tice of selling their cargoes of fish at sea, sending their fish as they used to do to and of shipping them into carrier-boats the London market, but also by inducing coming from the Thames and other parts, the French fishermen to remain upon the and into others which met them in the English coast, and thereby creating a bay of Dover and elsewhere on the coast, destructive competition as applicable to for the supply of the London market. the coasts of Kent and Sussex. The But this was not all-for it was proved to Committee express their surprise at findthe Committee, that in other seasons, du- ing that, notwithstanding the prohibitions ring which the French were fishing with of so many statutes, a very large illegal hooks and lines for turbots and other sea- importation of foreign-caught fish did in fish in the Channel, they were accustom- fact take place. It had been proved that ed to come in great numbers every morn- about one-third of the fish supplied to the ing, from Boulogne and other places, London market was procured from forinto the English bays, before they began eigners: but this estimate included turfishing, and there drag with nets for bait bots, eels, and lobsters, which might be in the shallow waters close upon the legally imported. shore, taking and destroying an immense The scarcity of fish in the Channel is quantity of the young and unsizeable fish the third complaint; and the Committee and this at periods of the year when declare it to have been satisfactorily provthe French are not permitted to fish in the ed that this scarcity has been occasionbays upon their own coast, and when ed by the great destruction of the spawn our fishermen leave their breeding. and brood of fish consequent upon the grounds undisturbed as much as possible. non-observance of the laws which at preThe Committee observe, that this last- sent exist for their preservation, and by mentioned practice caused great injury, which the fishing with ground or drag as tending to diminish the quantity of fish nets within a certain distance of the shore upon our coasts; and that while these during particular seasons, or at all seaproceedings were taking place upon our sons of the year, with drift or floating nets side of the Channel, the fishermen of having the mesh of the net under certain England were not allowed to fish within dimensions, has been declared unlawful. three leagues of the French coast; but, on The Committee state their opinion that approaching that limit, were warned off. these statutes should be revised; and that Nor do the Committee forget the atten- a bill repealing such of the provisions as tion paid by the French government to do not relate exclusively to the coasts of the encouragement and extension of their Devon and Cornwall, and enacting others Channel fisheries as a nursery for seamen; in lieu of them, with better remedies for in which view they require for each fish- their observance, should be introduced in ing-vessel eighteen or twenty men; boun- the then next session of parliament. ties being also granted in aid of all their

fisheries.

A fourth alleged mischief was the stowboat fishery, or catching of sprats for maThe Committee suggest that foreign- nure, prevailing principally upon the ers should be prevented from fishing Kentish, Norfolk, and Essex coasts. The within one league, or such other distance nets are described as so small as not to of the English coast as by law or usage let a pen pass through,' enclosing is considered to belong exclusively to this country; and required to observe such regulations as may be imposed upon our own fishermen, for the better preservation of the brood of fish in our shallow waters; also, that all officers of the revenue and vessels cruising upon the coast should be instructed to prevent foreign fishermen from fishing within such prescribed distance, and to protect the English from aggression at sea.

With regard to the second grievance, the Committee strongly condemn the importation of foreign-caught fish, as extremely injurious to the English fishermen, not only by preventing such of them as live at a distance from London from

not only sprats, but the spawn and young brood of all other kinds of fish; and as these nets are frequently drawn along the ground and in shallow waters during the breeding season, and in the winter months before the young fish are gone into deeper waters, an immense destruction of the brood of fish is the inevitable consequence; whilst, from the almost unlimited demand for this species of manure for land, and there being a ready sale for all that can be procured, this branch of fishing has greatly increased, and there are at present from 400 to 500 boats engaged in stow-boating on the Kentish coast only, which remain upon the fishing-grounds frequently for a week together, not for the purpose of catching sprats, or any other fish, to be sold as food in the market, but until they have obtained full cargoes of dead fish for the purpose of manuring the land.'

The Committee say they were inclined to question whether this fishery (which is not of long standing) ought not to be entirely prevented; but upon the best consideration which they have been able to give to the subject, they recommend that at least it should not be permitted to be carried on with ground or drag nets between the 1st of April and the last of November, nor with drift or floating nets in the bays during the breeding season, namely, from the 1st of May to the last of August, within a league of the low-water mark, or in less than ten fathoms water; nor at any other time with nets of so small a mesh as is now generally used.'-Report, p. 11.

'port of our fishermen in the inactive season, upon an agreement that all the produce of the nets was to be brought to them at a stipulated price, the said fishermen have sold a considerable portion of the fish so taken to boats sent out from the French coast. It may have been true in 1833 that a less quantity of fish was captured by the English fishermen ; but this may have been owing simply to the better furniture of the French boats, and the skill, perseverance, and frugality of Frenchmen.

smarter

Of late there have been symptoms of a The Committee seem, however, to have boats of our southern counties. There appearance about the fishinghad little doubt as to what was the prinone may now see sometimes a fleet of trim, cipal cause of the alleged depression:-lug-rigged boats making for the white-cliff'It has been proved by the concurring testi- ed picturesque coast-not square, heavy, mony of witnesses from all parts of the coast, lumbering tubs, like the generality of lug that a very great and increasing scarcity of all gers, but beautifully raking at the stern, fish which breed in the Channel (not including well found and shapely, sailing like witchmackerel or herrings, which are fish of passage), es. If you see one with a brilliant bit of compared with what was the ordinary supply bunting fluttering merrily, there is meanfrom fifteen to twenty years ago, has long pre- ing in the signal. He has got turbot,'

p. 8.

.

vailed; and that, operating prejudicially to the fishermen at the same time that a continued fall exclaims an ancient Triton lounging on of prices has taken place in the markets, it is the shore with a glass as weather-beaten perhaps the principal cause of their distress.'-Ib. as himself; his wife will give him a cab. bage for supper to night'--meaning there. by not the mere vegetable, but an abundance of savoury flesh-meat accompani ments besides. But mystery is observed after the windlasses have hauled them up high and dry. No one will show his cargo till the 'chaps' arrive. Down at length they come, and the glittering spoil is displayed. What groups of men, women, and children, boats, horses, dogs, and fish-what studies for Stanfield! Depend on it, if we can but get the steady demand, we shall soon match our rivals.

Not a few doubted the accuracy of the premises upon which the Committee came to the conclusion that there was a very great and increasing scarcity of all fish which breed in the Channel,' and surmised that this Report was founded upon rather one sided evidence, produced to induce the government to interfere in behalf of interested parties upon narrow grounds. These sceptics did not understand the logic that makes a fall of prices consequent upon a scarcity of supply. Some years have elapsed since this in- The way in which cargoes of shell fish quiry, and there has been no renewed are dealt with does not argue any great complaint of a deficiency till lately, apprehension of a deficiency of supply. notwithstanding the steam-pace increase Not long ago, after a boat-voyage in the of our population. The government seems south-west where well-wooded banks dip to have inclined to the doubting party; their boughs into a broad, brimful, windfor we do not find that any of the recom- ing river that opens out from point to mendations of the Committee above no- point into the semblance of a chain of ticed have been carried into effect by lakes as it approaches the sea, we landed parliament, excepting that relating to the at a village celebrated for its carbs'aggressions of foreign fishermen, which spacious, perforated trunks in which crabs, was very properly made the subject of a lobsters, and sea-crawfish are kept alive convention between her Majesty and the for the market. A large smack was lying King of the French. Nevertheless our at this village; and, as the tide receded, tables have since had a more abundant the men began to discharge her freight. supply, and the lamentations of the fish- We went on board the craft. Her hold ermen have ceased. Nor is it unknown, on was divided transversely in one compartthe other hand, that boat-owners have ment were hundreds of lobsters and seacomplained that, after having embarked crawfish; and there were as many crabs their capital and contributed to the sup-'next door. The tide had left the wretches

heaped upon each other, and among them] A very little care would have spared the a scramble was going on, literally for life. greater part of this agony and saved a The view of the struggling mass was considerable part of the cargo. If the well more than painful; the convulsive motion of the vessel had been fitted with iron of the long antennæ of the sea-crawfish gratings made to ship and unship, tier as they bristled up among the crowd, and above tier, and a proper number had been the jerkings of the lobsters' tails in a allotted to each shelf, the crabs and lobvain endeavour to swim away from their sters would have been comparatively at misery without water. There was a their ease, with enough of moisture about basket with a whip on a boom, and into their bronchia to enable them to breathe these crowded black-holes descended boot- comfortably when left by the tide till they ed fishermen. Presently one of these were transferred to the carbs. It must familiars sang out 'Dead crabs !'-and up have been asphyxia consequent on the came the basket. An experienced glance huddling together of such a congeries was thrown over it by some on deck, and that killed so many. the best were picked out and carried to the boiler-thence to be hawked about An inquiry into the principles upon the country as 'fresh crabs ;' but numbers which the embarkation of capital and the were thrown away as past all culinary subsistence of fishermen might be made help. After a while there was a cry from comparatively secure, opens a wide field, inbelow of 'Live crabs!' (males,) and up to which it is our intention to enter by and came the basket with its living load, and by. At present our object, we confess, is down it was lowered over the side, revers- primarily limited to the awakening of all ed, and the contents pitched en masse the ichthyophagist in the appetites of into the carb. Here at first was more men, so as to insure that steady demand misery; but at last the wrestling animals which, we repeat, must be the keystone of became disentangled, and there was al- the structure; although the diet is said to most an air of composure about the strong- be so very favourable to the increase of er martyrs as they crawled off to a quiet population, that we can hardly hope to nook, there to breathe freely after the number Miss Martineau among our patrontorture. The females were treated in the esses.

same way.

We must not, therefore, forget the finThe more mercurial lobsters occasion- ny tribes of the fresh water; and they ally rushed upon their fate; when a basket lead us to the pretty little treatise of of them was hoisted up, a particularly Gottlieb Boccius, with its well-executed vivacious one would every now and then cut of the spiegel or mirror carp, which, spring out with a sort of demivolte and, notwithstanding its superiority, does not, falling on the deck, split his cuirass just he tells us, at present exist in England, about the point where the heart is situat- though it could be easily obtained from ed; no sooner was he down and lying his fatherland,' and would well repay the all abroad, than off he was hurried to the trouble of importation. The author, howpot. It was at first a puzzle to think how ever, trusted that before this winter set it happened that they had not torn each in, he should be enabled to stock the other to pieces in the mêlée; for they ponds of Sir Robert Adair, to whom the were neither pegged nor tied: it turned book is dedicated, with the brood of this out that the leading muscles of their claws species. His directions for the making, had been cut, that they might not quar-stocking, and ordering of ponds and rel.' As in every deep there is generally stews are clear and precise; it is obvious a lower still, upon the removal of the crus- that he writes from the results of long taceans there appeared a tessellated pave- experience, and it will be the fault of the ment of oysters, and we almost fancied Squires if they do not avail themselves of that we could hear them sigh their thanks- his printed wisdom.

givings when the mass that had trampled

on them was removed. Not that an 'The Ponds or Stews,' he says, 'ought to be oyster is much an object of pity under three in number, and it is requisite to make such circumstances, for he can make him. choice of a slight elevation for the first pond. If self tolerably comfortable in his closed possible this should be so situated that it may shell for a long time: the sufferings, how-receive the drainings of a village, or at any rate ever, of the crabs, lobsters, and crawfish Proximity to a farm is desirable, as all the refuse washings from such places supply food to a large must have been terrible; for in them the extent. The object in having the first pond nervous system is highly developed.

higher than the others, is that a supply of water

may pass from it to the lower ones in succession; tance, for it is equally necessary to have a free the ponds being connected by a water-course and action of air passing over the surface, as it is to protected by flood-gates, must have a sufficient have pure and wholesome water: in fact, the depth and descent to allow the whole of the removal of trees contributes largely to effect water to pass off readily to the next in succession. both. The ponds ought not to be nearer to each other than one hundred yards; the greater the distance between them the better, as each can then have the benefit of the refuse washings of the neighbourhood and adjoining fields, which will of course contribute largely to the support of the stock. Moreover, by having a long watercourse between the ponds, when either of them is sluiced off, or as the term is, "fished," that part of the store, which invariably escapes with the fall of water, can be recovered in a much cleaner and consequently more healthy state than those which are left behind in the slam or mud. Clay soils are not genial to fish; therefore light loamy or gravelly bottoms ought to be chosen for the ponds; if, however, the clay is not too deep, and by excavating it yellow sand can be reached, then it will leave an equally soft and pure bottom, the sides being of less importance. In clay bottoms the fish do not thrive, from want of food, in consequence of the water partaking of the racy* quality of the earth, which from its cold and sterile nature does not afford the nutriment requisite for the maintenance of the larvæ of insects, worms, and other minute living creatures, in sufficient number, and so keeps the stock lean and unfit for food.

'In forming ponds particular care ought to be taken to make the sides shelve gradually for about six yards: and they are on no account to be deep at the sides, firstly, on account of the sward nourishing large quantities of insects, &c., the legitimate food of the fish; secondly, the ponds are not so easily poached, the shallows being protected by stakes; and thirdly, protection is afforded to the brood. The only deep that ought to exist at either side should be near the sluice or flood-gate, where it should be twelve or eighteen inches deeper than the rest of the pond,

in order that when the water is drawn off, the

If the first pond should get an over-accumu lated store of water, it must be let off by the sluice into the second, and so on to the third, and then be suffered to run to waste; for no pond ought to be allowed, on any account, to overflow or break its boundaries, as, by so do. ing, and by conveying the fish to the next pond, it injures that stew by introducing fish of different growths, and so proves ultimately a serious loss: food would be then insufficient for their joint maintenance, consequently the fish would gain but little in size and weight. If the ponds have an even and well-regulated supply of wa ter, then their depth at the centre need never be more than from three to five feet, shelving to the sides, as before stated; but if only an indif ferent supply can be obtained, then they must be twelve or eighteen inches deeper. It is not, however, desirable to have the ponds so situated that a large quantity of fresh water shall suddenly be able to find its way into them, as it both thickens the whole by moving the mud, and, being colder and of other properties, it sickens the store for some time and checks their thriving. A well-regulated supply and co-equal discharge is to be recommended, and must be attended to.'-pp. 1–5.

In old times almost every abbey, hall, and manor-house had its fish-ponds, or

stews.

Those who are curious as to the ancient construction and management may turn to Lebault's Maison Rustique, which was translated and published at London, in folio, under the title of the Countrey Farm, in 1616; and to A Discourse of Fish and Fish-Ponds, by a Person of Honour; who,' says Sir John fish may be collected into a close space, and Hawkins, in a note to his edition of The when the sluice is again closed, that an accumu- Complete Angler, I have been told by lation of water may immediately take place, one who knew him, was the Hon. Roger sufficient for the protection of the brood or North, author of the Life of the Lord succeeding store. In the rainy season it is always Keeper Guildford. The plan of Lord Baadvisable to let the ponds fill to the full extent con's fish-ponds differs entirely from that of their prescribed boundaries, as this not only recommended by Boccius; but the advan brings a large proportion of food from the adjacent grounds, but when the water is again let off or tage of running water, and the disadvan recedes, the borders produce luxuriant and tender tage of overhanging trees, were well con herbage, peculiarly adapted for the food of carp, sidered formerly.* and upon which that fish feeds greedily in rainy weather, and may frequently be observed floundering half out of his watery element in order to obtain this favourite morse!.

As all foliage is pernicious, and the decomposition highly injurious to fish, especially to the fry or brood, it must be fully borne in mind that trees or shrubs should never be planted on the borders or margins of the ponds; but if ornament be required, then only at a sufficient dis

* Speaking of Lebault and Dubravius, the famons Bohemian bishop-whose effigy is now before us, seated under a tree by the river side, with his angling-rod in his hand and his mitre and crusier at his feet, in the act of getting a bite--Izaak Walmake choice of such a place for your pond, that it ton says--"These and all others advise that you may be refreshed with a little rill, or with rain wa ter running or falling into it: by which fish are more inclined to breed, and are also refreshed and fed the better, and do prove to be of a much sweetTo which end it is observed, that such ponds as be large, and have

Racy is the term for a species of iron stone er and more pleasant taste. sand found in clay strata.

Then, for the stocking, we have the for brooding the pond is towards the end of following directions:

'It has been fully proved that a given space of earth can produce only a certain quantity; so 'Returning to the subject of the succession only can a given space or quantity of water pro- ponds being fished every three years, it is to be duce a certain quantity either of vegetable mat-borne in mind that the store, at that age, is fit ter or animalcules: and curious as it may ap- for market; and the calculation for three years pear, yet it is as true as curious, that by storing out of three acres would give, on an average, as only the proper number of fish adapted to the water, the weight, in three years, will prove equal to what it would have been had twice the number been placed therein; so that the smaller number produces the same weight as the

most gravel and shallows, where fish may sport
themselves, do afford fish of the purest taste. And
note, that in all pools it is best for fish to have some
retiring place, as, namely, hollow banks or shelves,
or roots of trees, to keep them from danger, and,
when they think fit, from the extreme heat of sum.
mer, as also from the extremity of the cold in win-
ter. And note, that if many trees be growing about
your pond, the leaves thereof falling into the water
nake it nauseous to the fish, and the fish to be so
to the eater of it.'--Complete Angler, ch. xx.
VOL. LXIX.
17