512 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Schools of herrings when swimming near the surface are said by their 

 movement to produce a rushing sound, which ceases immediately when, 

 scared by some sudden noise, the herrings go into deeper water. In 

 this connection we will also mention the old fable that the herrings 

 when gathered in large schools produce a sharp cracking noise, where- 

 upon they disappear. 15 



When a large number of herrings move about rapidly, a peculiar 

 glitter is produced on the surface, which our fishermen call "herring 

 light." Some old authors have maintained that the herrings themselves 

 are phosphorescent, and that the " herring light" is therefore not pro- 

 duced by the numberless small crustaceans floating near the surface ; 

 but this is probably an erroneous idea. In olden times these herring 

 lights were thought to be the cause of the frequent sheet lightning oc- 

 curring late in summer and in the beginning of autumn, and such light- 

 ning was termed " herring lightning." When the herrings turn about 

 in the water their sides, which shine like metal, reflect the light, and 

 produce a very pretty effect, but much fainter than the " herring light." 



Herrings of different age and size do not generally go together in one 

 and the same school, although there are exceptions to this rule (thus the 

 so-called "May-herring," which towards the end of spring are caught, 

 especially on the southern coast of Bohus Ian, are often found in com- 

 pany of two- and even one-year-old herrings). Cases are also said to have 

 been observed where the two sexes went in separate schools. 



In every school the larger and stronger flsh precede the smaller and 

 weaker ones. This circumstance may possibly have given rise to the 

 well-known fable, that the herring schools are led by a so-called "her- 

 ring king," who always swims at the head of the school and whose death 

 by violence was thought to injure the fisheries. The herrings often swim 

 in the same order as the old northern heroes used to march, viz, in the 

 form of a wedge whose point forms the head of the column. 16 A similar 

 order has been observed among other fish and likewise among birds. 



The herrings always follow their leaders, and when these change their 

 course the whole school changes. If through some violent cause a 

 school of herrings is scattered and broken up into smaller schools, each 

 one of these swims in the same order as the large school used to do. 

 Like the single herring, the schools move either in a straight line or in 

 slightly-curved lines, and unless disturbed they do not change their 

 course. Like some of our small fresh-water fish, the smaller herring 

 schools, principally composed of young herring often move about in a 

 circle, gliding gently along. Occasionally a school of herrings wfll de- 

 scribe circular movements with extreme rapidity; those in the center will 

 then remain almost stationary, while those on the outside will move 

 round with great velocity, such velocity increasing from the center to- 



15 Valexciexjtes, " Eistoire vaturelle du liareng." Paris, 1847, p. 88. 

 16 A. Boeck, "Om Silden og SUdefiskerieme," pp. 53, 54. 



