[9] THE GREAT HERRING FISHERIES. 349 



Dutch herring. New methods have also been invented of smoking 

 herring, so as to impart to them a finer flavor, and the smoking can be 

 adapted to the demand of the consumers, thus enabling the herring 

 dealers to get a better price for their goods. People have also begun 

 to use cotton thread for manufacturing nets, and in consequence smaller 

 and lighter vessels can be used, which will carry the same number of 

 or even more nets of the same size as the old and heavy hemp nets. 



The well-known Skania-German herring-fisheries, which were so im- 

 portant during the Middle Ages, originated in the same way as the 

 Dutch herring-fisheries, although the Germans aimed more exclusively 

 at controlling the trade. It is well known that in those days large num- 

 bers of German merchants visited Skanor and Falsterbo, where many 

 people were wont to congregate, and where a good deal of business was 

 done outside of the herring-fisheries. These were probably the portions 

 of our trade which the Germans desired to control more particularly ; 

 and the name " herring fair " was therefore given to the great market 

 which was held in Skanor and Falsterbo. The needs of a laborer 

 in those days were not great, and a comparatively large number of 

 people could make a living even by small fisheries. People in those 

 days lived in such a miserable way that our fishermen would be horri- 

 fied if they were compelled to live in such a manner. 



It is well known that there are several different ways of carrying on 

 the herring-fisheries as to their economic value. These methods of 

 fishing are either adapted to the prevailing economic condition or to the 

 natural conditions of the locality where the fisheries are carried on. It 

 is evident that if the greatest possible advantage is to be derived from 

 the fish visiting the coast, many different methods of fishing should be 

 employed, so as to insure the best results under all circumstances. 



The apparatus, as a general rule, employed in the herring-fisheries 

 are nets and seines. With the nets the fish are caught by rushing 

 against the net and sticking in its meshes, while in the seine fisheries a 

 school of fish is surrounded and the fish are drawn on shore alive, or the 

 seine is, especially in the open sea, stretched underneath the school, so 

 the fish are, so to speak, caught in a large bag. If we view these 

 methods of fishing from an economic point of view, we will soon find 

 that the greater the number of different ways in which an apparatus can 

 be employed the better it will be. Thus, it is better if with one and the 

 same kind of net both mackerel and herring can be caught than if only 

 one kind of fish can be caught with it. It is also an advantage if one 

 and the same net will catch fish of different size, and if it can be used 

 in many different waters, so that it is possible to use it near the coast 

 and at some distance from it. It is also evident that the aj)paratus 

 which can be used in different depths is better than that which can 

 only be used in one certain depth. It must, therefore, be considered 

 a step forward in the fishing trade when nets were constructed in such 

 a manner that they could be let down to a considerable depth, instead 



