THE HERRING AXD ITS ALLIES. 383 



• 



does not enter the Mediterranean, though it is abundant in the North 

 Sea and in the Baltic. 



The temperature preferred by the Herring has been more carefully 

 determined in Europe than here. The observations of the Scotch and 

 Dutch meteorological societies have demonstrated that the temperature 

 of the water most favorable to the summer Herring fisheries of their 

 respective countries is about 55°-4 F., though during the Scotch winter 

 fisheries the temperature ranges from 4o°.i F. , and during the Norwegian 

 spring Herring fisheries it ranges from 37°-4 F. to 39°.2 F. 



Discussing the causes of the movements of the Herring schools, Prof. 

 Baird in 1S77 wrote as follows. 



"Although the movements of the Herring appear to be very capricious, 

 they are doubtless governed as much by well-defined laws as any other 

 portion of creation, although we are yet lar from understanding fully the 

 conditions which control their actions. They sometimes frequent a por- 

 tion of the European coast for many successive years, and then abandon 

 it gradually or suddenly, presenting themselves usually at the same season 

 in some far remote locality. Sometimes a wind blowing on shore will 

 favor their inward migration ; at other times it appears to have a directly 

 opposite effect. Even when they reach the portion of the' coast for which 

 they ara bound, the facilities of their capture depend upon meteorological 

 conditions : and the Scottish Meteorological Society has been engaged for 

 several years in ascertaining what these are, and how they may be best 

 applied by the fishermen." 



So far as is known, the abundance of Herrings in the Western Atlantic 

 has been constant during the past two centuries ; at the same time so 

 little is our fishing population dependent on the Herring fisheries when 

 compared with that of Northern Europe that variations in abundance not 

 being regarded as national disasters would, except perhaps, in the case of 

 Newfoundland, scarcely have been placed definitely upon record. 



Prof. Baird's remarks concerning the periodicity of the Herring supply 

 in Northern Europe, may be found in the Quarto Fisheries Report. 



There are several interesting series of observations upon the spawning 

 habits of the Herring, the hatching of the egg, and the development of 

 the young ; all of which may be found in the later volumes of the Report 

 of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries, and in Prof. Huxley's 

 lecture on the Herring. 



In the spring of 1878 the first successful experiments in the artificial 



