CHAP. vi.J THE TAKES OF 1862-3. 273 



passed in 1859, amounted to 5801 : 12 :4 in 1862, being an 

 increase of 3157 :0 :4 over that of 1859 ; and in 1863 the 

 brand fees produced the sum of 4618 : 16s. The returns of the 

 herring-fishing of 1863, as compared with that of 1862, which 

 was, however, an extraordinarily good year, are as follow : 



Barrels. Barrels. Barrels. 



1862. Cured, 830,904 Branded', 346,712 Ex., 494,910 



1863. Do. 654,816j Do. 276,880j Do. 407,76lJ 



The quantity of herrings branded out of the fishing of 1862 

 was, as seen above, 346,712 barrels, a number greatly ex- 

 ceeding that of any previous year; which shows not only 

 that the fishing was very productive, but also the great de- 

 mand for branded herrings, the reliance of the Continent upon 

 the brand (the chief herring trade there being in barrels that 

 have been branded), and the steady improvement in the cure 

 of the fish. The fishing of 1863, when compared with those 

 of 1860 and 1861 fishings of which the total amounts are 

 nearer to that of 1863 than that of 1862 also show this in a 

 remarkable degree ; for we find from the returns that out of 

 a cure in 1863 less by 26,377 barrels than the cure of 1860, 

 there were branded 44,967 barrels more and exported 29,791 

 barrels more than in 1860 ; that out of a cure in 1863 less 

 by 14,012 barrels than the cure of 1861, there were branded 

 11,533 barrels more and exported 17,448 barrels more than in 

 1861. A comparison of the rate per cent which the quantity 

 branded forms of the total quantity cured shows this still more 

 clearly. In 1860 the rate was 55 J per cent; in 1861 it was 

 58i per cent; in 1862, 59 J ; and in 1863 it was 62i per cent. 

 The quantity cured in 1862 exceeds, by upwards of 50,000 

 barrels, that of any previous year's fishing. The districts in 

 which an increase of take was chiefly obtained were Buckie, 

 Banff, Fraserburgh, and Peterhead on the east coast, and 

 Stornoway and Inverary on the west. The total increase at 

 these districts of the fishing of 1862 over that of 1861 being 



T 



