THE HERRING. ITS INSTINCTS, ETC. 351 



this the herring and the pilchard know as little 

 as of the chemical and vital agencies thus brought 

 into operation. Without the continual reproduc- 

 tion of their kinds the whole race must perish, 

 and with them doubtless many other animals 

 which subsist upon them, while even man himself 

 would not a little feel the loss ; but directed by an 

 unreasoning impulse these fishes draw near the 

 shore free from all intention or purpose either of 

 preventing their species from becoming extinct or 

 administering to the important purposes referred 

 to. The migratory instinct, independent as it is 

 of all knowledge or intelligence, can be referred 

 only to that Being to whom all the chemical, 

 physical, and vital laws relating to the humblest 

 of His creatures are fully known, and from whom 

 alone could proceed an impulse, which, although 

 blind itself, is adapted to produce its result, with 

 a degree of precision and accuracy far exceeding 

 that which the most exalted human reason can 

 attain. When we take this marvellous instinct 

 into view, whether we regard it as intended to 

 produce a result or a combination of different 

 results, it is impossible not to reflect upon it with 

 that reverential admiration with which we recog- 

 nise the design of Infinite wisdom, knowledge, 

 and beneficence. 



The mode of fishing for the herring and the 

 pilchard is much the same. The herring is taken 

 by means of a net of great length and of consi- 

 derable depth. These nets are suspended per- 

 pendicularly from a rope extending along the 



