HERRING FISHERIES. 171 



Migration of the Herrings. 



THERE are fome fifties, as the herring, cod-fifh, 

 haddock, whiting, mackarel, tunny, and pilchard, 

 that may be called tifh of pailage, and bear a ftrong 

 analogy to birds of pafiagej both from their focial 

 difpofition, and the immenfity of their numbers. 

 Other fifh live in our vicinity, and refide on our 

 coafts all the year round ; or keep in the depths of 

 the ocean, and are but feldom feen : but thefc, at 

 Hated fealbns, vilit the more ibuthern ihores with 

 regular certainty, generally returning the fame week 

 in the fucceeding year, and often the fame day. 



The herrings are found, in the greateil abundance, 

 in the higheit northern latitudes within the arctic cir- 

 cle. In thofe inacceflible leas, that are covered with 

 ice during a great part of the year, the herring find 

 a quiet and lure retreat from all their numerous ene- 

 mies : there neither man, nor their dill more deftruc- 

 tive enemy, the fin-fifh, or the cachalot, the moft 

 voracious of the whale kind, dares to purfue them. 



The great colony of herring fets out from the 

 icy fea about the middle of winter, compofed of 

 fuch numbers as to exceed the powers of imagina- 

 tion, but they no iooner leave their retreats, than 

 millions of enemies appear to thin their fquadrons. 

 The fun-fifh, arid the cachalot devour hundreds at a 

 time; the porpus, the grampus, the fhiirk, cod- 

 fifh, haddocks, pollacks, and the whole numerous 

 tribe cf dog-fifh find them an eafy prey, and defift 

 from making war upon each other : but ftill more 

 the unnumbered flocks of lea fowl, that chiefly inha- 

 bit near the pole, watch the outfet of their dangerous 

 migration, and fpread cxtenfive ruin. 



In this exigence, the defencelefs emigrants find 



no other fafety but by crowding clofer together, like 



fheep when frightened, and leaving to the outmofl 



bands the danger of being ftrft devoured. The 



n body begins at a certain latitude to feparate 



I into 



