28 5 



Nearly the whole of this fleet consists of vessels of a 

 modern class, which have supplanted the old Dutch 

 hooker of primitive shape, with its great square sail. 

 They are constructed with wells for the keeping of the fish 

 alive, and generally during the summer months carry ice, 

 with which they preserve the dead fish of their cargo. 

 They bring about one-half of their winter's catch to the 

 English market, making Grimsby their rendezvous ; another 

 considerable portion of the catch is disposed of in 

 Belgium. 



During the summer months a number of this fleet is 

 occupied in the herring fishery, another part in the had- 

 dock fishery, and the remainder in the hand-line fishery for 

 cod in the northern latitudes of the North Sea. At this 

 season of the year, instead of keeping their catch alive, they 

 salt it in barrels and land it at Vlaardingen, which is the 

 great Dutch market for this article. From this place it is 

 distributed, partly to other Dutch markets, but chiefly to 

 Belgium. 



Germany does not put in an appearance at all on the 

 high seas. I am aware that small fleets of fishing boats 

 sail from Blankenese, principally, and from other points 

 down to Cuxhaven on the Elbe, and a few from the rivers 

 Weser and Jahde, but they seldom venture beyond Heligo- 

 land Deep, and indeed few of them, if any, come within the 

 branch of line-fishing. 



It is a matter of surprise, and one that may be worthy 

 the notice of His Excellency the German Ambassador, who 

 appears to take an active interest in the present Exhibition, 

 that so great a nation as Germany, and a people so ener- 

 getic in all commercial life, should prefer to go abroad for a 

 considerable portion of their fish supply, when they might 

 profitably occupy in the trade a considerable number of 



