182 THE HERRING. 



hitherto disputed questions as to food, periodical visits, 

 migration," &c., of the herring, the preceding refer- 

 ences prove that all that he says on these matters has 

 been said habitually, for the last thirty years at least, 

 by all naturalists of repute among us. And as to his 

 being "the first to establish the important fact that her- 

 rings visit our coasts twice in the year that, in fact, 

 there is a winter and a summer herring periodically 

 arriving on the different coasts" we are certainly in- 

 debted to him for drawing attention to this habit of the 

 fish ; but we must be excused for declining to acknow- 

 ledge that he was the first to observe it. 



The capriciousness with which herrings change their 

 haunts has given rise to many strange speculations as 

 to the cause of a characteristic so annoying to those de- 

 pendent on the regularity of its migrations. By not 

 making prudent allowance for this peculiarity, and by 

 constructing establishments as if for a fixed fishery, 

 serious losses have been frequently incurred. From the 

 Friths of Forth and Tay not only herring, but also had- 

 dock, took their departure about the year 1788, and did 

 not reappear for nine or ten years. 



In one of the earliest of Hugh Miller's productions 

 descriptive of the Moray Frith herring-fishery, there is 

 a notice of this peculiarity. From 1690 to 1709 there 

 was an extensive fishery at Cromarty. Shortly after 

 the Union (1707) an immense shoal ran themselves on 

 shore in a little bay to the east of the town. The 

 beach was covered with them to the depth of several 

 feet, and casks failing the packers, the residue was cart- 

 ed away for manure by the neighbouring farmers. They 

 disappeared in a single night, and were not seen again 

 for more than fifty years ! And so with very many 

 other places frequented by the herrings. Of course they 

 have good reasons for what we call their capriciousness. 

 But if herrings seem to be fickle, fishermen are not sel- 

 dom stupid and lazy. They groan over the departure 

 of the fish instead of carefully watching their move- 



