The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-12-21


the Westminster Reric'c, gives a very interest
~ account of the appearance and habits of her.
| ng shoals as seen on the coasts OF Scotland and
|Orway. The large masses Of the whales rising
pa blowing and tArOwug up great quantities. Of
Pc herring into the air, sparkling aud gittering
| the clear winter day; the constant movements
4 the birds with shrill notes actively engaged
seizIng their easily obtained food, yieing
PIN man in their attacks upon the countless
|yrads Of herring; and the appearances OF
|,lmbers Of fishing boats and vessels, with
|g sound OF the voices Of an active body of
Ehermen-the ocean on the one side, and the
|irk and lofty rocks on the other is one of the
post extraordinary and interesting sights that
|n be contemplated. The fishermen watch for
|9Se indications Of the presence of herring shoals
| Fthe appearance of a whale, the examination of
Pp stomach OF cod or ling, of a Rinnet or other
|F-bird, often reveals their whereabouts. Some
Ines the herring are observed to be near the sur
Ice of the water "making ripple" with no sign
the presence Of whales or raveuous birds /;
Emetmes they become quasi hying-lsh, rising
|SOut OF the water into vast mass Of many
Frds in extent, sparkling and flashing, and flying
|veral feet above the surface. These are signs
danger aud alarm, when the herring are pur-
ed by the dog-tsh.
|Ihc notion for long time prevailed that the
Ierring spent the winter within the Arctic circle
pa that they went thither in immense armie, at
|e close of summer to recruit themselves after
II
|possbility of fish the size of the herring
|2king two such journeys in thaRcourse of the
Iar, there are positive proofs agafst this theory
Lllch were published years ago, although the
~ edltOn OF the Encyclopedia Britannica con
kns this same old story. The reproductiOn of
fe herring is a ySsy interesting subject, and one
PAT has long been studied. II seems now evil
mt that they spawn at two seasons of the year
Gn the spring and in the autumn. In the
fiush waters February and March are the great
he for Nha
FptemDer Tor the autumn spawning. 1t is not
$ely that the same fish spawns twice in the
PAR, but that the spring and autumn spawnings
te entirely distinct.
Frhe ordinary methods for taking herring are
L/heet or drift nets and by the sene-net The
kotch fieet-net is made either of hempen twiue
cotton, and is fifty yards in length, and each
at has from twelve TO fifty nets on board The
" requires that the meshes shall not be less
kn one inch square, that the smaller fish that
unht for the market may slip through, When
Eout to be used all the nets are united at tn
r. and between each net is fastened a buoy to 4
be Of four to eight fathoms in depth, the buoy
Eag the only distinctive mark by which fisher
Rncan know their own nets, In case of storm
tentanglement. This fleet net may be used in
different ways-it may oe allowed to mDvs
Eng with the WINS aud tide when Il is turned
Erft; or II is secured by means of ropes and
|chors, and held In its proper position in cases
Itere the water is not too deep
|fhe seine-net of the Scotch fishermen resembles
Et in use here. One rope is held on sh Dre
h lie the net is taken out by boat which rows
|lnd in a semicircle determined by the rise of
y net and length of the drag-rope; the boat,
Yer paying out the net in its course, now comes
shore with the second drag-rope the two crews
|ulng in both ropes gradually approach each
|ber until the net becomes bag containing the
Ia inclosed in the space it has surrounded.
|metimes two boats are used, one describing q
|Inicircle about the other. In Ireland, the poor
|pple, for want of other means, sew their blan-
Fts and sheets together often to the number of
Try, for the purpose Of forming a substitute for
Met each person getting a share of herrngs in
|EpOrtion, the people having nothing t) cover
Nm when their bed-clothes are used in this way
ESerrings, as everybody knows, are eaten fresh
Poured. Or their excellence few Englishmen
|9uie 10 be reminded, and there Is no little com
ition for the honor of originating the happy
gas of sailing and smoking herring. OF "cured"
III rings there are the common salted or white
FIRING red or smoked bloaters, and kippered
|Irring. The processes for producing the diff
|fent varieties are quite similar First, they are
Elted for longer or shorter period, and then
n oked kippered herrings are partially treated
ID briny pickle, then opened and slightly
yoked, and Gin this way" says Mr.. Mitchell,
20 is evidently alive to the eXcelleuces of kip.
FED herring, "aiford avery pleasant change of
the consumption of herring, especially among
4 poorer classes of London, is very great. Mr..
|hyheW, in his "LondOn Labor aud London
|ior," /" estimates that S75 100000 herring, weigh
III 2l, 100000 pounds, are annually sold in the
Jeets Of the metropolis. This includes the
pet" fish, while of the "dry" at 100000, the
|1pr of London spend annually nearly five mil
IN dollars for the purchase of herring alone.
|NlS55, which is the latest date we have at hand,
|fre we're caught on the coasts Of England and
abtland S07,6l2 barrels of herring. In lSI0
z most productive year known, there were
bed !, ,l5l 979 barrels, which, allowing 500 her
tg to barrel, gives total Of 92l $40 200.
|NWith this enormous consumption, IL would
lym that the laws enacted for the protection Of
vs. fish were absolutely necessary TO prevent
|kelr extinction. But a Royal Commission, re-
ttly engaged in investigating the subject, ex-
kss the opinion that these numbers are so insig-
cant when compared with the shoals destroyed
Mother agencies than man, thai any laws or
|sAuatons for their protection can have but
|SSe effect 10 increase their numbers. Consider
IN destruction Of large herring by cod and ling
|Ene. 1t is a very common thing 20 find a cod
III with six or seven large herrings in his
wnach but If we allow him only two herr!ngs
~ diem for seven months in the year, then his
h vance during tina. time will be 420 herring,
so Goldfish will be equal % one fisherman in
destructive power.
Ia least 100000 Goldfish were caught In 1861
~ If fifty Goldfish equal one fisherman, 2, 10000
VI equal $4,000 fishermen. So if the cod
ri ght on the Scotch coast had been left in the
,sd, they would have caught more herring
|Stn all the fishermen in Scotland, and as they
|ske certainly not 1.-THE part Of those left be-
~ we may fairly estimate the destruction OF
|Yrng, by this fish alone, SIS a. least ten times as
Vat as that effected by all the fishermen put to-
|Jher. IL Is also estimated that the gauneta or
| 4an geese on the Island of St. Klda destroy
|4p hundred and fourteen million OF herring ia
|-tngle summer-besides the rayages Of their
II or enemies in the air and in the water, In the
Essence Of such destruction, the efforts Of man
u Nsllgh. and weak in cOmparison.-Er. Paper.
|6HE SPONGE BUsNEss.-The sponge business
" become a prominent department Of industry
The Bahama Islands. IL Is almost entirely the
|sOWth Of the last twenty years, and nets an
|. ally about $4,000 The sponge is tished and
| |sedi from the sandy bottom OF the ocean, at the
|opthiof twenty, forty, or sixty feet. IL belongs
pa YAry low order Of animal life, organization
rdly. being detected. When first taken from
IL WfkteT Il is black, and becomes exceedingly
ensife from decomposition. 1t is so poisonous
this condition that IL almost blisters the flesh
L lapplens 70 touch. The first process is 20 bury
Is n the sand, where il remains for two or three
-elss, In which time the gelatinous animal mat
a ls absorbed and destroyed by the insects that
H. arm in the sand. After being cleansed, i is
impressed and packed in bales Ike cotton The
n )nge has been applied TO a variety of new pur-
Z ees, and within the past few years has quad
pied in value,
.H.