2. Moses, the Jewish lawgiver, is very explicit in designating the land animals which might be used by the Israelites as food; and he was equally so with regard to the animals which inhabit the waters. We learn, from the twelfth chapter of Numbers, that the children of Israel, while journeying to the land of Canaan, "remembered the fish which they did eat," in Egypt.

3. This is the earliest notice on record, of the actual use of that class of animals for food; although it is probable, that they had been applied to this purpose, in Egypt, six or seven hundred years before that period, or soon after the settlement of this country by the descendants of Ham.

4. For a long time before the advent of Our Saviour, fishing had been a regular business, even in Judea; and from the class of men who followed this occupation, he chose several of his apostles. At the time just mentioned, fish had become a common article of diet, in all parts of the world subject to the Roman power, and probably in almost all other countries.

5. The methods of catching fish, pursued in ancient times, were similar to those of the present day; for then, as now, they were caught with a hook, with a spear, and with a seine or net, according to the character of the animal, and the nature of the fishing station. But the great improvements in navigation, made since the twelfth century, have given modern fishermen the command of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and, consequently, a knowledge of many species of fish which were formerly unknown.

6. According to Linnæus, the great naturalist, about four hundred species of fish have come to our knowledge; and he presumes, that those which remain unknown are still more numerous. Notwithstanding this great variety, the chief attention of fishermen is confined to a few kinds, which are the most easily caught, and which are the most valuable when taken.

7. Every place which contains many inhabitants, and which is located in the vicinity of waters well stored with fish, is supplied with these animals by men who make fishing a business; still, these fisheries may be considered local in their benefits, and perhaps do not require particular notice in this article. We will only remark, therefore, that, in large cities, fresh fish are sold either in a fish-market, or are hawked about the streets. The wives of the fishermen are very often employed in selling the fish caught by their husbands. The fisheries which are of the greatest consequence, in general commerce, are those which relate to herring, mackerel, salmon, seal, and whale.

8. Herring Fishery.—There are several species of herring; but, of these, four kinds only are of much importance, viz., the common herring, the shad, the hard head, and the alewife; of which, the first is the most valuable, being by far the most numerous, and being, also, better adapted than the others for preservation.

9. The winter residence of the common herring is within the arctic circle, whence it emigrates, in the spring, to more southern portions of the globe, for the purpose of depositing its spawn. The first body of these migratory animals, appears on the coasts of both Europe and America, in April, or about the first of May; but these are only the precursors of the grand shoals which arrive in a few weeks afterwards.

10. Their first approach is indicated by the great number of birds of prey, which follow them in their course; but, when the main body appears, the number is so great, that they alter the appearance of the ocean itself. In this last and principal migration, the shoals are five or six miles in length, and three or four in breadth; and, before each of these columns, the water is driven in a kind of ripple. Sometimes, the fish sink together ten or fifteen minutes, and then rise again to the surface, when they reflect, in clear weather, the rays of the sun, in a variety of splendid colors.

11. These fish proceed as far south as France, on the coasts of Europe, and as far as Georgia, in America, supplying every bay, creek, and river, which opens into the Atlantic. Having deposited their spawn, generally in the inland waters, they return to their head-quarters in the Arctic Ocean, and recruit their emaciated bodies for another migration in the following spring.