316 TOUR IN SUTHERLANDSHIRE. 



This is the gloomy side of the picture of. herring fishing; 

 but it has its bright one, for I do not know a more exhilarat- 

 ing sight than the fleets of herring boats standing out from 

 all the larger towns between Wick and the Firth of Forth on 

 a tine day during the fishing season. All along the coast 

 where at other times the indolent habits of the fishermen are 

 prominently seen, everything now evinces life, energy, and 

 activity. 



Hundreds of brown-sailed boats go out from some of the 

 harbours at once, the place resounding with the loud but 

 good-humoured greetings and jokes, from one boat to another, 

 as they pass with all speed of sail and - oar to the herring- 

 grounds, each eager to be the first to reach the place so as to 

 have choice of station. A fresh but gentle breeze takes them 

 merrily out, and their nets are cast and fixed, buoyed up by 

 their large round floats, or by what are much used in some 

 places, prepared dogskins a most unworthy fate for so 

 noble animal. To make these floats they cut off the head, 

 and take the whole body out at the aperture, leaving the 

 skin otherwise entire. It is then dressed and tarred over. 

 The neck is stopped up with a wooden plug made to fit it, 

 and the skin having been thus rendered water-tight is filled 

 with air, legs and all. So that the float consists of the entire 

 dog minus his head. Blown up and extended as it is, and 

 black with tar, it is about as ugly but as serviceable a float 

 as can well be imagined. 



The herring-nets being laid, the men, if the shoals do not 

 appear to be on the move, set to work to fish for cod, halibut, 

 &c., of which they frequently catch great numbers ; earning 

 in this way a considerable addition to their wages. Warned, 

 however, by the cries and activity of the sea-birds, and by 

 other well-understood signs, all at once they take up their 

 lines, in order to attend to the main object of their fishing, 

 and in a few minutes you see every boat hauling up the 

 herrings which hang in the meshes of the nets, and glance 

 like pieces of burnished silver as they break the surface of 

 the water. Sometimes the dog-fish do great mischief, biting 

 the herrings in two, and tearing the nets. When, however, 

 all goes well, the nets are soon hauled in, and the fish dis- 

 entangled from them as quickly as possible, and in a surpris- 

 ingly short space of time all is made ready for another 

 draught. 



Sea-birds innumerable attend on the herring-boats, finding 



