176 
Part 111. — Tenth Anmcal Report 
paralleled in the history of the fisheries in any other country. The 
statistics may be grouped as follows : — 
A. MEN AND MATERIEL. 
1. 1809-1891. —Herring busses, 
tonnage, crew, salt, netting, 
&c. 
2. 1821-1890.— Vessels fitted out 
for cod and ling fishery, ton- 
nage, men. 
3. 1825-1891.— Number of fisher- 
men and others employed ; 
number of boats. 
4. 1844-1891.— Tonnage of boats, 
area of netting, length of 
lines; value of boats and gear. 
5. 1855-1891.— Number of 1st, 
2nd, and 3rd class boats. 
6. 1874-1891.— Tonnage of 1st, 
2nd, and 3rd class boats. 
7. 1883-1891.— Number, tonnage, 
and value of beam-trawl 
vessels. 
B. PRODUCT. 
1. 1809-1891.— Barrels of her- 
rings cured, branded, and ex- 
ported. 
2. 1821-1891.— Cod and ling 
cured and exported. 
3. 1843-1857. — Herrings, and cod 
and ling consumed fresh. 
4. 1883-1891.— Fish and shell-fish 
consumed fresh, and value 
thereof. 
Men and Materiel. 
In discussing the statistics, I have, for reasons needless to explain here, 
discarded altogether those relating to the herring busses and the vessels 
fitted out for the cod and ling fishery. The remaining statistics have 
been grouped together into periods of five years, and the mean of each 
period taken. 
In Table I. are given the means for the last sixty-six years of the 
numbers of fishermen and boys and of fishing boats engaged in the 
Scottish sea fisheries, and the values of the boats and gear. The figures 
relate only to fishing boats, those referring to beam-trawl vessels having 
been deducted. It will be observed in this economic picture that there 
has been a steady and almost continuous increase since 1825, in each suc- 
cessive quinquennial period, of men, boats, and values until the period 
terminating with 1889, after which a decrease is shown. Examination of 
the figures for each year during the last decade proves, however, that this 
decline began. in 1886, and has continued without interruption from year 
to year since. - If the three periods, 1882-86, 1887-91, and 1890-91, indi- 
cated in the Table be compared, this fact is plain. 
, But while up to 1886 an almost continuous increase of men and pro- 
gressive development of materiel are shown, comparison of the different 
columns in the Table brings out some interesting results. Thus, the 
number of fishermen and boys engaged in the sea fisheries has not 
increased as one might have anticipated, and not certainly in proportion to 
the ordinary increase in the general population. The mean annual num- 
ber from 1825 to 1829 was 37,457, in 1890-91 it was 46,337 (in 1891, 
45,524), and the highest annual mean was in the period 1885-89 — namely, 
49,160. Contrasting the numbers for the last five years (1887-91) with 
those for the first five years (1825-29), we find the increase has been just 
about 10,000, or about 27 per cent. The increase in the number of 
boats from 8,921 in the first period to 14,494 in the last has been rela- 
tively greater (62 per cent.), but the tonnage has increased in far greater 
proportion. We have no information as to the tonnage of the boats until 
