united, for then no Whitman's Pond herring is 

 found with a Taunton River baud. 



In late summer the fry go down-stream ; but 

 whether it is they that return the next spring, 

 or whether it is only the older fish, is not certain. 

 It is certain that no immature fish ever appear 

 in the spring. The naturalists are almost agreed 

 that the herring reach maturity in eighteen 

 months. In that case it will be two years before 

 the young appear in the Run. The Weymouth 

 fishermen declare, however, that they do not 

 seek the pond until the third spring ; for they 

 say that when the pond was first stocked, it was 

 three ^ears before any herring, of their own 

 accord, made their way back to spawn. 



Meantime where and how do they live? All 

 the ocean is theirs to roam through, though even 

 the ocean has its belts and zones, its barriers 

 which the strongest swimmers cannot pass. The 

 herring are among the nomads of the sea ; but 

 let them wander never so far through the deep, 

 you may go to the Run in April and expect to 

 see them. Here, over the stones and shallows 

 by which they found their way to the sea, they 

 will come struggling back. No mistake is ever 

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