sight to repay him for all his trouble. On being taken from its watery
home each Herring is dead almost at once--"as dead as a Herring."

Then comes the race to the market. Once in port, the vessels are rapidly
emptied. Hundreds of thousands of shining, silvery bodies are piled on
the quays--a sight worth seeing! An army of packers gets to work; and
the fresh fish are soon on the rail, speeding to the great fish markets,
on the way to your breakfast table.

The story of the Herring fishery is one of deep interest, and of great
importance. Millions of Herrings are caught every year, forming a cheap
and good food. Yet there are uncountable numbers left; and there is not
the least danger that our nets can ever empty the sea of this wonderful
little fish.

The Herring has several smaller relatives, all of them being excellent
food for us. The Pilchard is one of them; the Sardine is merely a young
Pilchard. Countless myriads of Pilchards visit the Cornish coast;
strangely enough, they frequent only this corner of our seas.

Another cousin of the Herring, the Sprat, is also a fine food, and so
cheap that poor people can enjoy it. Baby Herrings and baby Sprats are
caught in great quantity, and sold under the name of "Whitebait." It was
thought, at one time, that the Whitebait was another kind of fish; but
Whitebait are really the Herring and Sprat in their baby state.


EXERCISES

1. Name several enemies of the Herring. 2. Describe the eggs of the