19^ HAKE. Class IV. 



to Bilhoa. * We are at this time uninformed of 

 the ftate of this filhery, but find that Mr. ^mith^ 

 who wrote the hiftory of the county of Waterford^ 

 complains even in his time (1746) of its decline. 

 Many of the gregarious fifli are fubje6t to change 

 their fituations, and delert their haunts for num- 

 bers of years, and then return again. We fee, 

 p. 102, how unfettied the B a/king Shark appears to 

 be: Mr. Smith inftances the lofs of the Hadock on 

 the Waterford fnores, where they ufed to fvvarm \ 

 and to our knowlege we can bring the capriciouf- 

 nefs of the herrings, which fo frequently quit their 

 flations, as another example. 



Sometimes the irregular migration of filh is 

 owing to their being followed and harafied by an 

 unufual number of iiih of prey, fuch as the fhark 

 kind. 



Sometimes to deficiency of the fmaller fifh, which 

 ferved them as food. 



And laftly, in many places to the cuftom of 

 trawling, which not only demolifhes a quantity of 

 their fpawn, which is depofited in the fand, but 

 alfo deftroys or drives into deeper waters number- 

 lefs worms and infedts, the repaft of many fifh. 



The hake is in England eileemed a very coarfe 

 fifh, and is feldom admitted to table either freih or 

 faked f. 



* Smith's Hiji, Waterford, 261. 

 f When cured it is known by the name oi Poor John, 



The 



