38 THE BRITISH FISH TRADE. 



have been brought to London in a single day ; and they are 

 sold wholesale in London by the bushel for from 2s. to 8s. 

 They are so numerous that it is frequently impossible to 

 dispose of them for food ; and large quantities are occasion- 

 ally sold at a still lower price as manure. The season for 

 sprat fishing commences early in November and lasts for 

 about three months. No food equally nutritious is ever 

 procurable at so cheap a rate by the poor. If sprats were 

 only as dear as salmon, perhaps no food would be more 

 prized on the table of the rich. 



No available means exist for determining the value of the 

 Sprat fisheries : the same thing is true of Whitebait. The 

 Whitebait of commerce consist of a variety of small fish ; 

 but chiefly of young sprats and young herrings. They are 

 mainly caught in the estuaries of the Thames and of the 

 Medway, but they are found on almost every part of the 

 British coasts, and fisheries for them are gradually springing 

 up in various places. They are commonly sold in London at 

 about is. a quart, and are thus included among the cheaper 

 kinds of fish. The destruction of them year after year is 

 enormous ; and there is perhaps no better proof of the 

 marvellous fertility of the sea than may be deduced from 

 the circumstance that the continuous destruction of white- 

 bait is making no impression whatever on the supply either 

 of sprats or of herrings. 



The Mackerel fishery is conducted in many places by the 

 same boats and by the same fishermen as the herring 

 fishery. Its importance has gained for the fish a singular 

 exemption. By an old act of Charles II., which is still in 

 force, no wares, goods, fruit, herbs and chattels, may be sold 

 on Sunday. By an act of George III., which is also on the 

 Statute Book, fish brought to London on Saturday night is 

 expressly ordered to be publicly sold on Monday morning. 



