The appearance of the men and of their cabins show
that they are greatly in want of capital; and fishing cannot be
successfully performed without a sufficiency of this industrial
element.
Illustrations of this neglected industry might be given to any
extent. Herring fishing, cod fishing, and pilchard fishing, are
alike untouched. The Irish have a strong prejudice against the
pilchard; they believe it to be an unlucky fish, and that it will
rot the net that takes it. The Cornishmen do not think so, for
they find the pilchard fishing to be a source of great wealth.
The pilchards strike upon the Irish coast first before they reach
Cornwall. When Mr. Brady, Inspector of Irish Fisheries, visited
St. Ives a few years ago, he saw captured, in one seine alone,
nearly ten thousand pounds of this fish.
Not long since; according to a northern local paper,[13] a large
fleet of vessels in full sail was seen from the west coast of
Donegal, evidently making for the shore. Many surmises were made
about the unusual sight. Some thought it was the Fenians, others
the Home Rulers, others the Irish-American Dynamiters. Nothing
of the kind! It was only a fleet of Scotch smacks, sixty-four in
number, fishing for herring between Torry Island and Horn Head.
The Irish might say to the Scotch fishermen, in the words of the
Morayshire legend, "Rejoice, O my brethren, in the gifts of the
sea, for they enrich you without making any one else the poorer!"
But while the Irish are overlooking their treasure of herring,
the Scotch are carefully cultivating it.
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