TZ. ° 
young shoots, which soon put forth in 
reat luxuriance ; but if the heath is 
sat when it is in Hower, the whole plant 
is consumed to the very roots, and killed, 
When a piece of ground is required to 
be permanently freed from heath, a top 
dressing of lime is infallibly effectual, 
and is attended with this additional ad- 
vantage, that it remarkably encourages 
the growth of white clover and the finer 
grasses. ° 
The encouragement of the Scottish 
fisheries forms an important object of the 
Highland Society, andthe volume befote 
us contains several very interesting me- 
moirs, relative to the natural history, the 
commercial and economical value of her- 
rings and salmon. 
Respecting the first of these fishes, Dr. 
Walker has communicated an extremely 
curious and interesting memoir; of this 
we shall not attempt to give an abstract, 
but shall state the author’s opinion re- 
specting some controverted points in the 
natural history cf this animal. The 
spawning time of the herring extends 
from the beginning of March till the 
middle gf October. The manner in 
which they deposit the spawn is un- 
‘known, but their favourite situation for 
this purpose is a coarse gravel, at the 
depth of .ten or twelve fathoms. The 
spawn generally comes to life in the end 
of Apri or the béginning of May; in 
June the fry is between one and two 
inches long; by September they have at- 
tained the fever of three or four inches, 
at which period they disappear. It is 
the opinion of the fishers that the her- 
rings are mot of a sufficient size to be 
meshed in, the nets till they have com- 
pleated. their third year. ‘The food of 
herrings is very little known; during 
their continuance on the British coasts 
they. become-sensibly leaner, and no food 
hasever been discovered in their sto- 
machs. 
formed that, in the sea to the N. W. of 
the Shetland isles, large masses of a mu- 
cilaginous substance, filled with pea-like 
. globules, have been found floating on the 
surface.(probably a species of Medusa) 
on which the herrings have been ob- 
served to feed. ‘The great/body of her- 
rings appears certainly to come from the 
deep Arctic seas {for the purpose of 
spawning; one of these shoals was seen 
> by Provost Fihlay of, Campbelton, an 
. experienced fisher, and was estimated by 
him at twenty léagues in length and four 
Dr. W. however has been in-. 
“Whence it has originated, 
RURAL ECONOMY AND GARDENING. 
or five in breadth; the heads of all the’ 
fish were directed to the S. E. and the 
weather being fine the shoal came quite 
to the surface of the water. The her- 
rings of the west coast are in general 
two or three inches longer than those on 
the east coast. Dr. W. does not, how- 
ever, consider them as adistinet species, 
but imagines, (in our opinion, with much 
probability) that the western sea, on ac- 
count of its being more tempestuous, is 
eceupied by the’ oldest and strongest 
shoals. 
Mr, Mackenzie has also communicated 
a paper on the. same subjects) in which 
we observe some difference of opinion 
between him and the professor. Mr. 
Mackenzie supposes the large herrings: 
to be a distinct species, and to spawm 
twice in the year: viz. about the middle 
of August and at Christmas: after the) 
first spawning they retire to the deeps, 
and do not return till towards Christ 
mas; this appears, however, to apply. 
chiefly to the large herrings of Dunbar 
and the eastern coast. ‘The largest her- 
ring ever taken was caught. about five 
years ago by the fishers of Musselburgh, 
and weighed full six pounds. 
The volume before us is also enriched 
by a particular and authentic actount of 
the Dutch herring fishery, and a trans. 
lation of the ordinance of the states of 
Holland and West Friesland, respectin 
the sorting and curing these fish. - 
If it was consistent with our plan to 
ive a more particular account of the 
works that come before us, we should 
abstract with great pleasure two valu- 
able papers relative to the salmon, by 
Dr. Walker and Archibald Drummond, 
Isq. and an interesting treatise on the 
Scottish fisheries by Mr. Melville. The 
appendix to this volume is chiefly occu; 
pied with a method, invented by Mr. 
‘Bremner, a minister in Orkney, of con 
verting, in a few minutes, a common 
ship’s boat imto a life-boat, for which 
the society has awarded him a premium. 
We do not suppose that any praises of 
ours can add to the well-earned teputa- 
tion of the Highland Society; but we 
should be at the same time unmindful 
of our duty, and negligent of our own 
feelings, if we were to dismiss, without 
our warmest approbation, a work which . 
is equally valuable to the naturalist and 
practical cultivator, and which’ reflects. 
the highest credit on the association 
