368 HERRING 



late fishing. Numerous are the superstitions and superstitious 

 practices in vogue among herring fishers all the country over. 

 A Manx fisherman, for instance, is said to take a dead wren in his 

 boat to ward off storms when going a-fishing. Herring are said 

 to leave the coast where a bloody (juarrel takes place, in addition 

 to its gastronomic qualities, the following is said to be an infallible 

 medical cure : when suffering from a stye, repeat the following 

 lines without drawing breath : — 



Thainig cailleach o Loch Abair A carlin came from Lochaber 



'Shireadh sgadain o Loch Bhraoin Seeking herring from Loch Broom, 



Cha d'iarr i air peighinn She asked not for a penny 



Ach na chunntadh i gun anail. But as many as she could count 



without drawing breath. 



Seidear sgadan aon seidear sgadan Seidear herring one, seidear herring 



dha, two, 



Seidear sgadan tri . . . seidear Seidear herring three . . . seidear 



sgadan gu ceud. herring to a hundred. 



There are said to be 130 varieties, with 70,000 eggs in one 

 female. St Kilda gannets alone are estimated to consume 

 105,000,000 herring every year. If a herring is caught on a line 

 by hook, it lives as long as a trout or a salmon does ; it dies in a 

 net merely from being drowned. Herring taken in May and 

 June are called "maties." The gutpock herring is frequently 

 caught by the rod and fly. The freshwater herring is also found in 

 Loch Eck. The Loch Lomond herring are generally called 

 '^ pollac." The craig herring, shad, or mother of the herring is of 

 the size of four ordinary herring, with large sharp scales. Some 

 names, such as the shad, are found, as given to either or both the 

 herring and the mackerel, q.v. " Shotten " herring are worthless 

 for eating, having spent their roe. Tlie brine containing the 

 oily residue was much used in olden times for dressing leather, 

 and was called "sayne," as given in an old charter dated between 

 l.*J88 and 1440, ''Item VI. lagene de sayne, precii iijs." The 

 herring called "loader" is noted for its special beautiful tints. 

 Another superstition is that herring fishing is always a failure if 

 a salmon or trout be caught in the net. The herring is prominent 

 in the arms of the town of Inveraray. It hangs in a net, with the 

 motto " Semper tibi pendeat halce." A " royal " herring is one 

 only in first brine or salt. A measure used in counting herrings 

 is called a mais, maise, maize, maze or mese. The number is five 

 " long hundreds " or six hundred ; a handful of three is called a 

 " cast," forty casts being a " long hundred." 



Sayings, etc., as to the herring are : — 



Bas air a' sgadan. 



Death to the herring. A fisherman's toast. 

 Ceann sgadain acm de thri cinn nach fliiach itheadh. 



A herring's head, one of three heads not fit to eat. 



