CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 235 



necessary funds from the neighbouring proprietors, and 

 in some cases from the hard earned gains of the fishermen 

 resident at such places. 



As some doubts were raised whether the Act 5 Geo. IV., 

 c. 64, passed on the 17th June 1824, affected the applica- 

 tion of some parts of the Acts previously passed, a new 

 Act was passed on the 16th July 1830, 1 Will. IV., c. 54, 

 explaining in how far previous Acts were to be applied, 

 and enacting that old barrels bearing an old official 

 brand shall not be again used for holding " any herrings 

 or other fish," under the penalty of forfeiture of the bar- 

 rels and fish contained in them ; but that the laws and 

 regulations applicable to the branding of barrels contain- 

 ing herrings should continue in full force. And a truly 

 Irish clause in the Act is worth referring to, to show why 

 the Irish fisheries were retarded, or not promoted, — namely, 

 clause sixth enacts that the powers conferred on the "Com- 

 missioners of the Irish Fisheries" should be transferred to 

 the " Director or Directors of Inland (!) Navigation." The 

 wisdom of this change, and the fitness of " a director or 

 directors of inland navigation,"may be very well questioned. 



The subject of the food of the herring was at this time 

 brought under the notice of the scientific world by Dr 

 Knox, who read a paper at the meeting of the Eoyal 

 Society, Edinburgh, on the 21st January 1833 ; but al- 

 though much ability was displayed, — as may be seen in 

 the essay published in the " Transactions of the Eoyal 

 Society," vol. xii. p. 503, 1833, — his assertion, that " the 

 herring lives on minute entomostraca or testaceous micro- 

 scopic insects," has been found to be erroneous. Con- 

 siderable discussion arose, and the assertion was ably con- 

 troverted in some of the serials about the time of the 

 ](ublication of the elaborate paper by Dr Knox in the 



