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even an oiler. The readiest method of destroying this mischiev-ous bird is by fishing for him in the manner of pike, with a baitedbook ; the bait consisting of small roach or dace, and the hook fas-tened to one end of a strong line, made of silk and wire twistedtogether. The wire should be entered under the gills of theroach, and run just under the skin to the tail; in which conditionthe fish will live several days: for if it be dead, the heron will nottouch it. To the other end of the line is'fastened a stone of apound weight; and several of these baited lines being sunk bymeans of Die stone in different parts of the pond, in a night or twothe heron will certainly he taken.
HERPES , [<£!»;,] a cutaneous inflammation of two kinds: mi-liaris, or pustularis, which is like millet-seed upon the skin; andcxcedens, which is more corrosive and penetrating, so as to formlittle ulcers.
HERRING. See Clupea.
Herring-Fishery. Our gieat stations for this fishery are offthe Shetland and Western Isles . There are two seasons for it;the first from June to the end of August; and the second in Au-tumn, when the fogs become very favourable for this kind of fish-ing. The Dutch begin their herring-fishing on the twenty-fourthof June, and employ a vast number of vessels therein; calledbusses, being between forty-five and sixty tons burden each, andcarrying three or four small camion. They never stir out of portwithout a convoy, unless there be enough together to make abouteigyhlccn or twenty camion among thorn, in which case they are al-lowed to go in company. Before they go out, they make a verbalagreement, w hich has the same force as if it were in w riting. Theregulations of the admiralty of Holland are partly followed byother nations, and partly improved and augmented with new ones;as, that no fisher shall cast his net within 100 fathoms of anotherboat: that while the nets are cast, a light shall be kept on thehind part of the vessel: that when a boat is In any accident ob-liged to leave off fishing, the light shall he cast into the sea; thatwhen the greater part ot a fleet leaves oft'fishing, and casts anchor,the rest shall do the same, Ac. The vast advantage of this fisheryto our nation is very obvious, when we consider that though her-rings are found upon the shores of North America , they are neverseen there in such quantities as with us, and that they are not tobe met with in considerable numbers in any of the southern king-doms of Europe as Spain, Portugal, or the south parts of France on Die side of the ocean, or in the Mediterranean, or on the coastof Africa . Numerous attempts have been made at dilferent pe-riods to secure this treasure to ourselves, but with little success.In the late reign, a very strong effort was made, and bounties al-lowed for the encouragement of British adventurers: the first wasof 30s. per ton to every buss of seventy tons and upwards. Thisbounty was afterwards raised to 50s. per ton, to be paid to suchadventurers as were entitled to it by claiming it at the places ofrendezvous. The busses are from twenty' to ninety tons burden,but the best size is eighty. A vessel of eighty tons ought to taketen lasts, or 120 barrels of herrings, to clear exponces, the price ofthe fish to be. admitted to he a guinea a barrel. A ship of thissize ought to have eighteen men, and three boats: one of twentytons should have six men; and every five tons above require anadditional hand. To every ton are 280 yards of nets; so a vesselof eighty tons carries 20,00.) square yards: each net is twelveyards long, and ten deep; and every boat takes out from twentyto thirty nets, and puts them together, so as to form a long train;they are sunk at each end of the train by a stone, which weighs itdown to the full extent: the top is supported by buoys, made ofsheeps skin, with a hollow stick at the mouth, fastened tight;through this the skin is blown up, and then stopped with a peg, toprevent the c>cape of Die air. .Sometimes thesp buoys are placedat the top of the nets; at other times the nets are suffered to sinkdeeper, by lengthening the cords fastened to them, every cordbeing for Dial purpose, ten or twelve fathoms long. But the bestfisheries are generally in more shallow water. Loch-broom hasbeen celebrated for three or four centuries as the resort of herrings.They generally appear there in July: those that turn into this bayare part of the brigade that detaches itself from the western columnof that great army w liich annually deserts the vast depths of thearctic circle, and come, heaven-directed, to the seats of popula-tion, offered as a cheap food to millions, whom wasteful luxury oriron-hearted avarice hath deprived, by enhancing the price of thewonted supports of the poor. The migration of. these fish troui
VOL u.— no. 104.
their noi(hcri/relreat is regular; their Visits to the western islesand coasts, certain ; but their attachment to one {.articular loch,extremely precarious. All have their turns: that which, swairaedwith fish one year is totally deserted the following; yi t the nv-tloch to it niav be. crowded with the shoals. '1 fiese changes ofplace give often full employ to the busses, who arc eon'.:m;a”yshifting their harbour in quest of news respecting then.- impel tautwanderers. They commonly appear here in July; the latter endof August they go into deep water, and continue there for somelime, without any apparent cause: in November, they return tothe shallows, when a new fishery commences, which continues tillJanuary ; at that time the herrings become full of roe, and are use-less as articles of commerce. Some doubt whether those herring;that appear in November are not part of a new migration ; torthey are as fat, and make the same appearance, as those that com-posed the first. 'Flic signs of tlie arrival of the herriligS are flocks; of gulls, who catch up the fish while they skim on the surface; andof gannets, who plunge and bring them up from considerabledepths. Both these birds are closely attended to by the tisi.ers.Cod-fish, haddocks, and dog-fish, follow the herrings in vast mul-titudes; these voracious fish keep on the outsides of the columns,and may concur in driving the shoals into hays and creeks, hisummer, they come into the bays generally with the wannest wea-ther, and w ith easy gales. During winter, the hard gales from■ N. \V. are supposed to assist in forcing them into slicker. Eastwinds are very unfavourable to the fishery.”
Herrings* Method of Salting. The nets being hauled onboard, the fishes are taken out, and put into the warbacks, whichstand on one side of the vessels. When all the nets, are thus un-loaded, one till; the gippers’ baskets. 'Hie gippers cut theirthroats, takeout their guts, and fling out the full herrings into onebasket, and the shot ten into another. One man takes the lull basketwhen they are gipped, and carries them to the rower back,wherein there is salt. One boy rows and stirs them about in thesalt, and another takes them, thus rowed, and carries them in bas-kets to the jwckers. Four men (lack the herrings into one barrel,and lay them, one bv one, straight and even; and another man,when the barrel is "lull, takes it from the packers. It is left tostand a day or more open to settle, that the salt may melt and dis-solve to pickle; after which it is filled up, and the cooper com-pletes the work, by heading the casks very tight, and stowingthem in the hold. The pickle is to be strong enough to sustain aherring; otherw ise the fish decay in it.
Herrings, Red, must lie twenty-four hours in the brine, asthey are to take all their salt there. When taken out, they arespitted, that is, strung by the head on little wooden spits, andthen hung in a chimney made for that purpose. After which, afire of brush-wood, which yields a great deal of smoke, but nollame, being made under them, they remain there till sufficientlysmoked and dried, and are then barrelled up for keeping.
HERRN11 UTTERS, a sect of Christians, named aFo Mo-ravians and United Brethren. Bee United Brethren .
HERSCI1EL, the name given by most foreigners to the newplanet, called Georgium Sides by Air. Ilerschci, who discoveredit. See Astronomy. This planet is also called Uranus .
IIERSE, [ kcrcc , Fr. i. c. a harrow,] in fortification, a lattice,or portcullis, in form of a harrow, beset with iron-spikes. It isusually hung by a rope fastened to a maulinet; to be rut, in caseof surprise, or w hen the first gate is broken with a petard, that theherse may fall, and stop up the passage of the gale or other en-trance ot a fortress. It is otherwise called a sarrasin, or cataract ;and when it consists of straight stakes, without any cross pieces, it iscalled orgues.
Ulrsk is also a harrow, which the besieged, for want of che-vaux defrise, lay in the way, or in breaches, with the points up,to incommode the march ot the enemy’s horse or infantry.
HERS! ELD, a late territory of Germany , in the circle of theUpper Rhine, which belonged to the l’rince of Hesse Cassel .
It now forms a part of the kingdom of A estplihlia, under the go.-vernment of Jerome Napoleon .
IIersff.ld, or IIirschfeld, the capital of the'above terri-tory, 32 miles S.S.E. of Casset, and 50 \V. of Erfurt.
11ERSILLON, in the military art, a sort of plank or beam,ten or twelve feet long, whose two-sides are driven full of spikes -or nails, to incommode the march of the infantry or cavalry. Theword is a diiwjuutiva of heist. Bee IIbrsk.
8S HERTFORD-
HERTFORD*