118 ENORMOUS SHOAL OF HERRINGS. 



The nets now used by the Scotch fishermen are made 

 of cotton, which is much more kiUing than hemp, 

 inasmuch as the herrings cannot see the nets so easily. 



Many of the larger herrings are killed by the net, but 

 yet are not brought into the market at all. As the net 

 meets the " shoal " of herrings, the fish that are suitable 

 to the dimensions of the net are masked (a very ex- 

 pressive word) and caught ; the larger herrings swim- 

 ming against the net put their noses into the mesh of 

 the net, and continue to fight so much that they will 

 sometimes push the net on to the surface of the water 

 forward, commit suicide as it were, and then fall out. 

 Thus many herrings fall out that are not used at all. 

 Sometimes half, or even more, get caught by the nose 

 and are disowned, but not masked or gilled. These fish 

 fall out of the net and are lost. A mesh with thirty- 

 three rows to the yard would catch these fish and 

 would allow the young fish to go through. These 

 herrings are caught by a boy in a landing-net, and 

 they become his i3erquisite. A boy with a skim net 

 will catch one cran out of twenty. 



These shoals of herrings are often of enormous 

 extent. Captain McDonald, of the cruiser Vigilant, 

 informed us that, at the end of August, 1877, he 

 fell in with a shoal of herrings in 18 fathoms of water, 

 or 108ft. deep. This shoal extended for four miles 

 in length along the coast and was two miles broad. 

 In order to get some idea of this shoal of herrings I 

 have scaled out its dimensions on the map of London. 

 Supposing one end of the shoal to be at the Marble 

 Arch on the west, the other end on the east, extending 

 in a straight line, would reach the London Docks 

 beyond the Tower. The width would be from the 

 House of Commons to Euston Square Station. Captain 



