324 PEOSE HALIEUTICS. 



of June, nor after, the first of January ; nor, during the 

 fishery, when the herring is in its prime, to make use of 

 any nets but such as are of the size of mesh regulated 

 and fixed by government : and that they will adopt every 

 precaution to secure to the Dutch herring the pre-emi- 

 nence it has always enjoyed.* 



The herrings taken differ very much in goodness even 

 in the same haul, and beiug carefully sorted, are rubbed 

 with finer or coarser salt according to their merits.-f The 

 salt,, which is procured from Spain, is first dissolved to 

 get rid of impurities, and the solution subsequently 

 evaporated in the sun ; the crystals thus obtained are of 

 different sizes : the prime fish are treated with 'gros sel,' 

 and the inferior with ' petit sel ;' and the greatest care is 

 taken never to mix the two together. The dimensions 

 of every pickling cask, and the seasoning also of the 

 wood, are under strict surveillance; and a man would 

 be held a traitor to his country who should put one poor 

 fish in a barrel devoted to the superior kind, or disobey 

 in the minutest particular a beneficent code of laws, 

 framed alike for the advantage of himself and of the world 

 at large ; a big ofiicial seal stamped upon each barrel 

 coronat opus, and vouches to the public that no precaution 



* Some people prefer the Norwegian lierring, from the pecu- 

 liar flavour imparted to them by the pine-caska m which they are 

 packed. 



t Our Norfolk and Suffolk fishermen make a sixfold division 

 of those taken. The pick of the whole are, — 1st, Harengus pin- 

 guis, the fattest and finest ; 2nd, the H. camosus, or meat her- 

 ring, less fat, hut equal in size to the last ; 3rd, H. nocturnus, 

 night herring, of a medium size, neither fat nor very meaty ; 

 4th, H. ruptus — pluck — those hurt in the net, and either burst or 

 bruised before, coming to hand ; 5th, H. vacuus, a shotten her- 

 ring, lean from recent confinement ; and 6th, H. acephalus, which 

 has left its head at the other side of the net, ' to teU the cruel 

 death it died.' 



