150 REPORT — 1861. 



those caug-ht in Locli Fyne are not so extremely fat or oily as the early Thurso 

 herrings, and the herrings of Loch Fyne are superior in quality to those of the east 

 coast. Again, there is a marked difference in appearance and quality (and this is 

 easily distinguished hy those accustomed to see them) between those caught near 

 Caithness and Morayshire, (tnd those caught off Aberdeenshire and Berwickshire. 

 The quality of the Danish and Baltic herrings is inferior to the Moray Firth and 

 West Highland henings ; and those caught on the coast of Holland ai-e so inferior 

 as not to be pickled at all by the Dutch. The Yarmouth henings are inferior in 

 some respects to those of the north of Scotland ; and the herrings got on the French 

 coasts are also of inferior quality. 



3. As to the time of appearance, we find much to prove that the heri'ings .are 

 natives of the seas adjoinmg the coasts on which they spawn. As a few instances, 

 it may be stated as well known that herrings are caught in Loch Fjiie before any 

 are caught near Cape Wrath, and off Berwickshire and Aberdeenshire by the 

 Dutch before any are caught off Caithness ; and even off Yarmouth herrings' have 

 been caught in May. We find they are not generally caught on the Atlantic side 

 so early as on the east coast of Scotland ; and the various times of their approaching 

 the coasts of the Baltic, as already stated, prove the fixity of then- places of resort. 



4. No well-authenticated instance has been given of the herrings having been 

 seen approaching the south in a high northern latitude. Indeed, although we have 

 conversed with intelligent masters of the Dutch herring-busses, we could not find 

 any one who ever saw any considerable shoal in the northern part of their fishing- 

 gTounds ; none of the seamen of om- Greenland whale-ships ever saw any of those 

 shoals of the magnitude so fabidously described proceeding southwards ; and 

 Scoresby, who is of high authority on such a question, made the same statement 

 to ourselves, namely, that he had not, in his many voyages, ever seen any shoals 

 of herrings proceeding southwards. 



5. No shoals of hei-rings have ever been ascertained to exist in the Greenland 

 seas, and no hemngs have ever been found in the stomachs of the whales caught 

 there. The food of the Balcvna mysticetus, or common whale, consists of Actiuiffi, 

 Sepia3, Medusse, Cancri, and Helices. The Nanchal inhabits the seas near Spitz- 

 bergen ; but only remains of Sepite were found in the stomachs of several examined 

 by Scoresby. The Tricheais rosmarus (walrus or sea-horse) inhabits the icy seas 

 adjacent to Spitzbergen; in the stomachs of those examined, only shrimps, craw- 

 fish, and youn^ seals were foimd. Of other marine animals examined by him, 

 Scoresby says the Alca arctica (auk or puffin ) feeds principally upon shrimps" and a 

 small species of IIcUx ; of the Alca alca (little aiilv), that it also feeds on shrimps ; 

 of the Colymbus Gylde (Guillemot), it feeds on shrimps and small fishes ; of the 

 Squalus horcalis (Greenland shark) he says, " A fish resembling a whiting was found 

 in the stomach of one that I killed." Captain I'hipps only caught the Cycloptcris 

 vipcrus (sucker) and the Gaclus carhonarius (coal-fish), and no henings, when 

 fishing near Spitzbergen. Moreover, Scoresby, in his list of " Fishes foimd in the 

 Arctic Regions," does not include hen-ings (Arctic Regions, vol. i. p. 540). Egcde, 

 who resided fifteen years in Greenland, after enumerating various kinds of fish 

 caught there, says, " No hemngs are to be seen " (Natural History of Greenland). 



6. We find that those species of whales that feed principally on herrings frequent 

 our own shores and those of Noi-way. Scoresby says of the Balcena muscxdus, 

 '' This species of whale frequents the coasts of Scotland, Ireland, Norway, &c., and 

 is said principally to teed on hemngs " (Voyages, vol. i. p. 482) ; and the Balcetta 

 rostrata inhabits principally the Noi-wegian seas. 



7. Bloch, the celebrated natm-alist (with whom Lacepede in this particidar state- 

 ment coincides), has established that fishes of a similar size, even in fresh water, 

 could not make, fi-om spring till autiunn, the long voyage attributed to the herring. 



8. The same natm-alist fm-ther states that " herrings may be fomid in certain 

 localities aU the year through," and this coincides with the opinion of the expe- 

 rienced fishermen at Loch Fyne and other places ; and it is well ascertained that 

 herrino-s, either young or old, may be caught in the Forth any month in the year. 



9. The herrings mentioned as coming from the north are never kno-\vn to retmn, 

 or even to proceed southward, but when proceeding to some coast for the purpose 

 of spawning. 



10. And we may ask why, in some cases, the smallest liemngs proceed to the 



