THE HERRING FISHERIES. 9 



that might seem to support that view. The head of the 

 whitebait was thought to differ slightly from the head of 

 the herring ; the comparative length of the head to the rest 

 of the body was supposed to differ, and the body itself 

 was flatter than the herring, and lighter in colour. But 

 there is an argument that completely over-rules and 

 destroys these minor objections, viz. that the whitebait is 

 never found with milt or roe. This, to our mind, taken in 

 conjunction with the fact that large quantities are some- 

 times caught with herrings, demonstrates very clearly that 

 the whitebait is the offspring of the herring. The length 

 of the whitebait is between two and four inches, and, very 

 rarely, five inches. It is very plentiful in the Firth of 

 Forth, and in the Thames, and is sometimes found in the 

 Clyde and other rivers. 



The sprat is also an interesting fish. It has been 

 accused of following the example of the whitebait ; but, 

 although it is remarkable that sprats are taken in large 

 numbers with herrings, we will not, on our present know- 

 ledge, go so far as to say that they are the offspring of 

 the herring. There is some relationship between the two. 

 However, the fact of sprats having milt and roe at the 

 proper spawning-time seems to show that they are not the 

 young of the herring. The sprat fishery commences in 

 November, and lasts till February or March. The princi- 

 pal coasts on which it is prosecuted are Norfolk, Suffolk, 

 Essex, and Kent. 



The pilchard resembles the herring in some respects, 

 although there are important differences both in the forma- 

 tion and in the habits of the two. For instance, the scales 

 of the pilchard are larger than those of the herring. Again, 

 the pilchard will rest in a horizontal position if suspended 

 by the dorsal fin ; while the herring dips towards the head. 



