - Gravid salmon, treatment of, 114. - - Great haul of salmon on the Thurso, 205. - - Great storm on the Moray Firth, the, of 1857, 327. - - Greed of Scottish dredgermen, 375. - - Green oysters, 359. - - Grieve, Mr., of the Café Royal, Edinburgh, 288. - - Grilse growth, 191. - - Grilse and smolt, 187. - - Ground-plan of fish laboratory at Huningue, 82. - - Ground suitable for breeding and fattening oysters, 361. - - Group of Newhaven fishwives, 424. - - Growth of a fishing village, 419. - - Growth of a fish-shoal, 32. - - Growth of fish, 1. - - Growth of salmon ova, 12. - - Growth of the mussel in the Bay of Aiguillon, 415. - - Growth of the oyster-park system, 353. - - Growth of the young salmon in Australia, 123. - - Guano, fish, observations on, 491. - - Gulf of Manaar pearl-fisheries, 400. - - Gulf of St. Lawrence, 310. - - Gunther’s opinion of the _Silurus glanis_, 126. - - Gutters for hatching purposes at Huningue, 86. - - Gutters of herring, 269. - - - Habits and character of the Fittie people, 451. - - Habits of fish, 316. - - Habits of the haddock, 289. - - Habits of the pearl-oyster, 401. - - Haddock, the, 287. - - Haddocks, former scarcity of, 288. - - Haddocks, where are they?, 30. - - Half-decked boats, 307. - - Happy fishing-grounds, 367. - - Harbours, 302. - - Harbour accommodation, want of, in Scotland, 272, 321. - - Harvest of eels at Comacchio, 459. - - Hashing of young fish not peculiar to the trawl, 320. - - Has the oyster eyes?, 335. - - Hatching of salmon, 11. - - Hauling in the nets, 266. - - Hawkers of fish, 442. - - Hearing power of fish, 4. - - Herring-buss, cost of, 51. - - Herring-commerce, 254. - - Herring-curing, 260. - - Herring-fishing at Wick in August, 280. - - Herring fishing at Wick in September, 281. - - Herring, growth of the, 237. - - Herring harvest, the, 263. - - Herrings, calculations as to size of a shoal of, 6. - - Herring spawn, 14. - - Herring spawn offered for manure, 313. - - Herring, the, described, 226. - - Herring, the, its natural and economic history, 226. - - Herring, the, shoals at Wick, 278. - - Hints to the oyster-farmers, 364. - - History of the herring-fishery, 49. - - Hired hands at the herring-fishery, 248. - - Hole Haven in Essex, lobster-stores at, 389. - - Holibut, 295. - - Homeward bound, 267. - - Hooks, number of, on a fishing-line, 305. - - How a fish breathes, 1. - - How cod are cured, 293. - - How does an oyster lie on its bed?, 335. - - How long do herrings take to grow?, 236. - - How the herrings are manipulated on arrival, 269. - - How the herring-nets are worked, 249. - - How the salmon-poachers proceed to work, 203. - - How to buy and sell fish, 427. - - How to catch cray-fish, 397. - - How to angle in the sea, 159. - - How to find out a false pearl, 410. - - How to mark smolts, 196. - - How to test a pearl, 410. - - How to open the pearl-mussel, 408. - - Hull trawlers, 309. - - Huningue described, 82-85. - - Huningue, difficulty of finding it, 80. - - - Ignorance of naturalists and fishermen, 287. - - Ile de Re, 352. - - Illustrations of oyster-growth, 338, 339. - - Imitation by fishermen of marked salmon, 197. - - Importance of cheap bait, 410. - - Impossibility of catching spawn in the trawl-net, 317. - - Impregnation of fish-eggs, 7. - - Improvement in the manufacture of herring-nets, 278. - - Improvement of Scottish fishing-boats, 307. - - - Improvement of the salmon-fisheries, 224. - - Increase in the quantity of netting used at the - herring-fishery, 277, 278. - - Increase of boats and fishermen, 313. - - Increase of the enemies of the herring, 242. - - Increase of the herring, 7. - - Incubation-hall at Huningue, 84. - - Incubation of oyster-ova, 337. - - Industry of the women at Auchmithie, 447. - - Industry at Fisherrow, 436. - - Industry of Buckhaven men, 439. - - Industry of fishwives, 425. - - Inferiority of Doon pearls, 409. - - Information about the fisher-folk, 422. - - Information as to the colour and structure of pearls, 409. - - Information for pearl-seekers, 408. - - Information for the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, 376. - - Instinct of the salmon for change, 188. - - Interior of a fisherman’s house, 430. - - Introduction into British waters of strange fishes, 482. - - Invention of mussel-culture, 410. - - Inventor of the first oyster-pond, 343. - - Investigation by the Town Council of Edinburgh into the state of - their oyster-beds, 376. - - Irish and Welsh pearls, 407. - - Irish fish-carriage, 63. - - Irish haddocks, 289. - - Irish lobsters, 388. - - Irish oyster blue-book, 371. - - Irish white-fish fisheries, 304. - - Italian fable, 452. - - Italian pisciculture, 71. - - Italian oyster-eaters, 344. - - - Jack in his element, drawing of, 141. - - Jacobi’s experiments in artificial fish-breeding, 74. - - Johnstone on the salmon-fisheries, 216. - - Joint-stock fishing system, 441. - - Joint-stock oyster company at Whitstable, 366. - - Juries for regulating the oyster-fisheries, 371. - - Justice to upper proprietors of salmon-fisheries, 487. - - Juvenile fisher-folk, 430. - - - Keeping adult salmon till ripe for spawning, 107. - - Kelaart’s account of the pearl, 401. - - Kemmerer’s, Dr., tiles for oyster-culture, 361. - - Killing of grilse hurtful to the fisheries, 207. - - Kinsale oysters, 374. - - Kitchen at Comacchio, 460. - - Knox, Dr., opinion of the parr, 182. - - - Labours of Gehin and Remy in pisciculture, 76. - - Lake Fusaro, 348. - - Land-crabs, 393. - - Land of a thousand lochs, 136. - - Latest achievement in pisciculture, 126. - - Laws devised for self-government at Ile de Re, 357. - - Legal mode of capturing the herring, 248. - - Legend of the first oyster-eater, 342. - - Legend of the island of Sein, 455. - - Leistering salmon, 204. - - Length of white-fish fishing-lines, 305. - - Lent, fish required during, 277. - - Line-fishing, 306. - - List of authorities, 499. - - List of rivers in which the best pearls have been found, 406. - - Living codfish, traffic in, 302. - - Living crustacea, 387. - - Lobster-bait, 162. - - Lobsters “in berry,” 393. - - Lobster-commerce, 337. - - Lobster-farming, 385. - - Lobsters good for food all the year round, 398. - - Localities for sea-angling, 162. - - Loch Awe trout, 138. - - Lochfyne herring, 28. - - Lochfyne, view of, 249. - - Lochleven pike, 140. - - Lochleven trout, 28, 139. - - Lochmaben, 27. - - Logan fish-pond, 39. - - London demand for shell-fish, 385. - - London fish-supply, inquiries into the, 285. - - London oyster-saloons, 373. - - Lord Advocate’s salmon bill of 1862, 205. - - Loss of the “Shamrock,” 322. - - Lottery nature of the herring-fishery, 267. - - Love of oysters by the ancient Romans, 380. - - Lowe’s, Mr. James, opinion about the position of the oyster, 335. - - Low state of the English salmon-fisheries, 217. - - Luck a creed of the fishermen, 257. - - Lucullus, 344. - - - Machinery of fish-capture, 305. - - Machinery of herring-capture, 248. - - Mackerel-fishery, 299. - - Mackerel-growth, 21. - - Mackerel, the, 299. - - Madame Picard, the French fishwife, 456. - - Manufactured Finnans, 290, 449. - - Manufacture of sardines, 253. - - March of the land-crabs, 393. - - Marennes, 359. - - Marine Department of France, 56. - - Marked fish of the salmon kind, 197. - - Marriage dinners among the fisher-class, 421. - - Marriage scenes at Newhaven, 420. - - Marrying and giving in marriage among the fisher-folks, 420. - - Marshall, Peter, of Stormontfield, on the salmon, 195. - - Martin and Gillone’s breeding establishment, 112, 113. - - Mascalogne, the, or pike of America, 143. - - Masculine character of the fishwife, 323. - - Mathers the fisher-poet, 471. - - Mayhew’s figures, 67. - - Measurement of nets, 248. - - Members of the herring family, 245. - - Memoir on fish by a Chinaman, 70. - - Methuen on the white-fisheries, 288, 480. - - Methuen, the late Mr., brief sketch of his career, 259. - - Microscopic observation of oyster-spat, 339. - - Migration of the eel, 19. - - Migration of the herring a mistake, 228. - - Milton oysters, 372. - - Mitchell on the distribution of the herring, 234. - - Mitchell on the herring, 231. - - Mode of capturing turbot, 296. - - Modes of cooking oysters in New York, 381. - - Mode of curing Yarmouth bloaters, etc., 271. - - Mode of doing business of the Fisherrow women, 436. - - Mode of dredging for oysters, 378. - - Mode of fishing by line, 305. - - Mode of growing the mussels in the Bay of Aiguillon, 415. - - Mode of life at Comacchio, 458. - - Mode of packing ova in ice, 119. - - Mode of salmon-fishing on the Tay, 213. - - Mode of selling fish by Newhaven women, 425. - - Mode of spawning by the land-crabs, 394. - - Mode of taking pilchards in Cornwall, 251. - - Modes of sea-fishing in France, 57. - - Money paid by curers of herring in bounty and arles, 256. - - Money value of fresh-water fish in France, 92. - - Money value of the Colne oysters, 370. - - Monkbarns and Maggie Mucklebackit, 428. - - Monkeys catching crabs, 386. - - Monotonous life of the eel-breeders of Comacchio, 459. - - Moral success of oyster-farming, 357. - - Moray Firth ports, 302. - - More boats and less fish on the Dogger Bank, 313. - - More ways of killing salmon than angling, 203. - - Mortality of herring, 15. - - Movements of the herring at spawning time, 238. - - Mr. Ramsbottom’s salmon manipulations, 102. - - Multiplying power of the herring, 33. - - Mussel-culture, 410. - - Mussel-stakes, 411. - - Mysterious fish, 26. - - - Narrow escape from extermination of the salmon, 475. - - Natives, 368. - - Natural and economic history of the oyster, 332. - - Natural and economic history of the salmon, 177. - - Natural enemies of the herring, 282, 283. - - Natural history of the codfish, 291. - - Natural history of the crustacea, 391. - - Natural history of the eel, 47. - - Natural history of the pearl-oyster of Ceylon, 401. - - Natural history of the pilchard, 251. - - Natural history of the sole, 298. - - Natural history of whitebait, 23. - - Naturalisation of fish in British rivers, 125. - - Naturalist’s Library account of the herring, 235. - - Necessity for two ponds at Stormontfield, 105. - - Necessity of describing the fisher-folk, 418. - - Nets, quantity used by a boat, 248. - - Newbiggin, evidence by a fisherman of that place, 317. - - New branch of shell-fishing, 398. - - Newfoundland cod-fishery, 53. - - Newhaven, 423. - - Newhaven fishwives, 424. - - Newhaven oyster-beds, 375. - - New York, oyster-eating in, 381. - - Nicknames of fishermen, 466. - - Non-success of the winter herring-fishery in 1864, 275. - - _Northern Ensign_, the, on the herring-fishery, 279. - - North Sea white-fish fisheries, 304. - - Norway lobsters, 389. - - Note from the novel of the _Antiquary_, 426. - - Nothing but herring, 268. - - Notice of a hermit crab, 392. - - Notice of Newhaven fishwives by the Queen, 429. - - Notice of valuable pearls, 400. - - Nova Scotia and Canadian fisheries, 54. - - Number of barrels of herring caught at Wick, 278. - - Number of buckies, 466. - - Number of eggs in a herring, 5. - - Number of men drowned on the north-east coast, 330. - - Number of oyster-farms in France, 347. - - Number of oysters on a fascine, 352. - - Number of shells that contain pearls, 409. - - Number of vessels fitted out for herring-fishery, 274. - - Number of white-fish falling off, 317. - - Nursing oyster-brood at Whitstable, 367. - - Nursing the salmon, 15. - - - Objects of the English Fishery Act of 1861, 220. - - Observations on fish-guano, 491. - - Obvious abuses in connection with the economy of the fisheries, 284. - - Occurrence at St. Monance, 434. - - Oddities of the pearl-fisheries, 405. - - Officer’s, Dr., account of the ova received in Australia, 120. - - Official documents on the fisheries referred to, 66. - - Official instructions to the herring-curer, 262. - - Off to the herring, 264. - - Old believers in old fish theories, 227. - - One million of oysters eaten daily in Paris, 345. - - Open _versus_ decked boats, 272. - - Operations of the Fishery Board, 284. - - Opinion of Mr. Anderson on the salmon question, 207. - - Opinion of Mr. Ffennell on the English Fishery Act of 1861, 220. - - Opinions of a Billingsgate salesman, 320. - - Opinions, different, about shell-fish, 333. - - Orata, Sergius, 72, 343. - - Organisation for supplying London with oysters, 366. - - Origin of Buckhaven, 439. - - Origin of Finnan haddocks, 290. - - Origin of fisher colonies, 423. - - Ossian, 174. - - Our chief food fishes, 285. - - Our Lady’s Port of Grace, 423. - - Our skipper at Wick, 264. - - Ova of the salmon, how it develops, 12. - - Overfishing of the herring, 227. - - Overfishing of the herring as pointed out by Mr. Cleghorn, 233. - - Overfishing of the oyster, 347. - - Overshooting, 169. - - Owners of salmon fisheries on the Tay, 213. - - Oyster-beds of Colne and Whitstable, 346. - - Oyster-beds of Georgia, 380. - - Oyster-breeding fascines, 351. - - Oyster close-time, 336. - - Oyster-eaters, 343. - - Oyster-growth, 338. - - Oyster, natural and economic history of, 332. - - Oyster-parks described by Mr. Ashworth, 354. - - Oyster-pyramid, 350. - - Oyster-saloons of New York, 381. - - Oyster-seekers, 373. - - Oyster Street at Billingsgate, 374. - - Oyster tiles, 363. - - Oyster-women of Paris, 456. - - Oysters able to move about, 342. - - Oysters at one time nearly forgotten, 343. - - Oysters hermaphrodite, 340. - - Oysters, how they are made green, 359, 360. - - Oysters in France, increase in price of, 64. - - Oysters on trees, 379. - - Oyster-ploys, 345. - - Oysters, when in season, 336. - - - Packing herrings, 41. - - Packing of trawled white fish, 311. - - Pandore oysters, 377. - - Paper on the herring read at British Association meeting, 1854, 231. - - Paper on the sea fisheries of Ireland, 286. - - Parr at a year old, 182. - - Parr-growth, 180, 181. - - Parr in salt water, 194, 195. - - Parr-icide, 200. - - Paris, revenue derived from fish by, 64. - - Paucity of oyster-spawn during late years, 340. - - Payment of fishermen on the St. Lawrence, 310. - - Pearl-fisheries of Scotland, 398. - - Pearl-seekers at work, 404. - - Pearl-seekers, information for, 408. - - Peat-smoked haddocks, 448. - - Pennant’s opinion as to the haddock, 289. - - Pennant’s story of the herring a myth, 228. - - Percentage of salmon eggs hatched in Australia, 124. - - Percentage of mussels that contain pearls, 408. - - Percentage of oysters that arrive at maturity, 341. - - Percentage of salmon ova that come to life, 200. - - Perch, the, 151, 152. - - Perforated chests for keeping lobsters alive, 387. - - Perth as a centre for the angler, 213. - - Periwinkle, a peep at the, 384. - - Peter Marshall of Stormontfield as a pisciculturist, 111. - - Petticoat government, 450. - - Pickled herrings, discovery of, by the Flemings, 43. - - Pictures of the Dutch fishery, 42. - - Pig-feeding by means of parr, 200. - - Pike, 140. - - Pilchard, the, 251. - - Pisciculture, 69. - - Piscicultural establishment at Huningue, 76. - - Pisciculture in China, 69. - - Plan of a turtle-farm, 96. - - Plan of cultivating oysters, 346. - - Plan of fishing adopted at Yarmouth, 271. - - Plan of smoking haddocks in Auchmithie, 446. - - Plan of the salmon-ponds at Stormontfield, 100. - - Planting and transplanting mussels, 414. - - Playing a salmon, 131. - - Plea for the total abolition of the brand, 263. - - Plentifulness of salmon long ago, 476. - - “Please to remember the grotto,” 332. - - Plessix oyster-bed, 364. - - Pleuronectidæ, 285, 295, 297. - - Poaching as a trade, 202. - - Points in the natural and economic history of the herring, 232, 233. - - Ponds for fish, 38. - - Pont oyster-grounds, 368. - - Pooldoodies, 374. - - Pope and Swift as oyster-eaters, 345. - - Portessie, 321. - - Powan, the, 29. - - Practicability of artificial breeding on the Severn, 219. - - Practical nature of French fish-culture, 95. - - Prawn-catching, 396. - - Prawns and shrimps, 395. - - Preparation of the eels at Comacchio, 462. - - Present price of haddocks, 288. - - Prestonpans, 437. - - Price of fish in France, 62. - - Progress of Beef’s oyster-farm on the Ile de Re, 353. - - Progress of herring growth, 237. - - Progress of salmon growth, 179. - - Progress of the parr, 105. - - Progress of the ova in Australian waters, 122. - - Progress of the people of Fittie, 451. - - Proper stock of fish for the Severn, 218. - - Proper time to shoot the nets, 265. - - Proposal for a jubilee on the Severn, 218. - - Proposal for a tax on the boats, 284. - - Proportion of netting used and herring taken, 282. - - Proportions of meat and shell in the oyster, 341. - - Proposal to make each salmon river a joint-stock property, 223. - - Proposal to note growth of sea-fish in a marine observatory, 17. - - Proposal to sell the herring as they are caught, 257. - - Prosperity of the fisher-folk, 440. - - Price paid for pearls, 405. - - Price of three haddocks in 1790, 288. - - Primitive hatching apparatus, 115. - - Primrose, Hon. Mr. Bouverie, 485. - - Principal changes introduced by Tweed Acts, 216. - - Private oyster-layings, 371. - - Probable extinction of the Firth of Forth oyster-beds, 375. - - Problem in salmon life by the Ettrick Shepherd, 185. - - Process of curing the herring, 261. - - Process of gutting the herring, 269. - - Produce of the oyster greening claires, 361. - - Productive power of shell-fish, 382. - - Productiveness of artificial system, 90. - - Profile of the ponds at Stormontfield, 101. - - Profit of Beef’s oyster-farm, 353. - - Profits of oyster-farming, 372. - - Prosperity of the oyster-growers, 358. - - Provisions of the salmon and trout Act of 1861, 221. - - Public writers on the British fisheries, 474. - - Pulteneytown heights, 264. - - Pulteneytown quay, scene at, 267. - - Purchasers of Scottish pearls, 403. - - - Quaint fishing villages of Normandy and Brittany, 454. - - Qualifications of an angler, 135. - - Quality of the herring captured in 1862, 276. - - Quantity of herring branded in 1862, 273. - - Quantity of netting employed in the herring-fishery, 277. - - Quantity of pilchards sometimes obtained, 252. - - Quantity of spawn from each oyster, 339. - - Queensferry, whitebait ground near, 22. - - Question of fish growth, 16. - - - Rapid growth of oyster-culture in Ile de Re, 352. - - Rapid hatching of herring ova, 236. - - Rapid transit, effect of, on the fisheries, 36. - - Rapidity of salmon growth, 196. - - Ravages of the herring shoals by codfish, 282. - - Raw oysters the best for the stomach, 346. - - Reasons of the fishermen for marrying on Friday, 420. - - Recent fishing Acts for England, 219. - - Recent reports of the Inspectors of English fisheries, 217. - - Re-discovery of pisciculture, 73. - - Red-letter days of August, 332. - - Reel o’ Collieston, 422. - - Regulation of British salmon-fisheries, 487. - - Regulation of salmon-rivers, 488. - - Regulation of the Scottish herring-fisheries, 484. - - Relation between upper and lower proprietors of salmon rivers, 222. - - Relation of the curer to the fishermen, 255. - - Remedies for failing salmon supplies, 225. - - Remy, the re-discoverer of pisciculture, 73. - - Rental of French fisheries, 91. - - Rental of Firth of Forth oyster-beds, 375. - - Report of the Lochfyne commissioners on the herring, 235. - - Reprehensible feature in herring commerce, 256. - - Reproductive power of the oyster, 338. - - Reproductive power of the oyster in green claires, 260. - - Return from the beds on the Ile de Re, 356. - - Revenue anticipated from licences on English rivers, 221. - - Revenue from fish to the city of Paris, 64. - - Revenue from oysters grown in Lake Fusaro, 349. - - Revival of pearl-seeking in Scotland, 402. - - Rev. Mr. Williamson on the double migration of salmon, 194. - - Rhine salmon, 201. - - Richmond’s, Duke of, salmon-fisheries, 215. - - Rights of fishing in France, 91. - - Rise in price of oysters at Ile de Re, 358. - - Rise in the price of white fish, 301. - - Rise of a herring-curer, 259. - - River cray-fish, 397. - - River Doon pearl-fever, 404. - - Rivers of France, the, 73. - - Roaming fish, 32. - - Robertson’s Tweed salmon tables, 217. - - Rockall fishery, 303. - - Roe of the cod used in sardine-fishery, 254. - - Round of labour at Auchmithie, 446. - - Routine of oyster-work at Whitstable, 369. - - Roxburghe, Duke of, as an angler, 130. - - - Salmo Ferox, 138. - - Salmon a day or two old, 14. - - Salmon and herring contrasted, 15. - - Salmon-angling in the north of Scotland, 131. - - Salmon-culture, 102. - - Salmon-beds in the tributaries of the Tay, 209. - - Salmon, commercial value of, 199. - - Salmon, double migration of, 193. - - Salmon egg, description of a, 10. - - Salmon-growth _versus_ cod-growth, 20. - - Salmon in Australia, 118. - - Salmon, natural and economic history of the, 177. - - Salmon ova, period required to hatch, 13. - - Salmon, progress of, in coming to life, 12. - - Salmon-poaching, 202. - - Salmon rivers, regulation of, 488. - - Salmon, what do they eat? 192. - - Salmon-watcher’s tower on the Rhine, 201. - - Salting eels at Comacchio, 461. - - Sardine-fishery in Brittany, 59, 253. - - Scarcity of white fish, 313. - - Scattering of oyster-spat, 337. - - Scene in a Scottish herring-curer’s office, 469. - - Scene in the Buckie small-debt court, 468. - - Scene of Sir Walter Scott’s _Antiquary_, 444. - - Scene on the waters, 265. - - Scenes on the coast, 444. - - Scenery on the Tay, 211. - - Scientific and commercial fish-culture, 75. - - Scotch name for the turbot, 297. - - Scotch pearls in the middle ages, 402. - - Scotland for trout, 134. - - Scottish chap-books, 439. - - Scottish fishing boats all open, 307. - - Scottish fishing villages, glance at, 422. - - Scottish herring-fishery, 50. - - Scottish oyster-eaters, 345. - - Scottish pearl-fisheries, 398. - - Scottish prejudice against eels, 19. - - Scottish salmon-streams, 209. - - Scovell’s lobster-pond, 388. - - Sea-angling, 154. - - Sea-fish, proposal to note growth of, 17. - - Sea-perch, 153. - - Season for lobsters, 397. - - Secret of oyster-culture, 346. - - September fishery at Wick, 281. - - September the right month for inaugurating the oyster season, 333. - - Sergius Orata, 72, 343. - - Series of ponds for artificial breeding on the Severn, 219. - - Set-line fishing, 160. - - Severn, the, 218. - - Severn, suggestion for a pond on the, 116. - - Sex of the oyster, 340. - - Sexual instinct of fish, 10. - - Shaking the herring out of the nets, 267. - - Shape of a dredge, 378. - - Shape of fish, 3. - - Shad, 25. - - Shaw of Drumlanrig, 74. - - Shaw’s parr experiments, 185, 186. - - Shell-fish fisheries, 382. - - Short and simple annals of the fisher-folk, 462. - - Shooting the nets, 265, 266. - - Should there be a close-time for herring? 241, 242. - - Shrimp-eggs, 383. - - Shrimps and prawns, 395. - - Shrimpers at work, 395. - - Sickening of oysters, 336. - - Signs and tokens among the fisher-people, 453. - - _Silurus glanis_, 126-128. - - Silver eel, the, 18. - - Sillock-fishing in Shetland, 294. - - Size and weight of salmon diminishing, 206, 207. - - Size of oysters, 341. - - Size of the codfish, 291. - - Skate-liver oil, 293. - - Sketch of fisher-life in the _Antiquary_, 429. - - Sketch of the river Tay, 210, 211. - - Slaughter of small-sized fish, 320. - - Smaller varieties of the flat-fish, 298. - - Smelling power of fish, 3. - - Smolt and grilse, 187. - - Smolt exodus of 1861, 110. - - Smolt growth, 180, 181. - - Social condition of the Newhaven fisher-folk, 430. - - Social history of the oyster, 342. - - Société d’Ecorage in France, 60. - - Society of Free Fishermen at Newhaven, 377. - - Soft crabs, 393. - - Soles of a moderate weight best for the table, 298. - - Sole, the, 298. - - Song sung by the dredgers, 379. - - Sophisticated oysters, 374. - - Source of the Tay, 210. - - Sowing and planting mussels, 414. - - Spat-collecting tiles, 363. - - Spawn of herring just hatched, 14. - - Spawning at Tongueland, 114. - - Spawning of oysters, 337. - - Spawning periods of the herring, 236. - - Spear for killing flat fish, 161. - - Spearing flat fish, 161. - - Spey, the, as a salmon stream, 214. - - Sprat-controversy, 237, 239. - - Sprat-fishery, 253. - - Stake and bag nets, 208. - - Stake-nets on the river Solway, 208. - - Stakes on which to grow oysters, 364. - - State of knowledge in Newhaven sixty years ago, 431. - - Statements of trawlers, 314. - - Statistics of boats and herring ports, 275. - - Statistics of Colne oyster-beds, 370. - - Statistics of English oyster-grounds, 367. - - Statistics of Newfoundland fishery, 54. - - Statistics of oyster-culture in the Ile de Re, 356. - - Statistics of oyster-growth in Ile de Re, 365. - - Statistics of rent and produce of fisheries on Tay, 213. - - Statistics of Tweed fisheries, 217. - - Statistics of Wick Herring-Fishery, 1865, 502. - - St. James’s Day for oysters, 333. - - Steamboat travelling, 443. - - Steuart of Colpetty on the pearl, 400. - - Stock of breeding fish proper for Tay, 214. - - Stock of fish kept by Lucullus, 71. - - Stoddart’s calculations as to salmon growth, 111, 200. - - Store-boxes for crabs and lobsters, 387. - - Stories about the pike, 142. - - Storm scenes on the Moray Firth, 328. - - Storm of October 1864, 322. - - Stormontfield, proceedings at, 13. - - Striking example of the effect of bag-nets on the Tay, 206. - - Summer time of Wick’s existence, 247. - - Superstition as to the name of Ross, 468. - - Superstition of the fisher-folk, 432. - - Supposed migration of turbot, 296. - - Supposed spawn of turbot, 286. - - Sutherland lochs, 136. - - - Table of oyster reproduction, 371. - - Tabular view of the August and September herring-fishery at - Wick, 280, 281. - - Tabular view of the fish seasons, 300. - - Tabular view of the herring-harvest of 1862, 276. - - Tackle for sea-angling, 157. - - Tay before and after stake-nets, 214. - - Tay, the, as a salmon stream, 209. - - Tay, the river, its fish and commerce, 79. - - Tax on oysters at Billingsgate, 374. - - “Tee”-names, 466. - - Templeman’s evidence, 313. - - Temperature of the river Plenty in Australia, 121. - - Tempest on the Moray Firth, 325. - - Thames and other anglers, 130, 151. - - Thames, attempts to re-stock that river with fish, 24. - - Thames, the, 148, 149. - - The bounty system in the herring-fishery, 256. - - The cause of the migratory habits of salmon, 194. - - The cook and the grouse, 287. - - The Dead Man’s Ferry, 455. - - The dredging song, 379. - - The eastern pearl-fishery, 400. - - The first oyster-eater, 342. - - The first oyster eaten as a punishment, 343. - - The herring-fishery, preparations for, 246. - - The food of fishes, 31. - - The greening of oysters, 359, 360. - - The herring a local fish, 229. - - The herring-fishery a lottery, 257. - - The latest English salmon Act, 221. - - The laird and the laddie, an anecdote, 406. - - “The man in the black coat,” 433. - - The mussel as food, 416. - - Theories about eels, 18. - - Theory as to the growth of smolts, 196. - - The pearl-fever on the Doon, 403. - - The pearl-mussel, 398. - - The pearl shell-fish, 398. - - The present Fishery Board, 263. - - The senses of fish, 3. - - The women of Auchmithie, 446. - - The world of fish depicted, 394. - - Thinning the mussels, 415. - - Tiber, fish of the, 72. - - Tiles for receiving the spat of oysters, 363. - - Time of fishing for herring, 245. - - Time required for hatching herring-ova, 239. - - Time when the lobster becomes reproductive, 391. - - Torbay fisherman, evidence by a, 315. - - Total catch of Herrings for 1865, 503. - - Tour among the Scottish fisher-folk, 419. - - Tourist talk about fish, 78. - - Town of Comacchio, 459. - - Trade in shrimps, 397. - - Traffic in living codfish, 302. - - Transformation of herring-gutters, 270. - - Travelling in France, 78. - - Trawled fish not fit for market, 314. - - Trawler, a, 309. - - Trawling at particular places exhausts the shoals, 312. - - Trawling for herrings, 249. - - Trawling increases the fish, 316. - - Trawling on the French coast, 57. - - Trawl question, the, 308. - - Trout produced at five centimes each, 94. - - Trout, the, 133. - - Tummel, river, 210. - - Turbot, 296. - - Turbot fishing, 315. - - Turbot, natural history of the, 287. - - Turtle-culture, 96. - - Tweed Acts of 1857-59, 216. - - Tweed poachers, 203. - - Tweed tables of weight and size, 207. - - Twelve fish for a penny, 89. - - - Unchangeable nature of the fishing class, 425. - - Unger’s revival of the Scottish pearl-fishery, 402. - - Unparalleled destruction of the seed of fish, 243. - - Upper proprietors of salmon-fisheries, 487. - - Uses of the codfish, 292. - - Uses of the sillock, 295. - - Use of the trawl-net in turning up food for the fish, 316. - - - Value of a cod-roe, 292. - - Value of boats and nets lost in the storm of 1848, 330. - - Value of early-caught herring, 258. - - Value of mussels at Aiguillon, 417. - - Value of salmon at present, 477. - - Value of Scottish pearls, 403. - - Value of the close-time for salmon, 201. - - Value of the oyster stock at Whitstable, 366. - - Varied manipulation at Stormontfield, 105. - - Varieties of cod, 294. - - Varieties of crustacea, 383. - - Varieties of fish suitable to breed in ponds, 39. - - Various modes of catching crabs, 386. - - Various ways of fishing for the pearl-mussel, 405. - - Vendace, the, 26. - - View of a herring-curing yard, 261. - - View of a mussel-farm, 412. - - View of Huningue, 83. - - View of oyster-claires, 357. - - View of oyster-parks, 355. - - Village of Auchmithie, 445. - - Virginia oyster-beds, 380. - - Virtues of “cauld iron,” 433. - - Visit of the smolts to the sea, 190. - - Vivian, Mr., of Hull, on trawling, 311. - - Viviparous fish, 16. - - Voracity of pike, 142. - - - Wages at Comacchio, 458. - - Waiting for the fish to strike, 266. - - Walter Scott on the fishwives, 426. - - Walton’s plan of hurdles for the culture of mussels, 411. - - Want of a close-time a great fish-destroying agency, 243. - - Want of harbour accommodation, 302. - - Want of more knowledge about our shell-fish, 382. - - Want of precise information as to fish-growth, 16. - - Warnings, 453. - - Waste places in England suitable for fish-culture, 116. - - Weather during the fishing of 1862, 276. - - Weather prophecies of the Board of Trade, 331. - - Weight of trout, 133. - - Welled boats, 306. - - Welsh and Irish pearls, 407. - - Whale-fishery, the, 55. - - What has been accomplished at Stormontfield, 109. - - What do salmon eat? 192. - - What we desire to know of all fish, 21. - - What will be the future of the British fisheries? 481. - - When do oysters become reproductive? 339. - - When do turbot spawn? 287. - - When Gadidæ are in season, 286. - - When herring are in best condition, 240. - - When should herring be captured? 241. - - When white fish are in season, 300. - - Where are the haddocks? 30, 288. - - Where the best turbot are got, 296. - - Where the oyster spawn goes, 340. - - “Whiskered pandores,” 377. - - Whitebait, 22. - - Whitebait found in many rivers, 22. - - Whitebait poor eating, 23. - - White-fish fisheries, the, 285. - - White-fish fisheries of Ireland, 304. - - White fish when in season, 299. - - Whitehills harbour, 321. - - Whiting, the, 294. - - Whitstable, 366. - - Who was Ossian? 174. - - Wick during the herring season, 268. - - Williamson, Rev. D., on the salmon, 193. - - Winter fishing at Wick, 274. - - “Wise Willy and Witty Eppie,” 439. - - Wives of the oyster-farmers, 362. - - Wolfsbrunnen trout-pond, 39. - - Woodhaven salmon station, 212. - - Working a mussel-farm, 416. - - Working an oyster-bed, 368. - - World of fish, the, 394. - - - Yarmouth, 271. - - Yarmouth boats, their size and cost, 271. - - Yarmouth, the great fishery at, 49. - - Yarrell’s account of the herring, 231. - - Yarrell’s and Buist’s opinion about the parr, 183. - - Young’s experiments on the parr, 186. - - Yield of a _bouchot_, 416. - - -_Printed by_ R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] On this part of the piscicultural question I had the following -conversation with a _pêcheur_ who has a little place in the suburbs of -Strasbourg, on the road to the Bridge of Boats:— - -“By your system you collect the eggs of fish in the rivers of -Switzerland and Germany, either from the spawning-beds, or direct from -the parents, which are then barbarously killed and sold, as we were -told at Huningue, and the eggs may be sent off to enrich some private -speculator in the north of France. Now, will not the rivers from whence -the spawn is taken be impoverished in their turn?” - -“Oh, no; it is considered by the piscicultural system that we only -obtain that portion of the spawn that would otherwise be lost.” - -“What do you think is the proportion of young salmon that arrives at -marketable size under the ordinary conditions of growth?” - -“It is very small. An eighteen-pound fish will yield eighteen thousand -eggs. Well, one-third of these will in all probability escape the -fecundating principle of the milt, another third most likely will never -come to life—the eggs will either be destroyed from natural causes -or be eaten up by other fish; so that you see only six thousand, or -one-third of the whole eggs, will ever come to life.” - -“Well, that is so far good; but you do not protect the infant fish at -all, you only insure the transmission of the eggs from Huningue.” - -“Yes; but the eggs are more than half the battle. Out of eighteen -thousand salmon-ova you will, by giving protection, hatch at least -fifteen thousand fish; and then these won’t be sent into the water till -they are well able to take care of themselves, and fight the battle of -life.” - -“Supposing it to be as you say, and that you can rear the fish in -remunerative quantities, will not an extension of the piscicultural -system ultimately injure the breed?” - -“I don’t think it will. We have been carrying out the system in France -now on a lesser or greater scale for more than twenty years, and I can -hear of no damage being done to the fish.” - -[2] As I assisted personally at the exodus of 1861, I subjoin a brief -report of what took place from the _Perth Courier_:— - -“On Saturday last, Mr. Buist, accompanied by Mr. Bertram of Edinburgh -and other gentlemen, visited the ponds of Stormontfield, for the -purpose of ascertaining the state of the fish and giving instructions -as to the liberation of the smolts. For eight days past the keeper -had observed strong indications of a desire for freedom on the part -of a considerable proportion of his finny wards, and numbers had gone -into the runlet which leads to the reservoir by the side of the river -where the fish were formerly caught and marked. When the party arrived -they found a good many of the fish in the reservoir, being those which -had sought egress during the night. The smolts were large and in fine -condition; and one fish, which has been detained for three years for -the purpose of discovering whether the species will grow in fresh water -without being permitted to visit the sea, was found to be fully twice -the size of the largest smolt. A number of parrs, too, of the same -age as the smolts, and spawned of the same parents, were found about -the size of minnows, and bearing the parr-mark distinctly defined. On -seeing the state of matters, Mr. Buist gave instructions for removing -the sluices, and allowing those bent on migration to have their liberty -without being marked this season. A considerable number at once sought -the river, and no impediment will now be placed in the way of a free -migration. The ova of which the present fry is the produce were placed -in the boxes at various times during the period from 15th November to -13th December 1859; and the departure of the smolts commenced on the -18th instant. The whole fry—amounting, it is estimated, to somewhat -approaching 200,000 fish—is the produce of 19 male and 31 female -salmon. The anomaly of one-half of the fry reaching the condition of -smolts, and leaving the ponds when only a year old, and the other half -remaining, has been hitherto supposed to be accounted for upon the -supposition of the earlier fish being the produce of salmon, while -the later were that of grilse. The experiment of this year sets that -question at rest by negativing the supposition. Mr. Buist gave orders -in November 1859 that none but salmon should be taken for the purposes -of the ponds. The result is the same anomaly. Although all the fry -this year in the ponds are the produce of salmon, as is usual only a -moiety of them have yet attained to the condition of smolts, while the -remainder have all the appearance of continuing parrs as before. This -is perhaps the most important feature in the operations of the year. In -the early part of the year 1860, from the unfavourable nature of the -season for hatching, the whole brood seemed particularly stunted and -ill-grown, and it was hardly expected that any of them would become -smolts this year at all. About a month ago, however, early fears were -dispelled; a goodly portion of the fry began to approach the smolt -state, and since the beginning of May have been putting on their -silvery livery, and now are fully as far advanced as those in the open -river.” - -[3] “In order that the public may understand what a vast number of -fish 770,000 would be, I would mention that it has been calculated -by ‘the chronicler,’ Mr. James Lowe, that the number of human beings -assembled to welcome the arrival of the Princess of Wales was 700,000: -imagine a salmon for each human being, and you will have an idea of -the number of fish Mr. Ashworth has hatched out as a stock for his -fisheries.”—Lecture by Mr. Buckland. - -[4] Since the above was written intelligence has been received in -England of the loss, by escape into the river (which would be no loss), -or the death, or more truly “mysterious disappearance” of a large -number of the fry—only five hundred being left in the pond. These have -been allowed to make their escape into the river, and we may yet hope -to hear of their safety and welfare. I hope those interested will lose -no time, now that they know the way to success, in sending out another -batch of eggs, so as to ensure the sending into the river of a few -thousand young fish. - -[5] In a very old number of the _Scots Magazine_ I find the -following:—“I was told by a gentleman who was present at a boat’s -fishing on Spey near Gordon Castle in the month of April, that in -hauling, the weight of the net brought out a great number of smolts -which the fishers were not willing to part with; but that a gentleman, -who knew the natural propensity of the salmon to return to their native -river, persuaded them to slip them back again into the water, assuring -them that in two months they would catch most of them full-grown -grilses, which would be of much greater value. He at the same time laid -a bet of five guineas with another gentleman present, who was somewhat -dubious, that he should not fail in his prediction. The fishers agreed. -He accordingly clipt off a part of the tail-fins from a number of them -before he dropped them into the river; and within the time limited the -fishers actually caught upwards of a hundred grilses thus marked, and -soon after many more.” - -[6] The Rhine is an excellent salmon stream and yields a large number -of fish. The five fishing stations at Rotterdam are very productive, -each of them yielding about 40,000 salmon per annum; and it would not -be extravagant to estimate the produce of these fisheries as of the -value of £25,000 per annum. - -[7] The French government took off the import-duty on salmon in 1856, -when foul salmon began to be exported to that country during the -British close-times at the rate of £7000 per annum. A late writer in -_Fraser’s Magazine_ was informed by a leading fish-salesman, on the -16th November, that on that day _ten tons_ of Tweed salmon, freshly -caught, were in Billingsgate, two months after close-time, and despite -of what was thought to be effective special legislation for that river! - -[8] As an example of the numerous absurd statements that have -been circulated about fish, the reader may study the following -paragraph:—“Old fishermen about Dunbar say the way herring spawn -is—first, the female herrings deposit their roe at some convenient part -on sand or shingly bottom; second, the male fish then spread their milt -all over the roe to protect it from enemies, and the influence of the -tide and waves from moving it about. The fishermen also say that when -the young herrings are hatched they can see and swim; the milt covering -bursts open, and they are free to roam about. Some naturalists think -the roes and milts of herring are all mixed together promiscuously, and -left on the sands to bud and flourish. The fishermen’s idea seems to be -the most likely of the two opinions.” - -[9] “We understand that about 100 boats have been engaged to fish at -Fraserburgh from Portsoy, Portknockie, Buckie, and Portgordon, and the -other fishing villages. The exact terms of engagement we subjoin as -follows, from an authoritative source. The terms are—15s. per cran, -with £15 bounty, £2 for lodgings, £l as earnest-money, with cartage of -nets, and net ground. The cartage of nets and net ground costs £3: 10s. -to £4, so that the terms are equal to 15s. per cran, and £21: 10s. to -£22 in full of bounty.”—_Banff Journal._ - -[10] Since the above was written, the report by the commissioners -for 1864 has been published, but the figures differ so slightly from -those of 1863 that it is unnecessary to give them in detail, the total -quantity of herrings cured being a decrease of 11,166¼ barrels, -while, as regards boats and men employed, there was an increase of 140 -boats, 126 fishermen and boys, and of £29,931 in the estimated value -of boats and nets. The winter herring-fishery on the north-east coast -about Wick, Lybster, and Helmsdale, was, contrary to expectation, -quite unsuccessful. The probable cause was the very boisterous state -of the weather, which prevented the boats from getting to sea. This -year, therefore, affords no evidence either for or against the opinion -that herrings exist in sufficient quantities to render a winter -herring-fishery remunerative upon the coasts during the winter months. - -[11] A correspondent has favoured me with the following brief account -of the _sillock-fishing_ as carried on in Shetland:—“Sillocks are the -young of the saith, and they make their appearance in the beginning of -August about the small isles, and are of the size of parrs in Tweed. -They continue about said isles for a few weeks, and in the months of -September and October, and sometimes longer, they hover about the small -isles, when the fishermen catch them for the sake of their liver, which -contains oil. One boat of twelve feet of keel will sometimes catch as -many as thirty bushels in a part of a day, and this year (1864), owing -to the high price of oil, each bushel was worth about 1s. 6d. The fish -itself is taken to the dung-hill when the take is not great, but when -there is a great take the liver is taken out and the fish thrown into -the sea. There are no Acts of Parliament against using the net; but -after some time the sillocks leave the isles and draw to the shore, -where there are any edge-places. It is allowed that the island of -Whalsey is about the best place in Shetland for the fish to draw to, -but whenever they come there, the proprietor, Mr. Bruce, will not allow -“pocking,” as a week would finish them all; but the people must all -fish with the rod, so that each man may get as many as keep him a day -or two. The “pocking” sets them all out, but the fish don’t mind the -rod; it is very picturesque to see perhaps fifty men sitting round the -basin with their rods, and the sillocks covering about a rood of the -sea, varying from three to six feet deep, and so close together that -you would think they could not get room to stir. They will continue -plentiful till the end of April, at which time they take to the deep -sea; and when they make their appearance the following year they are -about four times larger, and are then called piltocks. But these are -only taken by the rod. Mr. Bruce just says, If you pock, you cannot be -my tenant; so they must either give up the one or the other, and by -that way of doing every household has as many of these small fish as -they can make use of during the winter.” - -[12] In the Firth of Forth mussels are collected all the year round, -but they invariably fall off in condition during a prevalence of -easterly winds. - -[13] A Barking trawler usually carries 5 men and 3 boys, and costs -when in full work £12 per week. A Hull trawler costs much less, -and the owner has less risk; because the crew, from the captain -downwards, share in the catch. The Barking men refuse to enter into -this arrangement, which probably helps to account for the decay of -the Barking fishery, for that of Hull is comparatively prosperous. -The co-operative system prevails among a few of the fisher people of -England. In an account of a Yorkshire fishing-place recently published -in _Once a Week_, the following statistics of the cost of boats, etc., -are given:— - -“Each yawl, varying in tonnage from 28 to 45 tons, costs from £600 -to £650, and is divided into shares; of its earnings 3s. 6d. in -the pound are paid to the owner or owners, 10s. are devoted to the -current expenses, and the remainder is divided among the men who find -the bait. When a new boat is required, several persons—gentlemen -speculators, harbour-masters, etc., and boatmen—take certain shares of -it, which vary in amount from a half-quarter to a half of the cost; -application is then made to a builder, sail-maker, anchor-maker, and -other tradesmen; and the vessel, in due time, is paid for, equipped, -and given over to the owners. Each lugger-yawl carries two masts, -and is provided with three sets of sails to suit various states of -weather. The foresail contains 200 or 250 yards, the mizen 100, and -the mizen-topsail 40 yards; the lesser sizes being severally of 100, -60, and 50 yards. The jib is very small. On the average the yawl is -of 40 tons, and measures 51 feet keel, or 55 feet over all, and is of -17 or 18 feet beam; drawing 6½ feet water aft, and 5 feet forward. -The amount of ballast varies from 20 to 30 tons. The yawl is provided -with 120 nets, each of which costs £30. Half of this number are left on -shore, and changed at the end of every 12 weeks. The crew is composed -of 7 men and 2 boys. For instance, the ‘Wear,’ commanded by Colling, a -first-rate seaman, carries two others, like himself part-owners, 4 men -receiving, besides their food, £1, and 1 boy at 18s., and another at -11s. a week; each fisherman, who is a net-owner, receives 24s. a week. -The expenses in wages and wear and tear are calculated at from £12 -to £15 weekly. The herrings are valued at £2 per 1000 on an average. -Sometimes 23,000 fish are caught in a single haul, occasionally as many -as 60,000, but 40,000 are considered a good catch. To remunerate the -crew, £50 or £60 a week ought to be obtained. Each net is 10 fathoms -long, and is sunk 9 fathoms during the fishing, the upper part being -floated by a long series of barrels, which are fitted at intervals -of 15 fathoms. The warps used for laying out the nets in each vessel -measure 2200 yards. Two men take up the nets, two empty the fish out -of them, and one boy stows the nets while his fellow stows the warps, -which are raised by a windlass worked by the men. Each net weighs about -28 pounds. In order to preserve the nets and sails, it is necessary at -frequent intervals to cover them with tanning, which is prepared in -large coppers. These coppers cost £40.” - -On the Gulf of St. Lawrence the engagements of fishermen are as -follows:— - -“The fishermen are brought to the fishing-station at the expense of -the firm engaging them. They are furnished with a good fishing-boat, -thoroughly fitted, and are besides supplied with fresh bait as long -as it can be got, and they require it, but on payment of a sum of $6 -to $8; and for each 100 codfish delivered on the stage they receive -the sum of 5s. 6d., one half in money and the other half in goods and -provisions. At these prices, and fish being abundant, fishermen earn -$5, $10, $15, and even $20 a day; and after an absence of from 6 to 9 -weeks, bring home from $80 to $120, and sometimes more. But they have -to board themselves; and if the fish is not abundant, their account of -the provisions lent to their families before their departure, their own -board, the purchase of their lines, take up the greatest part of their -earnings, and they very often return to Magdelen Islands with empty -pockets.” Great quantities of all kinds of fish are found in the St. -Lawrence. - -[14] Mr. Ashworth, in a communication to Mr. Barry, one of the -Commissioners of Irish Fisheries, says: “No charge is made for the -oyster-parks, but each plot is marked and defined on a map, and the -produce is considered to be the private property of the person who -establishes it. They vary in size twenty or thirty yards square, the -stone or tiles are placed in rows about five feet apart, with the ends -open so as to admit of the wash of the tide in and out.” - -[15] Since the above observations were penned it is satisfactory to -know that the Town Council of Edinburgh have begun an investigation -into the state of their oyster-scalps. An official report has been -made to the following effect:—“The sub-committee of the Lord Provost’s -committee beg to report that, from the inquiries made by them, there -can be no doubt whatever that the city’s scalps, by the improper way -in which they have been dredged, are at present nearly worthless, -vast quantities of the seeding brood of oysters having been dredged -and sold for exportation to England and other places; that, in these -circumstances, the sub-committee are of opinion that, if possible, the -lease which the Free Fishermen have obtained should be reduced, so as -the town may have henceforth complete control, and with that view the -agents should be instructed to take the opinion of counsel; but if that -cannot be done, that immediate steps should be taken, by a conference -with the Duke of Buccleuch, Sir George Suttie, the Earl of Morton, and -the Commissioners of Woods and Forrests—to whom, along with the city, -all the scalps in the Forth belong—to have the whole oysters in the -Forth placed under one management for their joint behoof. At present -the rules made by any one of the proprietors become wholly inoperative -from the fact that when improper oysters are brought ashore, the -fishermen at once declare that they are taken from other scalps than -those of the party challenging; and, particularly, that they have -been taken from what they call neutral ground, which belongs to the -Government, and for that they pay no rent. It is proper to say that -the respectable portion of the Society of Free Fishermen profess their -readiness to aid in restoring the city scalps to a proper condition, -and in keeping them right hereafter; and they produce a letter from -their agents, Messrs. Gardiner, to that effect, along with a copy of a -minute of the society.” - -[16] The following information as to the colour and structure of the -pearl may interest the general reader:— - -Sir Robert Reading, in a letter to the Royal Society dated October -13, 1688, in speaking of Irish pearls, states that pearls, if once -dark, will never clear upon any alteration in the health or age of the -mussel. This Mr. Unger stoutly contradicts; he shows by many specimens -that some of the finest Scotch pearls are perfectly dark inside. The -theory put forth by Sir Everard Home, that the peculiar lustre so -much valued in the pearl arises from the centre, is thereby upset. -There is no doubt Sir David Brewster is correct in his statement on -that point in the _Edinburgh Encyclopædia_. Some writers assert that -irregular pearls may be rounded. This of course is erroneous: they -are, as everybody knows, formed in layers like an onion, and these -layers being cut across would be exposed in such a manner that even -the highest polish would not hide them. It is, however, quite possible -in many instances to improve a bad-coloured pearl by removing one -or more of the coats; and in this way many a pearl of comparatively -trifling value has been turned into a gem of rare beauty. The best way -to distinguish a real pearl from an imitation one is to take a sharp -knife and gently try to scrape it: if imitation the knife will glide -over the surface without making any impression, it being glass, and -a real pearl will not be injured by a gentle hand. Pieces of shells -are, however, extensively used and sold as pearls. They are cut into -shapes closely resembling half pearls, and mounted in various ways, so -that many professed judges have been deceived. These are easily to be -distinguished by their iridescent lustre from the true pearl, which has -but one distinct tint. - -[17] I have culled the following account of a fisherman’s wedding-dance -from an excellent provincial journal. The solemnisation of a marriage -is a great event in the village, and when one occurs it is customary -to invite nearly all the adult population to attend. The ceremony is -mostly always performed in the church, and it not unfrequently happens -that at some of the marriages the whole lower part of the church is -well packed with the marriage-train. The Collieston weddings are -remarkable for the hilarity which ensues after the company return -from the ceremony. After a sumptuous dinner the company adjourn to -the links to a place which is smooth and level, and which lies at -no very great distance from the Coast-Guard station at the end of -the sands of Forvie, and there, to the inspiriting strains of the -violin, dance the ancient, picturesque, and intricate “Lang Reel o’ -Collieston”—a reel danced by their forefathers and each succeeding -generation from time immemorial. To those who are fond of “tripping the -light fantastic toe,” and who never had the fortune to see it danced, -it would doubtless be interesting were we to give a description of -this “The Lang Reel o’ Collieston;” but, although fond of that sort -of exercise, we do not boast professional skill, and consequently are -unacquainted with the technical names of the various movements in this -particular department of the worship of Terpsichore. We may, however, -mention that, as indicated by its name, the _lang reel_ o’ Collieston -is a _lang reel_ in a double sense. It is of long duration and lengthy -in its dimensions, for all the wedding party join in dancing the “lang -reel.” It is commenced by the bride and her “best man,” and pair after -pair link into its links as the dance proceeds, until all have linked -themselves into it, and then pair after pair drop off, as in some -country-dances, until none are left dancing but the bride and “best -man” who commenced it. As may be supposed, this extended saltatory -effort is rather trying for the bride; and we heard one sonsy wife of -forty declare, in recapitulating the share she had on her wedding-day, -that “the back of her legs didna cour (recover) the lang reel for a -month afterwards.” The dance movement is very curious. The dancers -“reel, set, and cross, and cleek,” and change places in such a way as -to take them by degrees from the head of the dance to the foot, and -back to the head again, and so on, the whole being like the links of -a chain when reeling. When the couples are dancing, the lang reel o’ -Collieston looks like a series of common Highland reels, and it is in -the reeling that the peculiarity and intricacy of indescribableness of -the dance exists. This reel is quite indispensable at marriages, and -after it has been danced other reels and dances are enjoyed and kept up -with very great spirit—natural and imbibed; and to see the lang reel o’ -Collieston danced on the greensward under the blue canopy of heaven, -on a sweet afternoon in summer, is a treat worth going many miles to -enjoy. Not only would the eye enjoy a rare feast, but what with the -sweet music of the violin, the merry song of the lark in mid-heaven -right overhead, the ringing guffaws of the juvenile spectators, the -clapping of hands, and the loud _hoochs_ or whoops of the dancing -fishermen, all commingling and commingled with the murmur of billows -breaking among the rocks, the ear would have a banquet of no ordinary -kind nor of everyday occurrence.—_Banffshire Journal._ - -[18] In the fishing villages on the Firths of Forth and Tay, as well as -elsewhere in Scotland, the government is gynecocracy. In the course of -the late war, and during the alarm of invasion, a fleet of transports -entered the Firth of Forth, under the convoy of some ships of war which -would reply to no signals. A general alarm was excited, in consequence -of which all the fishers who were enrolled as sea-fencibles got on -board the gunboats, which they were to man as occasion should require, -and sailed to oppose the supposed enemy. The foreigners proved to be -Russians, with whom we were then at peace. The county gentlemen of -Mid-Lothian, pleased with the zeal displayed by the sea-fencibles at a -critical moment, passed a vote for presenting the community of fishers -with a silver punch-bowl, to be used on occasions of festivity. But -the fisherwomen, on hearing what was intended, put in their claim to -have some separate share in the intended honorary reward. The men, they -said, were their husbands; it was they who would have been sufferers -if their husbands had been killed, and it was by their permission and -injunctions that they embarked on board the gunboats for the public -service. They therefore claimed to share the reward in some manner -which should distinguish the female patriotism which they had shown on -the occasion. The gentlemen of the county willingly admitted the claim; -and, without diminishing the value of their compliment to the men, they -made the females a present of a valuable brooch, to fasten the plaid of -the queen of the fisherwomen for the time. - -It may be further remarked, that these Nereids are punctillious among -themselves, and observe different ranks according to the commodities -they deal in. One experienced dame was heard to characterise a younger -damsel as “a puir silly thing, who had no ambition, and would never,” -she prophesied, “rise above the _mussel-line_ of business.”—_Note to -Antiquary._ - -[19] “The Scottish fishwomen, or “fishwives” of Newhaven and Fisherrow, -as they are usually designated, wear a dress of a peculiar and -appropriate fashion, consisting of a long blue duffle jacket, with wide -sleeves, a blue petticoat usually tucked up so as to form a pocket, and -in order to show off their ample under petticoats of bright-coloured -woollen stripe, reaching to the calf of the leg. It may be remarked -that the upper petticoats are of a striped sort of stuff technically -called, we believe, drugget, and are always of different colours. As -the women carry their load of fish on their backs in creels, supported -by a broad leather belt resting forwards on the forehead, a thick -napkin is their usual headdress, although often a muslin cap, or mutch, -with a very broad frill, edged with lace, and turned back on the head, -is seen peeping from under the napkin. A variety of kerchiefs or small -shawls similar to that on the head encircle the neck and bosom, which, -with thick worsted stockings, and a pair of stout shoes, complete the -costume.” - -[20] “There fishermen and fishermen’s daughters marry and are given in -marriage to each other with a sacredness only second to the strictness -of intermarriage observed among the Jews. On making inquiry we find -that occasionally one of these buxom young damsels chooses a husband -for herself elsewhere than from among her own community; but we -understand that when this occurs the bride loses caste, and has to -follow the future fortunes of the bridegroom, whatever these may turn -out to be. Speaking of marriages, the present great scarcity both -of beef and mutton, and the consequent high price of these articles -of food, seems in no way to terrify the denizens of Newhaven, for -there the matrimonial knot is being briskly tied. While chatting with -some of the fishermen just the other day we heard that two of these -celebrations had taken place the night before, and that other four -weddings were expected to come off during this week; and we both heard -and saw the fag end of the musical and dancing jollification, which -was held in a public-house on these two recent occasions, and which -was kept up until far on in the next afternoon. We can see little to -tempt the young women of Newhaven to enter into the marriage state, -for it seems only to increase their bodily labour. This circumstance, -however, would appear to be no obstacle in the way, but rather to spur -them on; and we recollect of once actually hearing, when a girl rather -delicate for a Newhaven young woman was about to be married, another -girl, a strapping lass of about eighteen, thus express herself:—“Jenny -Flucker takin’ a man! she’s a gude cheek; hoo is she tae keep him? the -puir man’ll hae tae sell his fish as weel as catch them.” When upon -this subject of intermarriages among the Newhaven people it is proper -to mention that we heard contradictory accounts regarding the point; -some saying that no such custom existed, or at least that no such -rule was enforced by the community, while another account was that -only one marriage out of the community had, so far as had come to the -knowledge of our informant, taken place during the last eight or nine -years.”—_North Briton._ - -[21] Some of this information about Fisherrow is from _Chambers’ -Journal_. - -[22] From a private letter by Mr. Donald Bain. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Harvest of the Sea, by James Glass Bertram - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HARVEST OF THE SEA *** - -***** This file should be named 63433-0.txt or 63433-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/4/3/63433/ - -Produced by Turgut Dincer, Les Galloway and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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