A. D. 1789. 191 



1756 caught cod upon it, about 22 leagues north-weft of Tory ifland. 

 Mr. Murdoch Mackenzie, when makmg his maritime furvey of the coaft 

 of Ireland in the year 1769, fell in with it off the coaft of Mayo, and 

 caught cod, ling, and holly, as faft as the lines could be let down. Cap- 

 tain Huddart, when employed on a fimilar furvey in the year 1777, fell 

 in with the bank to the weftward of Hay, where he found the cod as 

 plentiful, and as good, as at Newfoundland : and from his obfervations 

 in that, and a fubfequent furvey made this year, that gentleman gave it 

 as his opinion to the committee of the houfe of commons, that cod may 

 be caught in great abundance between the Weftern iflands and S'. Kilda 

 (Hirta) and the coaft of Ireland ; that in many other places on the weft 

 coaft the ground is very favourable for catching cod, and that thofe 

 caught in 30 or 40 fathoms of water are in feafon and fit for curing 

 from May till November. Captain Huddart upon this occafion drew a 

 chart of the Weftern iflands with the adjacent coafts of Scotland and 

 Ireland, which muft be very ufeful to the fiftiermen and navigators 

 among thofe iflands. 



Some of the gentlemen engaged in the fifliery at Yarmouth began in 

 the year 1787 to fit out veflels for profecuting the herring fifliery, agree- 

 able to the ad 26 Geo. Ill, c. 81. Their fifliermen proceeded to Shet- 

 land, and fometimes fo far beyond it, that they fell in with floating ice. 

 They followed the Dutch method of fliooting their nets in deep water 

 from the vefl^els, and not in lochs or bays from their boats, as the Brit- 

 ifti bufs-fiftiers do. In the fecond and third years of their fiftiing they 

 believed their herrings to be nothing inferior to thofe of the Dutch in 

 refpedt to curing; and they fent the moft of them to Hamburgh, where, 

 happening to be the firft that arrived, they brought a price equal to that 

 of the early Dutch herrings, and, after the arrival of the Dutch, they 

 were ftill able to ftand the competition with them. This year fome of 

 the Yarmouth pickled herrings were fent even to Roterdam ; and the 

 owners had no reafon to complain of their fales. But the expenfe of 

 this mode of fifliing, though it had hitherto been attended with fuch 

 aufpicious profpecSs, being greater than the ufual returns could indem- 

 nify, and the adventurers being difappointed in obtaining the bounties 

 they thought themfelves entitled to, they gave it up *. 



Notwithftanding the efforts of the antients and the wiflies of the mod- 

 erns, the whole interior of the vaft continent of Africa ftill remained 

 unknown to the people of Europe. A few noblemen and gentlemen, 

 defirous of refcuing the age from a charge of ignorance, which in other 



* Mr. Barker, the author of the information ' Tea ; fecond, they arc fuller of flefh, in more per- 



refpefting this {hort-'ived diftant filliery, obferved, ' feftion, and cine better ; and third, this firtiing 



' That the deep-fea fifliing has the following ad- ' can be carried on every year, although the her- 



' vantages, although the expenfe of carrying it on ' rings do not every feafon come near the particu- 



• is greater than iifhing by boats near the iliore ; ' hr lliores or bays, where they are ufually expecl- 



' firrt, the earlieft herrings are caught in the deep • ed.' \_Rc'port on the Bnti/hJiJJi.nes, 1798,/. 14J-J 



