The TOtfHC HAT8BAMST: 



A Monthly Magazine of Natural History. 



Part 82. 



OCTOBER, 1886. 



Vol. 7. 



THE HERRING. 



By J. OSBORNE. 



IN the last volume of the Young Naturalist (Vol. VI. p. 65), I gave an 

 account of the Herring and the Herring Fishery. Since that appeared, I 

 have had an opportunity of perusing a volume of essays printed in connection 

 with the International Fisheries Exhibtion, held at Edinburgh during April, 

 1882. In this volume several of the essays have references to the subject of 

 my paper, and as one of the statements made by me does not appear to be 

 in harmony with the facts, I have thought it well to return to the subject, 

 and endeavour to correct my error. On page 66 I said "The 1 sprat' or 

 ' herring-sprat ' was believed to be a different fish from the herring," and the 

 remainder of the paragraph was written on the assumption that this was 

 not so, but that they were the same species. Mr. George Sim, in his essay, 

 " The Natural History of the Herring/'' begins by examining the relationship 

 between the two fish. He says — 



" The idea that the sprat, Clupea sprattus, was the young of the herring, Clupea harengus, 

 was held by Willoughby, who was supported by Fleming, and others who followed him ; 

 and amongst the first who controverted this view was Block, and Rutty in his " Natural 

 History of Dublin. From this time downwards, opinion seems to have been divided on 

 the subject ; latterly, however, it would appear as if the idea of the sprat being the 

 young of the herring had been given up as untenable ; for most authors on Ichthyology, 

 whose works appeared through the early portion of the present century, set the sprat 

 down as a distinct species. Of late, however, the question has again been opened, and 

 some strong opinions have been expressed to prove their being one and the same, and 

 several furious paper wars have been fought over it. 



" Amongst such writers may be mentioned James G. Bertram, who, in his " Harvest 

 of the Sea " (1865), page 239, says 1 It is generally known that the sprat (Clupea sprattus) 

 is a most abundant fish, so plentiful as to have been used at times for manure. The 

 Fact of its great abundance has induced a belief that it is not a distinct species of fish, 

 Dut is, in reality, the young of the herring. It is true that many distinguishing marks 

 ire pointed out as belonging to the sprat — such as the serrated belly, the relative 

 Dosition of the fins, &c. But there remains, on the other side, the very striking fact 

 )f the sprat being rarely found with either milt or roe After the nonsense which 



