The Herring Fishery. 45 



boats crowd into the harbours, an opportunity is afforded 

 for judging of the uncertainty of the fishermen's fortunes. 

 A score or two of boats sail swiftly in, with barely as many 

 fish on board as will suffice for the breakfasts of the crews ; 

 then, at a toilsome pace, come one or two boats filled to the 

 thwarts with herrings. In one case, the night's labour of 

 six men, and the use and risk of property worth from 100 

 to 200, has produced a return of about 6d. ; in another, 

 of 60 or So. The average catch at Wick in 1868 was 4i| 

 crans, drawn from returns of individual boats which ranged 

 from one to upwards of 200 crans, or barrels. 



" When all the boats are in, the harbours are quite 

 crowded ; but, by mutual arrangement, the boats having 

 large quantities of fish to land are allowed to get near the 

 quays. The fish are shovelled into wicker baskets, and then 

 carried to the ' station,' where they are measured and emptied 

 into the ' boxes,' or enclosures of wood from 20 to 30 feet 

 square, the sides of which are about 30 inches in height. As 

 soon as a convenient quantity of fish has been deposited in 

 the box, a troop of women, arrayed in canvas and oil-cloth, 

 approach, and the ' gutting ' and ' packing ' processes begin. 

 The gutters, each armed with a small knife, surround the 



o 



box, and, taking a herring up in the left hand, operate upon 

 it with the knife held in the right hand. The rapidity of 

 their movements is surprising, a good worker being able to 

 dispose of 1000 fish in an hour. As the fish are gutted, 

 they are dropped into baskets and handed over to the 

 ' packers,' who ' rouse ' them with salt in a large tub, and 

 then arrange them in layers in the barrels. A free use 

 of salt is made, the herrings being first coated with it 

 separately in the rousing process, and the layers in the 

 barrels afterwards thickly overlaid with it. The barrels are 

 temporarily covered and allowed to stand for 10 days, 



