244 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF 



not only the herring but also the mackerel reach this part of the channel, 

 for the purpose of depositing their roes from the eastward. 



When the nets are arranged for the mackerel, the upper part are always 

 supported on the surface by small kegs and corks ; but, when placed for 

 the taking of herrings, they are not always left near the surface, but are 

 sunk at various depths when there is little or no wind, from within a yard 

 of the bottom upwards, according to the judgment of the fishermen, and 

 tbey generally prefer placing them near the surface when there is a brisk 

 breeze. 



About November, herrings generally appear off Hastings, sometimes 

 earlier : if, for instance, the wind sets in from North-west in the begin- 

 ning or middle of October, occasioning naturally smooth water along the 

 east coast of England, then the advance of the herrings southward is 

 greatly facilitated. Should this continue for some time it ensures a profit- 

 able season to the fishermen of this place. Should a south or south-east 

 wind come on and prevail for some time while the herrings are on their 

 passage to the channel, it operates powerfully towards changing their di- 

 rection in seeking shelter on the coasts of Holland and France. 'During the 

 presence of the herring and the mackerel in this latitude, their eggs may, 

 during a calm, be seen floating on the surface of the water like sawdust, 

 amidst an appearance like the wake or tract of a vessel, from which the 

 course of the fish may be traced. Herrings generally disappear in this 

 part of the channel about the beginning of December, and whilst along 

 this coast are subject as well as the mackerel to a very formidable enemy 

 in the dog-fish,* which are greatly increased within the last thirty years, 

 a fact known to the cost of the fishermen, who have had their nets greatly 

 injured by their quick cutting teeth. 



Like the shark, the dog-fish turns on its side when it seizes its prey, 

 resembling that ravenous fish in many respects ; whenever it finds itself 

 entangled in the net, it disengages itself in a few seconds by making a 

 large incision, and passes through, probably liberating many herrings at 

 the same time. 



The dog-fish, in attacking the herring, devour them to repletion ; they 

 then disgorge what they have swallowed with great voracity, losing no 

 time in recommencing seizing and swallowing the herrings with as much 

 avidity as if it had been their first repast after a long abstinence, till they 

 are again full, when their stomachs are again speedily relieved, which 

 filling and emptying has continued with such perseverance as to exhaust 

 the patience of the most curious observer. When this process is carried 



* I may here observe that the herring gull (or Laurus Fuscus, ot 

 Linnaeus), a bird about the size of the duck, is remarkable [for its voracious- 

 ness, and particularly for devouring vast numbers of herrings. H. W. D. 



