DUTCH REGULATIONS 103 



fishery was regularised by the Government of 

 Holland ; its orders were carried into effect by 

 its own special officers. The fishing was allowed 

 to start at five minutes past twelve on the night 

 of June 24th ; regulations provided that every 

 master of every vessel leaving Holland should 

 take an oath that he would respect the orders. 

 Even the species of salt for the curing of differ- 

 ent kinds of herrings was, like the size of the 

 barrels, the size and thickness of the staves, 

 the gutting and the packing of the fish, and the 

 branding of the barrels, defined by law, the 

 intention of these regulations, which were not 

 entirely successful, being to preserve the high 

 repute in which herring cured and sold by the 

 Dutch were deservedly held. 



In the Dutch law of 1519, the use of Lisboa 

 salt was not permitted, although in later years 

 only Spanish and Portugal salt were admissible. 

 The refined salt to be used for the purpose 

 was described as " salt sodden from salt " 

 or '* moor salt " ; it passed out of use, hpwever, 

 towards the end of the century, and is not even 

 mentioned in the Herring Fishery Laws of 

 1580. It was a valuable native industry ; the 

 salt was made from a briny turf called darinck 

 found in the alluvial ground at the mouths of 

 some of the Dutch rivers, especially near 

 Zierik-zee. This turf, which was covered at 

 every tide by the sea water, was dried and 

 burnt, and its ashes, when moistened with sea 

 water, produced a fine grey salt. 



