4 IMPORTANCE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF 



The authorities of the kingdom of Norway have also 

 been occupied for several years past in legislating with 

 the view of promoting the herring fishery on the Nor- 

 wegian coasts ; and we have seen several of their laws 

 and regulations, which prove how far inferior the sys- 

 tem has been in that country as compared with ours. 

 An elaborate printed report, which was prepared by the 

 chief of the Eoyal and Civil Department of Sweden, Von 

 Wright, and printed by order of the King of Sweden, 

 entitled " Handlingar Eorande Sillfisket" (Report on the 

 Herring Fishery of Sweden), endeavouring to give the 

 natural history of the lierring, and to point out the cause 

 of the almost total failure of the herring fishery on the 

 Swedish coasts, was not long since published. 



The Dutch Government is anxiously employed at the 

 present time in obtaining every information on the sub- 

 ject, and has requested and authorised the Royal Meteoro- 

 logical Society of that kingdom to obtain observations and 

 statistics as to the habitat and natural history of the 

 herring ; and under one of their scientific naval officers, 

 tabular reports of the results of the observations made on 

 board of forty-five Dutch herring busses, are given in a 

 work published by authority of the Dutch Government, 

 and which has been considered of such importance that 

 the British Lords of the Privy Council for Trade have 

 ordered a translation of it to be made, and printed for 

 general information. 



And thus, determined to promote or improve the herring 

 fishery of Holland, which had fallen off to a great extent, 

 the Dutch Government has, within these few months, 

 relaxed and altered the old fishery laws, and established 

 a Fishery Board, modelled on the plan of the British 

 Fishery Board, knowing, no doubt, the great good done 



