14 THE DUTCH GRAND FISHERY 



As a matter of general practice, the Dutch began fishing 

 on St. John's day (June 24th), " near the Shetlands, Fairhill, 

 and Buchan Ness," fishing in these waters till St. James' 

 day (July 25th). From St. James' to Elevation day (Sep- 

 tember 14th), Buchan Ness, or " Sevenjot " (a place not 

 located), was still the herring fishers' place of resort ; in 

 the autumn they went towards the south, and till St. Cathe- 

 rine's day (September 25th), fished in the so-called " deep 

 waters " off Yarmouth. 1 



One of the most detailed English accounts of the wealth 

 and resources of the Dutch fishings at this time, is that of 

 Tobias Gentleman, who, in his England's Way to win Wealth, 

 1614, gives some interesting details of the methods of the 

 Dutch. He has the merit of having taken a more sober 

 view of the size of the Dutch fishing fleet and the money 

 derived from the fishing than some of the earlier pamphleteers, 

 such as Raleigh and Hitchcock. His work is also a fair 

 sample of the many pamphlets on fisheries which were 

 issued during the 17th century. 



He shows that the Hollanders began to make ready their 

 busses 2 about the middle of May, setting sail by the first 

 of June with a great fleet composed of vessels of varying 

 size ; " Six hundred of these fisher ships and more, are 

 great Busses, some six score tons, most of them a hundred 

 tons, and the rest three score and fifty tons, the biggest of 

 them having four and twenty men, some twenty men, and 

 some eighteen and sixteen men apiece, so that there cannot 

 be, in this fleet, of people no less than twenty thousand 

 sailors." He tells how they fill their boats with herrings 

 " three times apiece," before St. Andrew's (30th November), 

 and computes that, selling these at the rate of ten pounds 



1 Beaujon's Essay, p. 61, quoting from a Dutch pamphlet by Meynert 

 Semeyns. 



2 " Buss " or " Bush " a large fishing boat, usually from 40 to 70 

 tons. See Appendix. 



