OIL FOR CURRYING LEATHER 139 



the coasts of Sweden, but on the west coasts 

 of Ireland and Scotland, in the words of a 

 writer at the time, " the abundance of these 

 heaven-directed visitors was inconceivably 

 great," Irish fishermen being able to load their 

 boats with a single haul of the nets. Three 

 months of the summer fishing yielded £54 

 per boat, although the price realised by the 

 herring was exceedingly low, about lOd. per 

 1,000 during the month of July ; the weight 

 of 1,000 herring would be over 3 cwts., the 

 weight of two stoutly built men, or more than 

 an average horse can conveniently carry on its 

 back. Millions of fish were boiled down for oil 

 for currying leather, and millions were thrown 

 away. In seven or eight weeks so many herrings 

 were caught in Loch Hourn that if they could 

 have been brought to market, they would, 

 at the ruling price, have realised £56,000. The 

 captures made during these seven or eight 

 weeks were so great that the stock of salt and 

 casks in the district was entirely exhausted, 

 and fishermen gave up catching any more 

 herring in Loch Hourn, as they were apparently 

 ignorant of how to make oil from the herring, 

 or were unable to extract the oil owing to the 

 lack of fuel. The herring fishing in this part of 

 Inverness was carried on with little knowledge 

 and foresight, and, although the lochs were 

 well stored with herring, the fisher-folk were 

 unable in most years to turn their captures 

 to reasonable commercial profit. The loch was 



