ENGLISH FISHERIES. 137 



Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth next claim our -atten- 

 tion, the latter especially, as it it still famous for its 

 herring fishery, which has been carried on annually in 

 its regular season for at least 700 years. Lowestoft 

 has taken rank as a fishing station, only since the rail- 

 way was brought to the town and the harbour was 

 constructed; and these advantages were not obtained 

 until within, comparatively speaking, the last few 

 years. The following statistics will show how rapid 

 has been the growth of the Lowestoft fisheries, con- 

 sisting of drifting for herrings and mackerel, and 

 trawling. In 1854 there were 32 fishing boats belong- 

 ing to the place; in 1863 they had increased to 174, 

 of which eight were deep-sea trawlers ; in 1872, the 

 number of first-class boats, including the larger drift- 

 boats and trawlers, was 269, averaging 27 tons ; and 

 besides these, there were 258 drift and other fishing 

 boats under 15 tons, and ranking in the second and 

 third classes. The last official return is for 1875, and 

 we there find that the first-class boats of all kinds are 

 stated to have been 325, averaging over 30 tons, and 

 274 boats under 15 tons. The increase in the fishing 

 from Lowestoft has therefore been enormous ; and it 

 will appear the more remarkable, when we take into 

 consideration that Lowestoft is only a few miles from 

 Yarmouth, the fisheries are of the same kind from 

 both places, and Yarmouth shows no sign of its fishing 

 boats decreasing. Three distinct herring fisheries are 

 carried on from Lowestoft, and are known as the 

 spring, midsummer, and autumn fisheries. The spring 

 fishing is only of recent date, and very little attention 



