236' THE NATURAL HISTORY OF 



ocean ; the other, passing- into the Irish Sea, furnishes a very 

 considerable capture to the natives. The second grand di- 

 vision takes place at Shetland, visiting the northern shores 

 of this island, and then entering the British Channel, passes 

 the Land's End, in Cornwall, and soon after totally dis- 

 appears. 



Thus the herrings expelled from their native seas seek 

 those bays and shores where food presentsitself in the greatest 

 plenty, and where they are the least "liable to meet with 

 their ferocious persecutors and pursuers of the ocean. In 

 general, the larger rapacious animals of the sea avoid 

 coining into contact with the more populous shores ; hence 

 we find that an unerring and all-gracious Providence has 

 given a species of natural instinct to these species to ap- 

 proach these parts for a twofold purpose— the one in afford- 

 ing them a safe retreat from their enemies, and the other that 

 they may be captured by man, and thus become subservient 

 to his natural wants. Thus, all along the coasts of Great 

 Britain, Norway, Germany, and France, they are found 

 pretty punctual in their periodical visitations ; nevertheless, 

 they are sometimes capricious in their migrations, and have 

 even been known to frequent particular shores for a series 

 of years, and then to relinquish them for ever. 



The statement I have above given, and which has been 

 confirmed by every zoologist and ichthyologist whose works 

 I have been able to peruse, is impugned by a Mr. Mudie, 

 in his British Nahiralist* — for no philosophical reason what- 

 ever, and, what is worse, he is unable to produce a single 

 illustration whatever in corrobo ration of his objection ; be- 

 sides the learned gentleman from his pursuits is unable to 

 form a correct idea of the place from whence these fishes 

 owe their origin, and I am much rather disposed to believe 

 the remarks of both Greenland captains and seamen who 



* A work which, though amusing, unfortunately abounds with numerous 

 errors. 



