[7] THE GREAT BOHUS-LAN HERRING FISHERIES. 105 
The question which should be decided as soon as possible is the fix- 
ing by law of the cubic measure of a ton of herring, so that the buyer 
may at least know how much the ton contains which he has bought, for 
the uncertainty, which at present prevails in this respect, is most in- 
jurious to the trade. Our old ton contained 125.6 liters; but since 1843 
the Norwegian ton, with a capacity of 115.8 liters is also frequently 
used in Sweden, and as the decree of 1865 relative to weights and meas- 
ures fixed no legal limit of the ton of herring even the Scotch ton of 
121 liters capacity is often employed with us. Under these cireum- 
stanees it would be best to adopt that ton, which is the favorite measure 
in foreign markets, 7. ¢., the Scotch ton, all the more as it stands midways 
between the Norwegian and the old Swedish tons. But, as the metric 
system of measures will doubtless soon be introduced in Sweden, and 
as for this reason it will be most convenient if the number of liters 
contained in a ton isa product of ten, it would be best to make the 
capacity of the ton 120 liters, as this would come very near to the Scotch 
ton, and would be the right medium between the two extremes. There 
is some prospect that this ton (of 120 liters capacity) may in the future 
become the international measure for herring. (See my treatise on 
the subject in Nordisk Tidsskrift for Fiskeri, vi, p. 328, in Deutsche 
Fischerei, Zeitung, 1881, No. 35, p. 282, and in Fisker Bladet, Frederiks- 
hald, 1881, No. 4.) Even if this hope should not he realized, much 
would be gained if at least Norway and Sweden could agree upon a 
common ton for herring, so that, in case of necessity, the salters of one 
nation could make use of the tons of the other nation. If we do not 
get a certain fixed measure for herring, and if our salters cannot have 
tons marked by the government officials, there is great danger that 
complaints will come from foreign markets that our tons are too small, 
or that they greatly vary in size, which of course will not raise the 
reputation of the Swedish herring. As it is evident that a new regu- 
lation regarding a certain legally fixed capacity of the tons cannot be 
made until sufficient time has elapsed to use up the old tons, it will be 
seen that the matter brooks no delay. 
As our great Bohus-lin herring fisheries, in all probability, will not 
continue for a very long period, it would seem eminently proper and useful 
that the government should cause to be prepared a popular guide, giv- 
ing a full description of everything relating to the great herring indus- 
try in all its branches, for that portion of our people most interested in 
_ this subject, and unable to obtain or read foreign works, and who, con- 
sidering the shortness of the herring period, cannot afford to lose any 
time in experimenting. Such a work should contain drawings of the 
buildings and apparatus used, and should be written in such a style as 
to prove useful, even to a common fisherman. It ought to be clear and 
concise, and based exclusively on the best and most reliable authorities. 
In order to derive the greatest possible profit from the fisheries, salting 
