4G2 



VEIITEBIIATA. 



i.n..rmoiis nrv tlio cn.w.ls ..f fish whi.-li thus, iiuiinatcd by a common impulse, swim tofretlier in 

 tho saiiu- .lirf.-ti..n, that the M-a C.-r miles exhihits a silvery appearance, from the glittering of 

 their brilliant Koalcs. The priu.-ipal seat of the herring-fishery of Great Britain is at Yarmouth, 

 but it is earned on at many otlier jx.iiits along the coast. AVhole fleets are engaged in this 

 business durin:; the season. It appears that about four hundred thousand barrels are annually 

 taken an«l cured; if we allow one thousand to a barrel, we shall have four hundred millions of 

 herrings amuially taken by the British fishermen. The American herring-fisheries* are chiefly car- 

 rie.l on along the New England coasts, and those of the British provinces. They are of very 

 .rreat evtcnt, though less than those of Great Britain. Herrings are commonly taken at night 



by torch-light. 



" r>esidi's the preceding, there arc several otlier species of Herring, some of which are common 

 on our coa.st. Among them is the Brit, C. minima, one to four inches long, at some seasons 

 jq>pcarini,' in incredible numbers on the coast of Massachusetts, 



The riLcuAKD, C. pilchardtis, is eight to eleven inches long; it resembles the herring, but is 



smaller, and at the same time thicker. It 

 is common on the European coasts, and 

 is taken in immense numbers by the 

 British. Though less valued than the 

 i-^ herring, they are still always in request, 

 especially for shipment to Spain and 

 the Mediterranean. They are taken 

 more or less at all seasons, but the 

 proper fishing-season begins in August 

 and continues till November. They are caught by drift-nets and seines, and chiefly at night. 

 The skill and enterprise displayed by the fishermen in this, as well, indeed, as in all other large 

 fisheries, may well excite admiration. No less than ten thousand persons are engaged in the 

 pilchard fisheries of Great Britain ; the cost of the boats, drift-nets, seines, &c., is two millions of 

 dollars ; a seine and its outfit cost two thousand dollars. Ten thousand hogsheads, containing 

 twentv-five millions of pilchards, have been landed at one port in a single day ! Sixty millions 



is supposed to be abojit the average number 

 annually taken in Great Britain. 



The Sprat, C. sprattus, is six inches long, 

 >■■ ya--- .vi.w->-,'.'.',-v, m>:i.'.- -^-»' '^«^g^ ''i'"! inferior to the herring in flavor; still im- 

 mense numbers of it are taken along the Eu- 

 ropean coasts. The fishing for them contin- 

 ues through the winter months, and four hun- 

 dred British boats are engaged in it. Sometimes the sprats are so abundant as to be used for 

 manuring land, and they have often been sold as low as sixpence a bushel. 



The Whitebait, C. alha, is a small fish abundant in the River Thames, and greatly valued by 

 the epicures of London. It is a common practice among the citizens of that metropolis, com- 



TUE riLCUARD. 



THE SPRAT. 



* The following statistics in relation to our American fisheries are extracted from the United States census for 1850 : 



C.ipital Annual 



employed. product. 



Connecticut §;1,9SH,S00 §1,7S4,4S3 



Maine 406,910 5G9,876 



Massachusetts 5,.582,650 6,606,849 



New York 482,100 484,345 



North Carolina 235,115 250,025 



The interests of the other states in fisheries are comparatively trifling. The whole investment of the United 

 States in fisheries is set down at §8,966,044 ; the annual product, §10,000,182. The number of " white fish," that is, 

 menhaden, ic, ic, taken by Connecticut in a year is 36,946,000; of shad, 243,448 barrels ; and of other fish, 825 bar- 

 rels ; 70,057 barrels whale oil, 3,240 barrels of sperm oil, and 271 tons of bone. Maine takes in a year, 173,094 quintals 

 codfish; 29,685 boxes herring; 12,651 barrels mackerel; and 2,156 barrels of oil. Massachusetts takes 215,270 quin- 

 tals codfish ; 236,463 barrels mackerel ; 1,250 barrels herring ; 187,157 barrels oil and bone. New York takes 

 25,285,000 fish of various kinds. The whole number of vessels engaged in the fisheries is 547. Z' 



