ENGLISH FISHERIES. 129 



think the number of boats registered in London is not 

 likely to increase, but, on the contrary, to diminish. 

 When new vessels are built, most of them will be 

 registered from where they fish. There are many 

 large salesmen in London, however, who have still 

 some interest in Barking, and their new vessels will 

 probably be registered in London ; but if the fishing 

 trade should continue to extend as it has during the 

 last few years, we may look for the principal increase 

 at the outports. In 1852, when I succeeded in ob- 

 taining precise information about the London boats, 

 there were 149, of which 110 were trawlers and 39 

 cod-smacks. In 1875 the total number was reduced 

 to 134. But Yarmouth, Grimsby, and Hull, had largely 

 increased during that interval. 



The trawl-fish sent to Billingsgate are forwarded 

 either by rail or water carriage, depending to a great 

 extent on what part of the coast the fish are caught, 

 and also on the facilities afforded by favourable winds 

 for bringing it direct to London. At some of the east 

 coast ports, Grimsby and Hull in particular, the quan- 

 tity of fish landed and sent away by rail has steadily 

 increased. These are the places from which the 

 numerous inland markets are largely supplied; and 

 the smacks belonging there, which usually take such 

 immense numbers of plaice and haddocks, only occa- 

 sionally come up the Thames. London, however, is 

 the great market for soles, and a large proportion of 

 these fish is sent to Billingsgate, many of them to be 

 afterwards forwarded to the country, and not uncom- 

 monly to the port where they were landed. 



