HERRING AND COD FISHING. 143 



proceeds of the season's fishing at a fixed price ; so that not- 

 withstanding the immense number caught, the supply of 

 fresh herrings through the country is but scanty. The fish 

 are, with as little delay as possible, packed in casks with 

 brine, and in this state are exported to all parts of the king- 

 dom. The barrels are made principally of birch. Fir will 

 not answer the purpose, as it gives a taste of turpentine to 

 the whole contents of the barrel. I have been out in a 

 herring-boat during the fishing ; and a very beautiful sight it 

 is to see the nets hauled in with thousands of herrings, look- 

 ing in the moonlight like so many pieces of the brightest silver 

 flashing in the calm water. When not employed with the 

 nets, the men generally fish with hooks for cod, halibut, &c. ; 

 all fish caught in this manner being the perquisite of the man 

 who catches them ; and frequently they make a good profit 

 by this, as the cod collect in vast numbers about the herring- 

 fishing grounds, and are caught as quickly as the hooks can 

 be dropped into the water. Sometimes the cod, their great 

 indistinctly seen forms looking" like the pale ghosts of fish, 

 come close to the surface round the boats, and seize the bait 

 as soon as it touches the water. Hauling these heavy gentry 

 up from the depth of several fathoms is very severe work for 

 the hands. 



The herrings seem the most persecuted of all the races of 

 living creatures. From the moment when the great shoals of 

 them appear in the north and north-west they are pursued 

 by thousands and tens of thousands of birds and countless 

 numbers of fishes : and wherever the herring shoals are, 

 there are these devourers. From the aristocratic salmon to 

 the ignoble and ferocious dogfish, all follow up and prey upon 

 the shoals ; while their feathered foes mark out their track 

 by the constant screaming and plunging into the water 

 which they keep up during their pursuit. The Solan geese 

 from mid-air dash with unerring aim on the bright and 

 silvery fish ; whilst the cormorants and other diving sea-fowl 

 pursue the dense crowd with indefatigable eagerness. In ad- 

 dition to all this, sea-gulls of every kind, like the skirmish- 

 ers of an army, keep up a constant pursuit of all stragglers 

 or wounded fish which come near enough to the surface to be 

 caught by these birds, who have neither the power of the 

 Solan goose, to pounce hawk-like on their prey (even when 

 at some depth from the surface), nor the diving power of the 

 cormorant or guillemot, who can pursue them deep down 



