276 WILD LIFE ON A NORFOLK ESTUARY 



one appears able to fathom.' I felt mightily indignant when 

 all the hue and cry was raised by these said ignorant fishermen 

 against the terns, and very nearly committed myself to pen 

 and ink over it ; but having further thought out the reason 

 of the failure, it occurred to me at the time that the same 

 ' reasons ' might affect the migratorial movements of Clupca 

 sprattus, in like manner. So notwithstanding the fact that 

 my yearly November fries of luscious sprats this season 

 have been conspicuous by their absence, I am, I honestly 

 admit, delighted to find my hopes realised, to a certain 

 extent, for no prophet, for good or evil, likes to see his pro- 

 phecies vain. 



" Surely our Aldeburgh fisher folk, ignorant folk, and 

 others do not lay the absence of sprats to the terns? And 

 for the life of me, I don't see how they could reasonably lay 

 the absence of smelts to the same little birds. I've visited 

 both Southvvold and Aldeburgh and was struck by the few- 

 ness of terns, having been led to believe them much more 

 numerous. I've watched terns, little, black, common, and 

 Arctic, times and often, and seen the Caspian and the Sand- 

 wich terns fishing also, and with the exception of the black 

 terns, never saw them rise with anything else than herring 

 syle, i.e. young herrings, locally termed 'whitebait.' I 

 never once saw a smelt between their mandibles. While 

 the terns are with us myriads of young herrings are usually 

 flashing about near the surface of the sea. Immature smelts 

 of the size they might like are found in our waters in winter 

 time ; and large smelts the terns do not and cannot tackle. 

 Let those Aldeburgh fishermen own up honestly, and say 

 that it was for the sake of the money the birds' skins and 

 wings would fetch from some milliner's agent or agents, and 

 not revenge for the supposed wrongs they inflicted on them. 

 If not honest, be reasonable ! I hope my note will fall into 

 the hands of certain of those M.P.'s and others directly or 

 indirectly interested, who may on second thoughts form an 

 opinion that it is always best to weigh a matter well, more 

 especially as affects the well-being of other creatures, who 

 have, after all is said and done, as much right to the herrings, 

 or smelts even, as we have. 



" Further, may I point out that a sprat is a true species, 

 which spawns in March ; that young herrings are nothing 

 but young herrings, and that there is no such species as 

 ' whitebait,' which is only a collective name for the young 

 of shads, herrings, and sprats, with a sprinkling now and 

 again of blennies, gobies, and sticklebacks, according to 

 season and locality. Norfolk ' whitebait ' is none other than 

 immature herrings. Further, that sardines are not a 



