14 THE DUTCH GRAND FISHERY 
As a matter of general practice, the Dutch began fishing 
on St. John’s day (June 24th), ‘‘ near the Shetlands, Fairhill, 
and Buchan Ness,” fishing in these waters till St. James’ 
day (July 25th). From St. James’ to Elevation day (Sep- 
tember 14th), Buchan Ness, or “‘Sevenjot”’ (a place not 
located), was still the herring fishers’ place of resort; in 
the autumn they went towards the south, and till St. Cathe- 
rine’s day (September 25th), fished in the so-called “ deep 
waters ” off Yarmouth.! 
One of the most detailed English accounts of the wealth 
and resources of the Dutch fishings at this time, is that of 
Tobias Gentleman, who, in his Hngland’s Way to win Wealth, 
1614, gives some interesting details of the methods of the 
Dutch. He has the merit of having taken a more sober 
view of the size of the Dutch fishing fleet and the money 
derived from the fishing than some of the earlier pamphleteers, 
such as Raleigh and Hitchcock. His work is also a fair 
sample of the many pamphlets on fisheries which were 
issued during the 17th century. 
He shows that the Hollanders began to make ready their 
busses? about the middle of May, setting sail by the first 
of June with a great fleet composed of vessels of varying 
size; ‘‘Six hundred of these fisher ships and more, are 
great Busses, some six score tons, most of them a hundred 
tons, and the rest three score and fifty tons, the biggest of 
them having four and twenty men, some twenty men, and 
some eighteen and sixteen men apiece, so that there cannot 
be, in this fleet, of people no less than twenty thousand 
sailors.’ He tells how they fill their boats with herrings 
“three times apiece,” before St. Andrew’s (30th November), 
and computes that, selling these at the rate of ten pounds 
1 Beaujon’s Essay, p. 61, quoting from a Dutch pamphlet by Meynert 
Semeyns. 
2“ Buss” or “ Bush ”’—a large fishing boat, usually from 40 to 70 
‘tons. See Appendix. 
