14 THE SILVERY HOSTS OF THE NORTH SEA. 



tion, in his great work, "The Fish of Denmark," 

 makes use of these words : " How desirable it is to 

 gain more insight into the natural history of fish is 

 strikingly illustrated by the herring, as many points 

 in its mode of living are still unexplained, and many 

 fabulous accounts are transmitted from one genera- 

 tion to another." In the old days, when the unknown 

 was generally accepted as synonymous with the won- 

 derful, which last possessed the happy privilege of 

 reconciling all inconsistences, herrings were supposed 

 to have their home under the crystal sea of the polar 

 regions ; there, in quiet seclusion, protected from the 

 ceaseless greed of their enemies, they sported and 

 multiplied to such an extent that, their native waters 

 becoming overcrowded, necessity compelled colonies 

 of them to seek out a new world for themselves ; the 

 surplus population, as was supposed, migrating 

 annually in several large columns towards the south. 

 Upon leaving the protection of their icy covering 

 they were quickly attacked by hungry enemies in 

 their own element, and by fierce birds of prey dart- 

 ing down upon them from above, all on the eager 

 watch for a bonne-bouche ; and thus they were driven 

 into shallow seas, and into the bays and inlets of the 

 British Isles and the Scandinavian coasts, there to be 

 snared for the delectation of unsophisticated palates. 

 Of late years, thanks to scientists on the Continent, 

 and the evidence collected by the United States 

 Government, and by the late Frank Buckland, a little 

 more light is being thrown upon the several questions 

 awaiting solution. The evidence, as it now stands, 



