24 HABITS AND APPEARANCE IN THE SEA 



tent, during the summer, appearances of whales, and por- 

 poises, and birds that prey on the herring, which afford 

 indications to the fishermen where the greatest abundance 

 of herrings are ; and one fisherman, who was lately fishing 

 ofi" Stornoway, informs us that, while the other boats were 

 unsuccessful, the appearance of a whale at a certain dis- 

 tance induced him to cast his nets near the whale, when 

 he was very successful, having taken forty-eight crans, or 

 barrels, of very superior herrings, while the other boats 

 obtained only small quantities. In the beginning of the 

 fishing ofi" Dunbar, if there is no appearance of herrings, 

 the fishermen, knowing that the gannet feeds on herrings, 

 watch this bird, and procure it by shooting or other- 

 wise, and then examine the stomach, and if they find 

 herrings in it, they are able to judge of the position of 

 the shoals ; and by opening the stomach of the cod they 

 have discovered shoals of herrings which had left the 

 fishing-ground where they had been previously fishing, 

 and obtain, as they have done in this season while we 

 write, a large additional supply of herrings. 



During the day the shoals are sometimes observable 

 near the surface, and may be seen playing on the water, 

 as the fishermen call it, " making a ripple," a dark rough- 

 ness similar to what we may see at the beginning of a 

 slight breeze, and this is sometimes observable without 

 the appearance of either whales or birds. The passing- 

 near or over them, of a boat or ship, makes them instantly 

 dart off in every direction, leaving the appearance of long 

 trains of light, if at night. We have been informed by 

 two of the most intelligent fishermen of Newhaven, that 

 the herrings take considerable fiights out of tlie sea. Ofi' 

 Stonehaven, in the month of September, one of these men 

 saw a shoal, after the spawning season, rise up out of the 



