188 
THE NATURALISTS’ JOURNAL. 
great visiting shoals. He believed the herring shoals consisted of distinct fish 
in each locality and were migratory, travelling long distances, and returning 
each year to the place of their birth, like the salmon and the swallow. In that 
opinion he had the support of Couch. He attributed the early appearance of 
herring off the West Hebrides to the influence of the gulf stream ; and that 
those which were taken off Norfolk came to spawn. He considered the vvhole 
of the shallow water in the North Sea was one immense spawning ground. In 
proof of this he cited the fact that cod and haddock taken in the vicinity of the 
Dogger Bank and the Silver Pits, were discovered at certain times to be full 
of spawn. The food of the herring consisted largely of minute crustaceans, 
with which the fish had been found gorged. Mr. Hotblack proceeded to deal 
with the herrings frequenting the coasts of north-east America, Norway, and 
Denmark; and said it appeared that those along the southern shores ot 
England came from the north, not round the Land’s end. They met the 
pilchard, but usually went no further. Having touched on the herrings of 
North-west America, the Black Sea, the Caspian, and the vicinity of the Cape 
of Good Hope, Mr. Hotblack concluded with a reference to the large quanti¬ 
ties of pilchards captured near Yarmouth some years ago. Mr. Patterson 
offered remarks on the paper, pointing to the dorsal fin as the feature 
distinguishing the herring from the pilchard, and expressed the belief that the 
former spawned at an early age and the pilchard spawned in deep waters. Mr. 
Stacy Watson, whose Silvery Hosts of the North Sea is a popular book on the 
herring, gave a comprehensive paper, in which he remarked that it was true at 
the piesent time as of old that “ of all the fish, herring is king.” Compared 
with beef, the balance was immensely in favour of this fish, as it was calculated 
that one last of the herrings was equal to at least nine bullocks. Though the 
fishery had existed tor centuries, the positive information about the herring was 
still very meagre. Mr. Stacy Watson had, however, much to tell of its many 
varieties, pointing to the characteristics of those caught off Alaska, the east 
coast of the United States, Newfoundland, the river Niagara, Iceland Norway, 
the White Sea, Sweden, Denmark, the Baltic, the Hebrides, Ireland, Scotland 
and the coasts of Yorkshire and Norfolk. Both the quantity and quality of 
the fish were he stated, affected by their food and surroundings. Haring 
quoted Sir Henry Spelman’s remarks on the importance of the herring fishing 
Mr. Stacy Watson went on to consider whether the spring herring, wdiich put 
in an appearance about March, were a distinct kind. He concluded they 
were young fish which afterwards disappeared into deep waters. He touched 
on the now comparative scarcity of the celebrated black nosed herring, long 
plentiful at Yarmouth, and on the merits of the incomparable “longshore,” 
bestowing on the latter the high eulogy that without a taste of it when it was 
in season life was deprived of one half its pleasures He was confident herring 
were local fish, that they visited the deep parts of the North Sea to spawn, 
and that having grown strong, they returned to their own haunts, where they 
appeared periodically. Mr. Hotblack commented in complimentary terms on 
Mr. Stacy Watson’s paper, and opined that herring came from deep waters 
very far off. The president suggested that mid-summer herring should be 
left until the autumn to develope. Mr. Stacy Watson thought the mid-summer 
and autumn fish were distinct. 
INSECTS. 
A?nara fulva at Fivehead Gloucestershire .— In the month of April I 
captured Amara fulva in the locality of Fivehead; also Gyt inus yiatator and 
Dyticus mar gin alls. — Rev. A. C. Denman m.p.n.s. Fivehead, Somerset. 
Lepidoptera in April.—-On April 13th I found at Fivehead Macroglossa 
stellatarum and took the larvae of Odonestis potatoria .— Rev. A. C. Denman. 
Lyccena argiolus at Gravesend. —On April 26th while out on an entomolo¬ 
gical expedition with a friend at Purfleet we took six specimens of Lyccena , 
