General experiences with fish during the year have been many
and curious. Personally I saw the biggest catch of mackerel in my memory off the south coast of Devon a few weeks ago ; and at the same date the Cornish fishermen a few miles to the west were enjoying immense hauls of herring. I doubt whether anyone knows enough about the move- ments of mackerel (with their accompanying red mullet) or of the more important pilchard and herring to be able to risk any sort of prophecy, except that the fish are likely to be nearer the land in a calm season than in a rough. The sea does not deserve the Homeric epithet " unharvested " : its harvest is large and valuable ; and if more thoroughly appreciated in Roman Catholic countries (to which most of the exports from Britain and Newfoundland go), it is more widely appreciated every year. The chemists, who have found the herring to be the richest of all the sources of vitamins, have had a certain influence. The sea is not unharvested, but we know absurdly little about its seasons and their influence on marine life.
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