202 



FISHERIES FISHERMAN'S RING. 



subsequently sent to the Tower for refusing to sub- 

 mit to the provisions of an act of parliament, which 

 annulled the king's marriage with Catharine of Ar- 

 ragon, and confirmed his subsequent union with Anne 

 Boleyn. He was attainted and deprived in 1534. 

 Pope Paul III. thought proper to reward his zealous 

 adherent by creating him a cardinal. The king, on 

 learning that Fisher would not refuse the dignity, 

 exclaimed in a passion, " Yea ! is he so lusty ? Well, 

 let the pope send him a hat when he will. Mother 

 of God ! he shall wear it on his shoulders, for I will 

 leave him never a head to set it on." His destruc- 

 tion was immediately resolved on ; and, as no evi- 

 dence against him existed, sufficiently strong to affect 

 his life, Henry employed his infamous solicitor-gen- 

 eral, Rich, to entrap Fisher into a positive denial of 

 the king's supremacy. The plot succeeded, and the 

 bishop, oeing tried before a special commission, was 

 convicted of high treason, on the evidence of Rich, 

 and on the 22d of June, 1535, was beheaded on 

 Tower-Hill. Bishop Fisher was a promoter and 

 cultivator of literature, and a patron of learned men. 

 Besides a number of tracts, he was also the author 

 of a commentary on the Seven Penitential Psalms ; of 

 Sermons, controversial and devotional treatises, &c. 



FISHERIES. The most important objects of the 

 fisheries, are the Whale (see IVhale fishery), cod, 

 herring, sturgeon, mackerel. These animals are 

 described under their respective heads. We shall 

 here only give some account of the manner in which 

 they are taken. There are two favourite places of 

 resort for the cod ; one in Europe, off Dogger Bank, 

 Well-Bank, and Grommer; the other, and most 

 extensive and important, on the coasts of North 

 America, extending along the coasts of Nova Scotia 

 and Newfoundland, comprising the Grand Bank and 

 Labrador. The number of vessels engaged in this 

 latter fishery, British, American, French, Dutch, and 

 Spanish, is calculated to amount to 6000 or 7000, 

 which take about 40,000,000 fish annually. The ves- 

 sels which are intended for the Bank fishery, measure 

 from seventy to ninety tons, and carry from eight to 

 ten men. They are engaged in fishing from March 

 to October, making two or three fares, and bringing 

 home the fish to be cured. On taking them, they 

 merely cut off the head, open them, sprinkle them 

 with salt, and throw them into the hold. Some of 

 these are injured before they get home, and these 

 fonn an inferior quality, under the name of Jamaica 

 fish. Those vessels which are intended for the 

 Labrador or Coast fishery, are from forty to 120 tons, 

 with about the same proportion of men as the 

 Bankers. They arrive on the ground in June, and 

 select a place for fishing somewhere on the coast of 

 the bay of Chaleurs, the gulf of St Lawrence, straits 

 of Belleisle, or the entrance to Hudson's Bay, (from 

 45 to 68 N. latitude). Here they spend the sum- 

 mer, as they cure the fish on the coasts, drying them 

 either on the rocks, or on flakes erected for the 

 purpose. On arriving, they anchor, dismantle their 

 vessels, and convert them into stationary houses. 

 Each vessel is furnished with four or five light boats, 

 carrying two men. As the fish is entirely cured 

 here, they often sail with their cargo, by the last of 

 August, directly to a foreign market. The cod are 

 taken by line, and, as they bite with great voracity, 

 almost any thing serves for bait ; they are some- 

 times, however, taken in nets, though more rarely. 

 Anderson says, t that the French engaged in the 

 fishery on the Grand Bank as early as 1536. 



The sturgeon is valuable for the goodness of its 

 flesh, and for the use derived from some of its parts. 

 It is taken, not only in the ocean, but in the great 

 rivers of northern Asia and Europe. It is sometimes 

 taken in nets, sometimes by the harpoon. The 



Cossacks repair to the Ural, at fixed seasons, in great 

 numbers. Some thousands appear on the ice in 

 sledges, each provided with a spear, several poles, and 

 other instruments. They arrange themselves in a long 

 line, and, if those in the rear attempt to crowd those 

 before them, their instruments are immediately 

 broken by the guards. As soon as the hetman of 

 the fishers sets forward, they all dash after him in 

 their sledges : the ice is cut, the spears cast ; fish- 

 mongers, assembled from all parts of the empire, buy 

 the fish, even before they are taken, and the ice is SOOP 

 covered with sturgeons. The couriers of the great 

 Uralian army (as it is called) travel, at full gallop, 

 to St Petersburg,to deposit the spoil. The value of 

 the fish (including that of the caviar and isinglass), 

 imported into the interior, amounts to 2,000,000 

 rubles. 



Salmon are generally taken in rivers. They are 

 sometimes taken with nets, and sometimes with a 

 kind of locks or wears, made for the purpose, which, 

 in certain places, have grates so disposed, in an angle, 

 that, on being impelled by force in a direction 

 contrary to the course of the river, they give way 

 and open at the point of contact, and immediately 

 shut again, when the force is removed. On coming 

 up the rivers, the fish enter by these valves, which 

 then close, and prevent their return. They are also 

 taken with a spear. They may be caught by means 

 of a light, which attracts them to the surface, when 

 they may be speared or scooped in. See Salmon 

 Fishery. 



Mackerel are taken in great quantities in all seas. 

 They move in vast shoals, and are commonly taken 

 in May, June, and July ; sometimes in nets, and 

 sometimes by lines. The best manner is in nets, by 

 night, when they are attracted by lights. They are 

 eaten fresh, and are also pickled in salt or in brine. 



Herrings are remarkable for their immense num- 

 bers ; they move in shoals, sometimes occupying 

 many miles in extent, and several fathoms in depth. 

 The presence of the herring is easily discovered, by 

 the great flights of birds which accompany them 

 during the day, by the unctuous matter with which 

 the water is covered, and, in the night, by the bril- 

 liant phosphoric light which they emit. They are 

 taken generally by night, in nets, which are some- 

 times of enormous extent. The Dutch have them 

 of GOO fathoms in length, made of silk cord. These 

 nets are dragged by a capstan. Herring are very 

 plenty about the Orcades in June and July ; in the 

 German ocean in September and October ; and in 

 the English channel in October, November, and 

 December. See Herring Fishery. For an account 

 of the anchovy fishery, see Anchovy. 



FISHERMAN'S RING (annulus piscatoris). The 

 decrees of the Roman court, as is very well known, 

 are not signed by the pope, but their validity depends 

 upon paper, thread, and the seal. These decrees 

 consist of bulls and briefs. Bulls, issued by the apos- 

 tolic chancery, and intended for important occa 

 sions, are written on black, strong, rough parchment, 

 with Gothic letters ; and attached to them is the 

 leaden seal, which has on one side the images of the 

 apostles Peter and Paul, and on the other side the 

 name of the reigning pope. In matrimonial and judi- 

 cial cases, these bulls are issued in the form tlignum, 

 and the leaden seal hangs from a hempen cord ; in 

 acts of grace, it hangs by a red and yellow cord of 

 silk. Briefs are issued on less important occasions, 

 and by the apostolic secretaries. These are written 

 on fine white parchment, with Roman letters, and the 

 seal is the fisherman's ring, impressed upon red wax. 

 This seal is so called because it represents Peter the 

 fisherman. The pope himself, or one of his confi' 

 dants, keeps this seal ; and, after his death it is the 





