THE BRITISH FISH TRADE. . 35 



herrings. A barrel of full herrings contains 700 to 750 fish. 

 As, however, a certain proportion of herrings is unsuitable 

 for the curer, probably one cran of herrings must be caught 

 for every barrel of herrings that is cured. In other words, 

 about 1,000,000,000 herrings must be annually caught in 

 Scotland for the purposes of the curer. Assuming that only 

 one herring is sold fresh in Scotland for every four that are 

 cured, the surprising number of 1,250,000,000 of herrings 

 must be annually taken in Scotland. In Ireland and the 

 Isle of Man herrings are measured by the mease, which 

 contains 525 fish ; and the Irish fishery, according to the Irish 

 Inspectors, produces from about 50,000 to about 200,000 

 mease a year, or from about 25,000,000 to about 100,000,000 

 fish a year. In England, herrings are usually sold by the 

 last, each last nominally containing 10,000, but in reality 

 13,200 fish.* It is impossible to give any accurate statistics 

 of the yield of the English Herring Fishery. But it will, 

 perhaps, be reasonable to assume that its produce is half as 

 great as that of the Scotch fishery. In other words, that it 

 yields 600,000,000 or 625,000,000 of fish a year. It is 

 probable, therefore, that British fishermen draw nearly 

 2,000,000,000 herrings annually from the British seas. The 

 value of these fish, placing them at a farthing apiece, must 

 exceed ^^ 2,000,000. 



From a naturalist's point of view, sprats, or "garvies," 

 as they are called in Scotland, are closely connected with 

 herrings. They are caught in enormous quantities in the 

 estuary of the Thames and in the estuaries of eastern 

 Scotland. It is said that as much as 200 tons of these fish 



* The Last, a German word, is computed in this way : — 

 4 herrings = i warp. 

 33 warps = I hundred. 

 10 hundred ~ i thousand. 



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