THE HERRINGS 



COMMERCIALLY, the herrings are the 

 most important of the food-fishes, and, 

 in the economy of nature, seem to have 

 been created for one purpose only — to 

 be eaten. We find them upon the tables of the rich 

 and poor in nearly every quarter of the globe, and 

 countless myriads of them serve for food for immense 

 shoals of marauding bluefish, cod, pollock, striped 

 bass, and weakfish, their most savage foes, but which, 

 however, are more valued as table fish. 



Thus we see a compensatory distribution by 

 natural laws, ceaseless in operation, of which man 

 receives the benefit. Remove the herring from 

 the waters of the earth, and our choicest table fish 

 would disappear from the market stalls. 



Again, it must not be forgotten that every mem- 

 ber of this large family, with its allied congeners, 

 — such as the tarpon and the moon-eyes, — will 

 respond to the angler's call if fished for with 

 proper lures and under favorable conditions. 



The herrings (Clupeidce, from the Latin, clupea, 

 "a herring") are more numerous, individually, 

 than in any other family of fishes. Billions of 

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