CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 207 



and the Council of the Free British White Herring 

 Fishery." He describes the herring as highly nutritious 

 and medicinal, and " good for food in the plagues." He 

 gives several recipes for cataplasms of herrings as being 

 in use at the time ; and he recommends the oil of her- 

 rings as " of excellent service in cramps and convulsions." 

 He recommends the elixir " ossium halecum" as " excel- 

 lent in febrific cases." His recipe for making this elixir of 

 herring bones is a curiosity, and as such worth quoting ; 

 he says, " Take 10 lbs. of herring bones, dryed and 

 grossly powdered, put them in a retort, lute it, and place 

 it in an open furnace ; give it a degree of fire every tw(^ 

 hours till no fumes are seen in the receiver. Then let all 

 cool, and there will be an oil, a volatile salt, and a pun- 

 gent volatile spirit, which put in a clean retort, and by 

 fire unite together. Then take 8 ounces of this united 

 spirit and put into cucurbit with 2 pounds of rectified 

 spirits of nitre, 1 lb. of diaphoretic antimony, and 4 ounces 

 of volatile salt of tartar ; distil and cohobate so often 

 till it is perfectly united ; then add an ounce of oil of 

 nutmeg, and half an ounce of oil of cinnamon, digest in a 

 matrass ten days, and pour off for use, which keep in a 

 well stopt bottle ; the dose of this is from 4 to 10 drops 

 whenever a high volatile cordial is necessary."* 



The fishery was still found to be less successful than 

 expected ; and the Act 26, Geo. II. cap. 9, 1753, there- 

 fore, permitted the busses toreturn to port, during the fish- 

 ing, to refit and prepare for the Yarmouth fishery. The 

 depth of the nets for this fishery were not to be under five 

 fathoms, and the busses for the east coast of Scotland 

 were permitted to rendezvous at Kirkwall on or before 



*' Dodd on the Herring, p. 105. 



