Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/715

 HERRING 697 lie reflections ; irides silvery and pupils black. is found on the coasts of New England, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia; it is generally most abundant from March to May, but ac- cording to Mr. Perley is caught on the shores of New Brunswick during every month of the year, precluding the idea that it is migratory. American Herring (Clupea elongate). spring it is often caught in seines and sweep to the amount of 100 barrels or more in a single night; it is eaten fresh, salted, and smoked; the young fish, called spirling, make excellent bait for cod. Until within the last 30 years this herring was very abundant on our coasts, frequenting the harbors of Cape Cod in myriads from March till June ; since that time it has been comparatively rare; in Massachusetts bay great quantities were for- merly caught by nets when following the light of a large torch in a swiftly rowed boat. The herring fishery seems to have been prosecuted by the pilgrims, and we read of the herring "wear" at Plymouth having been rented to three men for a term of three years. Dr. Storer considers the brit, G. minima (Peck), the young of this species. When this herring first made its appearance in Long Island sound in 1817, it was mistaken for the English her- ring, and it was gravely stated that it followed the British squadron thither in the attack upon European Herring (Clupea harengus). Stonington in 1814. Several other American species are described in Storer's " Synopsis of the Fishes of North America." The common herring of Europe (0 '. harengus, Linn.) is from 10 to 13 in. long, having the back and the upper portion of the sides sky-blue, with a tinge of sea-green ; belly and sides bright sil- very ; cheeks, gill covers, and irides tinged with gold. The food of the herring appears to be chiefly minute crustaceans and worms, and sometimes its own fry and other small fish. It is the popular belief that the herrings retire in winter to the arctic regions, whence they mi- grate in immense shoals in spring, summer, and autumn to the coasts of Europe, Asia, and America. Yarrell and other modern observers doubt this, and maintain that these fish merely come from deep water to the shores in their spawning season, making no very lengthened journeys, and by no means the migrations de- scribed by Pennant and the older naturalists ; at any rate they are found on both the Ameri- can and European coasts at all seasons, but sometimes disappear for years from certain lo- calities, probably as their favorite food is abun- dant or scarce, and they have not been ob- served on their return northward. Wherever they come from, they appear in vast shoals, covering the surface of the sea for miles; they afford food for rapacious birds and aqua- tic animals, and supply material for one of the most important fisheries. They vary consider- ably in size in different latitudes and in limited localities, being generally largest and in best condition in the north ; the time of spawning is various, as we have spring, summer, and autumn herrings. Notwithstanding the de- struction of these fish by man and animals, their numbers do not diminish, a fact not as- tonishing when it is remembered that about 70,000 ova exist in each female, a large portion of which might be unfecundated or destroyed, and yet enough remain to stock the ocean. The regularity of their appearance and their immense numbers have made them the pursuit of man from the earliest times; the herring fish- ery of France dates back to the beginning of the llth century, and that of Great Britain 300 years earlier, and both have proved excel- lent schools for seamen for the mercantile and naval service of these countries. It was pros- ecuted at a very early period also by the Dutch, who fished on the British coasts when the business was comparatively neglected by the English. Amsterdam became at one time a great centre of the trade, and the prosperity of Holland was largely due to it. Political economists in England, France, and Holland have always regarded this fishery as of the greatest national importance, in its influence on the marine service, and as a source of profitable industry at home and of extensive commerce abroad. The herring fishery is surpassed only by the cod fishery in the value of its products. The quantity of cured herrings brought in by United States vessels, as reported by the bu- reau of statistics for the year ending June 30, 1873, was 75,770 cwt., valued at $188,361, besides which large quantities are consumed fresh. Vessels, especially from Gloucester, Mass., visit the coasts of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, the Magdalen islands, and Lab- rador for herrings. The business is pursued in the spring and winter. An important fishery is during the winter along the coast of Maine and in the bay of Fundy, the herrings being preserved frozen, and sold in the markets of Portland, Boston, New York, and other cities.