344 Norway and the Norwegians 



is cleaned the liver is sold for the manufacture of cod 

 liver oil. 



The herring fishery {sildfisk), which conies next in 

 importance to that of the cod, is not so widely spread 

 as the former. The herring is scarcely found in the 

 Skaggerak, and not in great quantities north of Statt- 

 land, the promontory which lies between the Nordfjord 

 and the Voldenfjord. There are three seasons for this 

 fishery — spring, summer, and winter, of which the last 

 is the most important ; and there are two distinct 

 varieties of herrings fished on the Norwegian coast : the 

 ordinary herring and the large herring, called storsild, 

 which is only found in the extreme north. 



The cod and herring fisheries are the ones which are 

 chiefly made for foreign exportation, and are distin- 

 guished as the great fisheries of the country. Beside 

 these there are the fisheries for home consumption, of 

 which the chief are mackerel and haddock. 



The salmon fishery stands somewhat apart now that 

 it is so much sought by English (and in a less degree 

 by Americans), who occupy almost all the salmon rivers 

 of the country. The capital which the pursuit of this 

 sport incidentally brings into Norway must be very 

 great. The immediate yield, since the rivers have been 

 more carefully preserved, has been sensibly diminished. 

 Till within comparatively recent years tliere seemed a 

 danger that the salmon would become extinct in 

 Norwegian waters, so reckless was the way in which 

 the fish were netted. And further restrictions are still 

 required on this practice if the breed is to be kept up. 



2. Agriculture was the industry Norway developed 

 next after fishing ; and its earliest developments were, so 



