THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING. 13 



and " our fishermen do not go far north, to Orkney and 

 Shetland, to meet the shoals." The herring fishery off 

 Orkney and Shetland is confined to the local boats, as far 

 as Scotland is concerned, and the herrings are certainly 

 larger ; but unquestionably they are the reverse of being 

 " fatter and richer" than the herrings of the localities 

 further south, particularly on the west coast. He then 

 says, " the greatest number are taken on the coasts of 

 Norway and Sweden, in the first of which countries it is 

 said that about 400 millions are taken in one year, and 

 sometimes 20 millions in a single fishery." " The in- 

 habitants in the neighbourhood of Gothenburg, in Sweden, 

 take as many as 700 millions in a year." These state- 

 ments are erroneous. The greatest number of herrings 

 is taken on the coasts of Scotland, and generally exceeds 

 the number taken in Norway \. and so far from the in- 

 habitants in the neighbourhood of Gothenburg, in Sweden, 

 taking " 700 millions in a year," lately or at present, there 

 has actually been no herring fishery to any extent there 

 since 1808 ; and, indeed, there are now hardly any caught 

 on the whole coast of Sweden. Seven hundred millions 

 are about one million barrels of herrings ! We know 

 that the herrings forsook the coasts of Sweden fifty years 

 since, and yet here is a work of undoubted pre-eminence 

 telling us that one million of barrels of herrings are 

 annually fished near Gothenburg at present, while no 

 fishery exists in that locality to any extent ! This account 

 has been given with every new edition of this work, 

 which is admittedly of the very highest authority. 



