THEIR ROUND OF LIFE AND LABOUR. 13 
better call him, the skipper—is often a rather tough affair ; 
all parties, as we may say, are working in the dark ; neither 
of the men who are engaged in the arrangement can tell 
how next year’s markets will formulate—if herrings prove 
to be scarce, then prices will be high ; if, on the contrary, 
there occurs a glut of fish, prices will fall at once to a 
probably unprofitable figure. 
These are all features of the coming fishery which require 
to be taken into account ; and, moreover, although the curer 
arranges for the supplying of two hundred barrels of fish 
by each of the boats fishing for him, he is not usually pro- 
vided with a stock of salt sufficient to cure that quantity ; 
he does not perhaps calculate that he will receive on the 
average more from each of his boats than from eighty to one 
hundred and twenty barrels—“ crans” are however what are 
bargained for, but we prefer to use the word barrel, as the 
sale of the cured fish takes place in barrels. Generally bar- 
gains are struck on the figures of previous years, the curer 
trying as well as he is able to forecast the features of the 
season, and to picture in his mind’s eye the fortunes of 
“the fishery.” If all the fish bargained for were to be 
caught, the chances are that the curer would be “caught ” 
as well; his stock of salt would rapidly run out, and his 
supply of barrels prove utterly inadequate, as has not 
infrequently proved to be the case during previous seasons 
when a glut of fish has occurred. Besides these désagrémens, 
his gutters would not in all probability be able to overtake 
the necessary work, and so a large proportion of the fish 
captured would ina sense be wasted, as to obtain the best 
official brand, it is absolutely necessary that the herrings be 
cured on the day they are caught. 
Curers are often blamed for their desire to “force 
business” in connection with the herring fishery ; and 
