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MR. C. STACY WATSON ON THE HERRING. 
are two tribes of Herrings, each of which has its separate home in 
certain basins of the sea and never intermingle. 
Ireland (West coast). — In September and October a large and 
good quality of Herring pays Donegal Bay a periodical visit, and 
remains almost unmolested for the want of more activity among 
the fishermen. On the east coast also, in Wicklow Bay, in July, 
a fair-sized fat Herring, full of oil, without milt or roe, is caught 
in small numbers. It may be of interest to note here that I have 
taken from the inside of these fish, after they have been in salt four 
or live days, small semi-transparent live Worms, of a spiral form. 
At Ballantrae, on the Ayrshire coast, Herrings have been 
known to visit the same spawning ground, almost to a day, for 
the last three hundred years. Opinions differ as to where these 
Herrings come from, some say from Loch Fyne, others from the 
Irish Channel ( i.e . the North Channel). I lean to the latter 
opinion as the most reasonable, believing the fish come in from 
the deeper waters of the Atlantic to spawn, and although they are 
met with a little further north, viz , at Saltcoats, prior to appearing 
off Ballantrae, the reasonable conclusion to arrive at is, that the 
fish, feeling themselves burdened with milt and roe, are less active, 
and therefore seek the safer waters of the Firth of Clyde and 
contiguous Lochs, away from their rapacious enemies, and there 
await the eve of their delivery, when they proceed to the banks 
and deposit their ova. This takes place about- the 20th to the 
25th of February. They are fine specimens of a well-moulded 
Herring, beautifully scaled and of large size, one such measured 
13 inches long, 7 inches girth, and weighed 12 ounces. 
Lewis Islands, Barra. -There are two varieties of Herring 
on the Atlantic side of Barra Head ; large fish, devoid of oil, 
supposed to be on passage, they are intercepted by the fishermen 
during the month of May and June; it is not known where they 
spawn, and at this period have little or no roe or milt. When it 
does happen to exist, such fish are considered of inferior quality. 
On the east side of the island (i.e. in the Minch) the Herrings 
found are poor and small. 
Stornoway. — Off the Butt of Lewis, in the blue waters of the 
Atlantic, Herrings, rich in oil, but small as compared with the 
Ballantrae fish, are captured in large numbers. 
Off the north coast of Scotland, between Cape Wrath and 
