THE HISTORY OF DUTCH SEA FISHERIES. 567 



No. 66), accordingly ordained the V. Z. V. or K. V. brands 

 to certify, not where fish should have been caught, but 

 where it should have been cured, i.e. whether at sea or 

 ashore. At the same time, as the promiscuous use of the 

 several fishing methods led to promiscuous results, the main 

 stress of the brand certificate was laid, not as formerly on 

 the place where herring should have been either caught or 

 prepared, but on its actual quality ; and a new sub-division 

 was introduced into the three great descriptions of Dutch 

 brand herring (full, " maatjes," and " ylen "), each of which 

 was to be furthermore stamped either IA, 2 A, or 3 A, accord- 

 ing to its quality upon test. This arrangement of course 

 greatly increased the assayers' task and responsibility ; and 

 as accurate verification of the contents of each barrel 

 became more utterly impossible in proportion as the yields 

 of the annual catches increased, it soon became customary 

 to brand herring as Full IA, Maatjes IA, or ylen IA, as the 

 case might be, upon little besides the owner's authority. The 

 circumstance of course by no means increased the brands' 

 repute abroad. Moreover, the change in the brands proved 

 an evil in itself, inasmuch as in some foreign markets con- 

 fusion once more ensued between the old brands and the 

 new. 



To abolish the Government brand was the only way out 

 of these several difficulties, as the Sea- Fishery Board clearly 

 saw ; but they did not venture to advise the measure unless 

 Great Britain should cease to brand at the same time. 

 Foreign correspondents averred herring not bearing an 

 official mark to be unsaleable so long as Scotch branded 

 herring should be in the market ; and overtures made by 

 the Dutch to the British Government about a simultaneous 

 abolition of brands were received in a very friendly and 



