28 HABITS AND APPEARANCE IN THE SEA 



the boats to sea in winter and summer, namely, that 

 during the night the position of the herring in the water, 

 \J or its distance from the surface, is much connected 

 with the lightness and darkness of the night, and with 

 the coldness and warmth of the atmosphere. In dark 

 nights, and in mild weather, the herring swims nearest 

 the surface ; in moonlight, and in cold weather, it swims 

 nearest the bottom. The experienced fisherman well 

 knows and acts upon these facts ; for, when the nights 

 are dark or the weather mild, and the depth of the sea 

 twelve or fourteen fathoms, the length of the buoy-rope, 

 or the distance of the net from the surface of the sea, is 

 only one to two fathoms ; while in moonlight, or in 

 frosty weather, the fisherman lets down the net from 

 three to five fathoms, and finds that the greatest quantity 

 of herrings are near the ground, to which the nets are 

 allowed to descend ; and it is known that the boats which 

 proceed to fish the early herrings about twenty miles off 

 Yarmouth, in May and June, have the top of the nets in 

 dark nights nearly level with the surface of the water, as 

 the surest method of taking the greatest quantity of her- 

 rings. It is also of importance to state, that the efi'ects 

 of winds seem to be very considerable on the visits of 

 the herring, particularly in the winter. We have found 

 it almost invariably to be the case "in that season that the 

 herring comes nearer our shores, and in greater abund- 

 ance, when the wind blows for any length of time towards 

 the coasts : for instance, if the wind in winter blows for 

 some time from the west, the herrings are generally more 

 abundant on the west coast than on the east coast, and 

 vice versa. 



The male herring has two milts of an oblong shape 

 and whitish colour ; and the female has two roes, which 



