FOOD OF THE HERRING. 49 



the milt and roe were full grown had none. Again, 

 on the 9 til of July of another year, we examined several 

 herrings fished some miles from the shore off Dunbar ; 

 the herrings had the milt and roe small, and many had 

 their stomachs full of young sand-eels of two or three 

 inches in length. In another year, on the 2d September, 

 we again examined several herrings from off Dunbar, the 

 milt and roe being large in some, while others were 

 spawned, and in the stomachs of these were portions of 

 the spawned milt and roe. About the end of May, on 

 another occasion, an enterprising fish-curer there, wishing 

 to get herrings early to the Hamburg mavket, sent boats 

 with rods and fly hooks to a distance of about a mile and a 

 half from the shore, where, in the course of an hour, the 

 crew of each boat got from 300 to 500 herrings ; there 

 were twenty-seven hooks on each line, and there were 

 generally seventeen or eighteen herrings on the hooks 

 each dip. One year, in the end of May, two or three 

 young lads at Banff caught each upwards of six dozen 

 of herrings in a few hours with fishing-rods and fly -hooks ; 

 the herrings were of good size, and of the usual kind. On 

 the 21st July, some years since, some Fifeshire boats tried 

 the fishing about one mile to the westward of the Island 

 of May, with plain clear white-tinned hooks. They soon got 

 about 500 herrings into each boat. At the same time 

 one boat tried with six nets, and fished 3000 herrings. 

 From May to July, some years since, there was a very 

 considerable take of herrings in the Moray Firth by 

 means of the fly, and also with clear unbaited hooks. 

 One year, on the 9th May, the herring-fishing commenced 

 in this way at Eyemouth and the adjoining coast, and 

 was very successful. Several boats went off immediately 

 after sunset with lines and hooks unbaited, and in the 



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