THE HISTORY OF DUTCH SEA FISHERIES. 269 



it should have been from the beginning : an annual 

 contract of carriage for common account between ship- 

 owners, and lost the monopolising character it had adopted 

 in the height of the regulation period. 



As for innovations in fishing properly said, the main 

 feature of the period now spoken of, is the mixing up of 

 the two branches formerly known as grand and small 

 fishery. Fresh herring or " steurharing " began to be 

 brought home in luggers, whose crews thereby managed to 

 turn to account portions of their catch which there was no 

 time to cure, and sometimes, when the catch in the ordinary 

 herring waters was not favourable, went into seas where no 

 keeled vessels were permitted to go by the law of 1818, and 

 made the capture of fresh-herring their business for the 

 time. On the other hand, the pickling of herring in coast 

 bumboats increased exceedingly fast in the years suc- 

 ceeding 1870 ; so that both the curing and the fresh herring 

 monopoly of old were now not only abolished by law, but 

 had actually fallen into entire disuse among fishermen, and 

 there was no longer a grand fishery in keeled, and a small 

 fishery in flat vessels. The latter fished for herring as early, 

 and in the same waters, as luggers and cutters, which in 

 their turn sometimes invaded the continental shore waters, 

 and did bumboats' work. A glance at the figures in 

 Appendix K will show that not a vestige was ever felt of 

 the dread consequences which we have, in former parts of 

 this work, seen both parties predict as sure to attend such 

 mutual competition. There was indeed a decline in pickle- 

 herring prices, partly occasioned, as has been shown, by 

 dealers tampering with the brand ; but the average prices 

 of fresh-herring and " bucking " at the same time showed a 

 tendency to rise, owing to the widening of the market for 

 the latter ; and in both branches of the business, the liberty 



