THE BRITISH FISH TRADE. 21 



were wrecked in the Shetlands ; the crews were forced to 

 remain there for many months, and, during their residence, 

 they formed relations with the inhabitants which, after an 

 interval of nearly three centuries, are still maintained by 

 their descendants. About 4,000,000 cod and ling * are 

 annually caught by Scotch fishermen ; the catch produces 

 about 150,000 cwt. of cured fish, and rather more than half, 

 of the whole are exported from Scotland. 



It is impossible to give any exact statistics of the produce 

 of the pilchard fishery, because there is a large and in- 

 creasing consumption of fresh pilchards in Cornwall and 

 the adjoining counties. But a private firm has, for many 

 years, published statistics of the export trade in this fish, 

 which may be relied on with confidence. From these 

 accounts it is evident that the pilchard fishery is one of the 

 most uncertain of the harvests of the sea. Since 1869 the 

 export trade has varied from rather more than 6,000 hogs- 

 heads in 1869 to nearly 46,000 hogsheads in 1870. But 

 the average export trade of pilchards may probably be 

 placed at about 12,000 hogsheads a year, the average value 

 at about ;^ 3 a hogshead. 



The curing of pilchards is not carried on with much 

 care. The fish are piled on the stone floors of the curing- 

 houses in masses five or six feet high, each layer of fish 

 being covered with salt. The "bulk," as it is termed, is 

 left thus piled up for a month. During this period the 

 weight of the mass forces the oil out of the fish, and this 



* The cod fishery of Scotland is probably capable of development. 

 It is insignificant compared with the Norwegian cod fishery. " I was 

 informed by .Mr. Smidt, the Secretary to the Society for the Propa- 

 gation of the Norwegian Fisheries, that the coast of Norway,' from the 

 Lofoten Islands (latitude 68° N.) to Finmark (latitude 71° N.), annually 

 produces 50,000,000 cod fish, but the production in 1877 amounted to 

 70,000,000 cod " (20th Ann. Rep. Insp. Salmon Fisheries, p. 22.) 



