OTJE VARIOUS FISHERIES. 51 



possession of reliable annual statistics of the fisheries of New- 

 foundland, but there are so many conflicting interests connected 

 with these fisheries as to render it difBcult to obtain accurate 

 statistics. 



It is pleasant to think that the seas of Britain are at the 

 present time crowded with many thousand boats, all gleaning 

 wealth from the bosom of the waters. As one particular branch 

 of sea industry becomes exhausted for the season, another one 

 begins. In spring we have our white fisheries ; in summer we 

 have our mackerel ; in autumn we have the great herring-fishery ; 

 then in winter we deal in pUchards and sprats and oysters ; and 

 all the year round we trawl for flat fish or set pots for lobsters, 

 or do some other work of the fishing — ^in fact, we are continually, 

 day by day, despoiling the waters of their food treasures. When 

 we exhaust the inshore fisheries we proceed straightway to the 

 deep waters. Hale and strong fishermen saU hundreds of miles 

 to the white-fishing grounds, whilst old men potter about the 

 shore, setting nets with which to catch crabs, or ploughing the 

 sand for prawns. At difierent places we can note the specialties 

 of the British fisheries. In Caithness-shire we can follow the 

 greatest herring-fleet in the world ; at Cornwall, again, we can 

 view the pilchard-fishery ;' at Barking we can see the cod-fleet ; 

 at Hull there is a wealth of trawlers ; at Whitstable we can 

 make acquaintance with the oyster-dredgers ; and at the quaint 

 fishing-ports on the Moray Firth, we can witness the manu- 

 facture of " Finnan baddies," as at Yarmouth we can take part 

 in the making of bloaters ; and all round our coasts we can see 

 women and children industriously gathering sheU-fish for bait, 

 or performing other functions connected with the industry of 

 the sea — ^repairing nets, baiting the lines, or hawking the fish, 

 for fisherwomen are true helpmates to their husbands. At 

 certain seasons everything that can, float in the water is called 

 into requisition — -little cobles, gigantic yawls, trig schooners, 

 are all required to aid in the gathering of the sea harvest. 

 Thousands of people are employed in this great industry; 

 betokening that a vast population have chosen to seek bread 

 on the bosom of the great deep. 



Crossing the Channel, we may note that the general sea 

 fisheries of France are also being prosecuted with great vigour, 

 and at those places which havg railways to bear away the pro- 

 duce with considerable profit. All kinds of fish are caught on 

 the French coasts with much assiduity, and the coast-line of that 



