Of the Herring Fhhcnj. 45 



to each ship, marked with the place ot" destination, to the 

 end that none be deceived, or the trade suftl-r by improper 

 goods. The place of the fishery changes with the sccisons. 

 From St. John's to St. James's, i. e. from tlie 24lh of 

 June to the i'5th of July, the scat of the fishery is between 

 Fairhill and Shetland ; during this period herrings of tlie 

 best quality are taken ; from St. James's day to the 14th of 

 September, the pursuit is carried on to the north of Scot- 

 land, and from thence to the 2.5th of November, along the 

 coast?, of '\'armouth and Norfolk. All the herrings t'akcn 

 the first three weeks after the 25th of .lune are cured 

 and packed up together, unsorred, and sent to Holland 

 by swift-sailing vessels called jaagers, after which all 

 the herrings taken are carcfidly sorted and separated into 

 three divisions : maatijes lierrings, full, and sliotten her- 

 rings, which are all separately cured and packed up in di- 

 stinct barrels. 



In the maatijes herrings is found neither roc nor milt. 

 They are very fat and palatable, but do not keep well. Full 

 herrings are those that are full of milt or roe, and in their 

 most perfect state : this sort is fittest for market and pre- 

 servation. The third sort consists of such as havino 

 cast their spawn or roe are spent, or are on the point of 

 spcndinsr : this last sort is inferior in quality, and cannot be 

 kept so long as the former, or full herrings. 



The lading of the busses on their return to Holland con- 

 sists of those three sorts, which arc again inspected, packed, 

 and salted afresh, before thev are sent to any foreign mar- 

 ket. By this fresh packing fourteen sea barrels are reduced 

 to twelve, which make up a last. h\ order to bring this 

 branch of commerce io a flourishing state, the (rovernments 

 of this and many other countries have made sundry reo-ula- 

 tions concerning the manner of cutting out the gills, salt- 

 mg, and packmg. 



The Fnglish have alwavs looked on the conmierce of 

 Holland with an eve of envv, which often bursts out into 

 open acts of violencgi, never omitting any opportunity of 

 disturbing, and, if possible, of ruining our herring fisheries; 

 the more so a^ Dutch herrings have always had the pre- 

 ference of the F.nglisl), as ucll as of those of every other 

 nation. In order to cut ofl" all pretext of quarrel, our 

 fishers are forbidden to cast their nets within ten miles of 

 the Knglish slxjre; which prohibition is the less detrimental 

 to the fishery, as herrings of the best quality are taken at 

 such a distance from the shore. 



Those which come into tliu bays of Norway, Shetland, 



and 



