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Fishermen Pulling in the Net
be placed man, who every year catches believe, in spite of this circumstance, that millions, the species do not appear to it could be acclimatized in fresh water. have sensibly diminished; taken on an The herring-fishery is of Dutch or average, the fishery is always as produc- Flemish origin, and the Netherlanders tive, though the returns may not be the long enjoyed a monopoly of it. In Holsame every year. land it was truly a national product, and The herring inhabits the entire Polar although its fishery has sunk far below its Ocean, the bays of Greenland, Iceland ancient splendor, it still plays a consider. and Lapland, of the Faroe Islands, of able part in the total of Dutch production. Although abundant, the capture of this lished at Enkhuisen and at Hoorn. Ther fresh fish had never constituted an im- occurred the desperate wars with Spain, portant branch of the national commerce, and afterwards with France, and the but for the discovery made in 1380, by fishery passed almost entirely into the Wilhelm Benkelszoon. It was he who two provinces of North and South Holinvented the art of preparing and pre- land, where it was for a long time kept up serving the herring in salt. Nothing is at a very high degree of prosperity. It known of his life, except that he was was regarded as so valuable a branch of born at Biervliet, a small village of Zea- the national commerce that in several land. Few discoveries, however, have edicts it is called "the gold mines of the produced so much wealth while demand- Batavian republic." ing so little sacrifice from humanity. The departure of the boats for the great. Charles V, knowing all that Holland fishery was fixed for St. John's Day (June owed to herring trade, wished to immor- 24th). This departure was preceded by talized the memory of so great a national festivals. A book is extant of the old benefit. Finding himself at Biervliet, in Dutch songs which the fishers sang 1556, he caused a tomb to be erected to before putting off to sea. Toasts were Benkelszoon, who had died in 1397. There drunk to the success of the adventure, are few examples of a funeral monument and God was implored to bless the nets. so well deserved.
Finally they hauled up their sails and the Towards the commencement of the fif- pacific flotilla sailed to accomplish the teenth century herring-fishing was estab-conquest of the herring. **
