HERRICK 



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HERRING 



he remained until his death. Herrick's verses 

 are distinguished by their exquisite sentiment, 

 fine poetic quality and descriptive beauty. 

 For a considerable period following his death 

 they suffered an undeserved neglect, but be- 

 ginning with the nineteenth century there came 

 a merited revival. Among his most popular 

 poems are Corinna's Maying, Cherry Ripe 

 and Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May. 



HERRICK, ROBERT [WELCH] (1868- ), an 

 American novelist who ranks among the fore- 

 most present-day fiction writers. Of his nu- 

 merous novels perhaps the most noteworthy 

 are The Gospel of Freedom, the Common Lot, 

 Together and The Healer, while among his 

 shorter stories The Master of the Inn has a 

 peculiar, fresh charm. Whether he deals with 

 the struggle of woman for freedom, the con- 

 flict between a man's ideals and his lust for 

 success or the problem of the modern Ameri- 

 can marriage, he shows the same admirable 

 literary sense and the same power of charac- 

 ter analysis. Herrick was born at Cambridge, 

 Mass., studied at Harvard University, and 

 since 1893 has been professor of rhetoric and 

 English literature at the University of Chi- 

 cago. 



HER 'RING, a food fish which is considered 

 the most important in the world, although it 

 is not so extensively used in America as in 

 Europe. It is the member of the herring fam- 

 ily which gives that group of fishes its name. 



OX-EYED HERRING 



To that family belong the shad, menhaden, 

 sardine and anchovy. The name is from the 

 German heer, meaning army, referring to the 

 immense shoals of many millions of individuals 

 in which these fish live. Common herring are 

 numerous along the coasts in the temperate 

 and colder parts of the North Atlantic Ocean, 

 and vast numbers are taken from the North 

 Sea, but various other species are found in the 

 Pacific Ocean as well. 



Herring Characteristics. The average length 

 of herring is twelve inches. Judging their age 

 by the number of rings on the scales, it was 



discovered that about half of the herring 

 taken in one year of observation were ten 

 years old. They are well-formed fish, with thin 

 scales, blue-green above and of a brilliant sil- 

 very-white below. Both jaws have very small 

 teeth. Their principal food consists of small 

 shellfish, such as shrimps and copepods, or 

 red seeds. Millions of herring swim close to- 

 gether near the surface of the water, in areas 

 of from six to twenty square miles. According 

 to species and temperature of water, herring 

 spend part of the time in deep waters, then 

 migrate to shallower waters of coasts. It is 

 near the coasts that the eggs are laid, because 

 they need oxygen, heat and sunlight in order 

 to hatch and develop. From 10,000 to 40,000 

 eggs are laid yearly by each female. Settling 

 to the bottom of the water, they cover seaweed 

 and rocks for miles. Within a few weeks the 

 eggs hatch. There are numerous herring ene- 

 mies, however, and although herring are ^ plen- 

 tiful, their number is greatly reduced by crabs 

 and fish which eat the eggs and young. The 

 adult herring are captured not only by other 

 creatures of the sea, such as the whale, porpoise, 

 seal, cod, haddock, etc., but by eagles, cor- 

 morants, gulls and many other birds. It is 

 well to note that nature provides vast numbers 

 of young of those fishes which are the natural 

 prey of larger species. 



The Herring Industry. It is when vast num- 

 bers of birds are seen hovering over the shal- 

 low waters that fishermen know that schools 

 of herring have come to lay their eggs. When 

 those welcome signs appear, thousands of men 

 go forth to make their yearly hauls. The 

 herring fishing industry is attended with dan- 

 ger, especially in the North Sea, which is 

 noted for its destructive gales. But the fish- 

 ermen of the surrounding countries, England, 

 France, Sweden and Norway, are brave and 

 sturdy, and each year they risk their lives and 

 suffer hardships in this calling. 



The principal herring fisheries are conducted 

 by means of large, clumsy sail or power boats 

 called luggers. This name became well known 

 throughout the world during the War of the 

 Nations, when naval necessities drove them 

 from the North Sea. In normal times they 

 go out to a spot where a large number of 

 herring are seen and an immense seine is let 

 out from the boat to surround the shoal. The 

 crew then row along the edges of the seine 

 in small boats and force the mass of fish 

 nearer the lugger. Then, when as many her- 

 ring as possible have been surrounded, the 



