306 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 



and we believe that it was found impossible to get such 

 queries answered by fishermen, who had other duties. 



1857-8. — In the latter part of the year 1857 and be- 

 ginning of 1858, the herring-fishery was very successful 

 at Lochbroom ; it began about the middle of October, at 

 Isle Martin, about ten miles above the entrance to the 

 loch, and continued, with tolerable success, until the 17th 

 November, when the fishing became so abundant that every 

 boat was filled; and there were about 300 boats employed, 

 besides a number of larger boats having small boats em- 

 ployed in fishing and bringing the herrings on board. 

 The shoal of herrings on the 24th November moved 

 higher up to Letters, at the top of the loch, which is 

 about twelve miles above Isle Martin, and the fishing 

 continued to be successful there until the 16th December. 

 After the 16th December, large shoals appeared again at 

 Isle Martin, which continued until the 29th December. 

 In that neighbourhood the herrings were on this occasion 

 so abundant that some boats got 60 crans in their drift 

 or set of nets by three or four o'clock a.m. ; and the boats 

 being generally small at this fishing, some of them had to 

 return four or five times to empty their nets left in the 

 water. The size of the herrings was about Class 10, 

 but on the 10th of January 1858, and for a few nights 

 thereafter, some boats caught considerable quantities of 

 the small or native herrings, but this shoal had also a 

 considerable portion of large full herrings, of a size equal 

 to Class 6, or 600 to a barrel. The small herrings dis- 

 appeared this year, as they generally do, about the begin- 

 ning of the year, and were succeeded by the large herrings, 

 which were fished in considerable quantities, until the 

 beginning of February ; and on the 6th February, each boat 

 fished aliout 20 crans. 



