THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING. 3 



were ordered to proceed to the fishery at erroneous periods, 

 namely, " to rendezvous at Campbelton, on the west coast, 

 on or before the 1st of September, and to continue fish- 

 ing to the 31st December." The dates for this fishery 

 ought to have been on or before the 1st of June, and to 

 the 30th September. Another Act w^as passed in 1753, 

 the Act 26 G-eorge II. cap. 9, whereby it was enacted, 

 that to entitle the busses to the Government bounty, 

 they were to rendezvous at Kirkwall on or before the 

 12th September, and to continue fishing to the 1st Janu- 

 ary ; while the dates, to enable the fishermen to fish 

 herrings when they were on the coasts, should have been 

 to rendezvous at Kirkwall on or before the 12th June, 

 and to continue fishing till 1st October. This system of 

 error continued for a long period, and it was only after the 

 establishment of the Fishery Board, consisting of a body of 

 unpaid commissioners, who fortunately were, and whose 

 successors also were, intelligent and patriotic men of high 

 standing, that a fishery, till then of little importance, has 

 become one of the greatest, if not the greatest, and most 

 prosperous in the world. The whole system, carefully 

 and economically managed by the Board and its officials 

 and local officers, combined with judicious legislation and 

 arrangement, has insured that efficiency and success which 

 entitles it to be characterised as much superior to any 

 similar existing institution either at home or abroad. 



The great importance of the natural history of the her- 

 ring is attracting at the present time the attention of 

 several of the principal maritime nations. We may men- 

 tion, to prove this, that an interesting discussion took 

 place at the French Academy in 1865, on the question of 

 the migration of the herring, but with no satisfactory or 

 elucidating result, from the want of knowledge of facts. 



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