that the proportion of spawn and fry which must perish is so great as to reduce the operations of man to limits barely appreciable. On the important related question whether the supply of fish is decreasing, the Commissioners entertain no doubt whatever. They say, ‘so far from the stock of fish decreasing, we believe that the supply of fish, taken on the whole, is at least as great as it has ever been; there are some reasons for even thinking that it is actually increasing.’ On the other hand, they refer to a general impression that the take of flat‐fish, such as soles and plaice, is becoming less; the local explanation referring almost universally to the destruction of fry. Yet while the Commissioners do not, except in the case of soles, contest the alleged decrease, they refuse to recognise the assigned cause, nor, generally speaking, do they see any reason for legislative action of a restrictive nature.” The prospects of our ocean fishing, both as an industry and as a food supply, are, therefore, encouraging. The harvest of the sea is constant, and though there must be local fluctuations, the return for the labour of those “who reap where they have not sowed” is sure. [Illustration: HERRING FISHING.] Of the shad, though not as commonly known as the herring, there are twenty known species. In the season this fish regularly approaches the mouths of great rivers for the purpose of spawning. It is found in the spring in the Rhine, Seine, Garonne, Volga, Elbe, and in many of our own rivers. In some Irish rivers the masses of shad taken have been so great that hardly any amount of exertion has been sufficient to land the net. It sometimes attains a very considerable size, weighing from four to six pounds. The shad taken at sea is considered coarser eating than that caught in rivers. The sprat has been by some taken for the young of the herring, and the controversy on the subject has at times waxed warm. Some anatomists declare that their peculiarities show no difference but size. It has a serrated belly, which Bertram looks upon as the tuck in the child’s frock, a provision for growth. “The slaughter of sprats,” says he, “is as decided a case of killing the goose with the golden eggs as the grilse slaughter carried on in our salmon rivers.” But Figuier reminds that writer that the young herrings are caught without the serrated belly, and that the curer’s purchase is regulated by the sprat’s rough, and the herring’s smooth, belly. Sprats are often so abundant as to be unsaleable, and are then actually used for manure. [Illustration: THE PILCHARD (_Clupea pilchardus_).]