282 " YAWLINGS " AND " SPEATTY STUFF. 



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Towards the middle or end of May the young her- 

 rings will '* take scale," and the warmer the weather 

 the quicker they will grow. The herrings are of various 

 sizes, the smallest being like a minute thread or small 

 slip of isinglass. The largest herrings are from 4 to 

 5 inches long, and weigh four to the ounce. The larger 

 ones are caught in the early part of the season, more 

 particularly in February or March, and are called 

 " yawlings," a corruption of the word yearlings, signify- 

 ing that the fish are one year old — a theory in which I 



agree. 



Yawlings go in March or April to the sea, and are 

 again heard of about June the same year as " spring 

 herrings." In the autumn of the same year (or more 

 probably in the next year) they will lay their eggs. 



I believe that none or very few of these " yawlings " 

 are sent to the London market when caught with the 

 " bait " at the early part of the season. They die when 

 caught in the net and are thrown again into the water. 

 The reason assigned is that they are not marketable like 

 the small " spratty stuff." This destruction of yawlings 

 is certainly a great w^aste of food. If yawlings are in- 

 quired for and purchased b}^ the public, the fishermen 

 will not throw them overboard, but sell them to the 

 fishmongers, and thus the food supply of Londoners 

 may be considerably increased by the sale of yawlings. 



Among the whitebait, as I have said, there are a 

 great many sprats. This is called "spratty stuff." The 

 spratty stuff and the "smig" bait comes up the river 

 first. The run of fish varies very much according to 

 the temperature and the state of the river and sea out- 

 side. The sprat in the fisherman's language is " snug- 

 ger in the head " than the herring, and its body is 

 rounder, but the difference between the minute sprat 



