THE HERRING 



CHAPTER I 



Introductory 



A Yarmouth Chanty. 



The &rmer has his rent to pay. 



Haul, you joskins, haul. 

 And seed to buy, I've heard him say. 



Haul, you joskins, haul. 

 But we who plough the North Sea deep, 

 Though never sowing, always reap 

 The harvest which to all is free, 

 And Gorleston Light is home for me. 



Haul, you joskins, haul. 



This old chanty, sung by the East Coast 

 fishermen whose chosen instrument is the 

 accordion which they call a " mewsic," con- 

 veys an economic truth, a reminder that we 

 do not sufficiently avail ourselves of a harvest 

 which can be obtained merely for the gathering. 

 The Homeric phrase " the unharvested sea " 

 is still too true, and that at a time when the 

 problem of the food supply of these islands is 

 more acute than it has been for a century; 

 though, from causes connected with the war, 

 the harvest is less free than usual. " Joskin " 

 is a jesting name used in East Norfolk to 

 describe men who work on the land in summer, 

 and go to sea " a-fishin' " in the autumn and 

 winter. The world knows no braver men than 



