26 



taking everything and throwing nothing back, all the year round. The intro- 



Bailways. duction of railways has increased the consumption and the supply. Fish now 



come from every part of Scotland, whence they never came before. Railways 



Ijave, however, not only increased the supply, but have also dispersed it. The 



GRABS. great towns, which used to be supplied from London, are now supplied direct 



from the coast. Believes that Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, and 



Bradford are well supplied. Is not in favour of a close season, but thinks 



Gauge. that no crab should be taken under 5 inches. The London fish merchants 



would all be glad of this. Had three barrels of light crabs from Portree this 

 morning. They are valueless, because there is little in them ; but they are 



Sof quite wholesome. It would be impossible to carry out a law making it illegal 



to sell light crabs. There are such a few of them that it would not be worth 

 while to do so. It would be impracticable to have a law for putting back the 



Berried. berried crabs. 



LOBSTERS. Can't say whether lobsters have been falling off on our own coasts. Used 



to get a great many Scotch lobsters in London which are now sent to other 



large towns. AVhen the railway was first opened up, they had a large supply 

 of Scotch lobsters; now they are distributed over the whole of the United 

 Kingdom. The market for lobsters is liable to extreme fluctuation. A box 



Price. worth SI. one day, with 60 to 80 lobsters, may next day be worth only 45s. 



Mode of A turn of lobsters may consist of different sized fish. The smallest fish are 



counting. called worst Nancy ; the slightly larger fish, best Nancy. 80 fish : 40 best 



Nancy, and 40 worst Nancy, make a turn. 



The best and worst Nancy are small lobsters, respectively 9f inches in 

 length, and 4h inches in the barrel, or 8 inches in length, and 3§ in barrel. 



A turn may also consist of best doubles. These lobsters are bigger than 

 the best Nancy ; 40 of these make a turn. 



A score and a half of large lobsters also make a turn, which in this case 

 contains 20 good-sized lobsters and 10 bigger still. Forty to fifty years ago 

 he has bought lobsters for from 1/. to 31. a turn. At that time the turns of 

 lobsters were considerably bigger than they are now. A fish put into a score 

 now would have been a "best double " 40 years ago. The baskets are made 

 smaller, tending to deceive the purchasers. Sees no remedy for this. The 

 cause of the cheapness of lobsters then was the great supply from Norway, 

 Sweden, and Heligoland. The Heligoland fishing is now extinct. The 

 Swedish fishing is rapidly becoming so ; and the Norwegian fishing is also 

 falling off; they are destroying the fishery. Does not believe that the Scotch 

 fishing is becoming extinct. Lobsters which used to be 6d. are now Is. and 

 Is. 6d. Very few lobsters are exported from London to France. But lobsters 

 are imported from France to London. Thinks that no lobster should be sold 

 under 8 inches in the body, and 3^ inches in the barrel. Doesn't see, how- 

 ever, how this is to bo carried out. The fishermen would find means for 

 selling them. It would be possible to legislate for Billingsgate and the large 

 markets, as the salesmen would assist to carry out the law; and if the fisher- 

 men found that they were unable to sell them, they would put back the 

 small'lobsters. The Norway merchants, however, sell very small lobsters ; 

 doubts whether their sale can be prohibited here. If they were permitted to 

 sell small lobsters, they would handicap our own countrymen. The Fish- 

 mongers' Company appoint three very practical men to seize unwholesome fish, 

 and these men could properly check the sale of undersized lobsters and crabs. 



There is a difficulty in throwing back the berried hens. They are generally 

 worth twice as much as any other lobsters. The spawm is bruised and put 

 into sauce, and makes better sauce than the lobster itself. In salads it is boiled 

 and sprinkled over the salad. It is a capital article of food. The spawning 

 hens are of value to the cooks, who won't have lobsters without spawn. The 

 sale of berried hens must not be prohibited, as it would be preventing the 

 fishermen taking the most valuable fish. The production of the lobsters is so 

 enormous that, if a gauge were fixed, the taking a few berried hens would make 

 no appreciable difference. Berried hens are in the best possible condition as 



Spawning. food. They form fresh spawn immediately after they have cast their spawn. 



If they have no spawn outside, they are full of the red coral inside. 

 Cannot tell how often a crab sheds its shell. 



If the sale of berried hens were prohibited the fishermen would remove the 

 berries. 



Heligoland. 



Sweden. 



Norway. 



Scotland. 



France. 



Gauge. 



Enforcement 

 of laic. 



Berried. 



