CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 177 



from the rivers that furnish these fish, come every spring 

 and take away immense numbers of them. 



" One of the greatest hauls with a seine that I ever 

 heard of, was made by a fisherman on the Potomac near 

 Dumfries, Va. With one sweep of his long net he en- 

 compassed a school which supplied all applicants. He sold 

 them as long as they would bring a price, and then, after 

 furnishing them to the people of the immediate neighbor- 

 hood without charge, lifted his net and allowed the remain- 

 der of the imprisoned fish to escape. 



" The herring will occasionally take a bait, and on a sun- 

 shiny day in May, when the wind is from the south, will 

 jump at a piece of red flannel tied to a hook. An old 

 Scotch merchant of New York — a superannuated trout- 

 fisher — some years back was in the habit of fishing for 

 them with a fly, from the decks of vessels in the East 

 River." 



