CHAPTER III. 



BOTTOM-OF-SEA INFLUENCE ON 

 HERRING. 



iHE character of the bottom of the 

 sea exercises a very material influ- 

 ence upon its vegetable life, and, con- 

 sequently, upon the kind of fish 

 frequenting its waters ; and not only 

 the character of the bottom, as to 

 whether it be clay, sand, gravel, or rock, but also its 

 configuration. The bottom of the sea, like the sur- 

 face of the land, has its hills and valleys, its broad 

 flat plains and its dark gullies, its steep ridges and its 

 deep channels, the different kinds of fish finding in 

 these differences of the bottom that which suits their 

 own habits best. The herring has its favourite swims, 

 which are as sharply defined as the bottom is strongly 

 marked. Mr. Boeck, during the time he was com- 

 missioned by the Norwegian Government to examine 

 the herring fisheries, made certain experiments by 

 placing nets in the Channel between Roaer and Faeo, 

 and stretching towards Hauskeskaer ; and another 



