666 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



CLOSED OR FUNNEL TRAPS. These are made of several different shapes and materials, 

 though alike in principle, and possess this great advantage over the hoop pots, that when the lob- 

 sters once enter them they can seldom escape. They do not require to be visited oftener than 

 once a day, or at the pleasure of the fisherman, who can, therefore, handle a large number at a 

 time. On the Maine coast as many as eighty to one hundred are sometimes set by a single fisher- 

 man, and few fishermen there consider their outfit complete with less than fifty or sixty. These 

 traps are generally made with a flat bottom and semi-circular sides and top, one or both ends hav- 

 ing a funnel-shaped entrance, but are occasionally rectangular. They are nearly always con- 

 structed of narrow strips of wood, with funnels of twine netting, but on some sections of the coast 

 they are entirely covered with netting. 



LATH POTS. The term "lath pot" is almost universally employed to designate the common 

 forms of closed lobster traps, whether semi-cylindrical or rectangular in shape, providing they are 

 constructed of laths or of any narrow strips of wood. Other names by which they are known to 

 the fishermen are " box-traps," " house-pots," " stick-pots," and " lath-coops." 



The semi-cylindrical lath pots are generally constructed as follows : They range in length from 

 2 to 4 feet, the latter length, which is the full size of the laths, being the commoner, and the 

 shorter ones being seldom used on the coast of Maine. With the 4 foot pots the width is about 

 2 feet and the height 18 inches. Other proportions of width and height also occur. The frame- 

 work of the bottom consists of three strips of wood, either spruce, hemlock, or piue (the first 

 mentioned being the most durable), a little longer than the width of the pot, about 2f inches wide 

 and 1 inch thick. In the ends of each of these strips a hole is bored to receive the ends of a small 

 branch of pliable wood, which is bent into a regular semi-circular curve. These hoops are made 

 of branches of spruce or hemlock, or of hard wood saplings, such as maple, birch, or ash, gen- 

 erally retaining the bark. Three of these similar frames, straight below and curved above, con- 

 stitute the frame- work of each pot, one to stand at each end and one in the center. The narrow 

 strips of wood, generally ordinary house laths of spruce or pine, which form the covering, are 

 nailed lengthwise to them, with interspaces between about equal to the width of the laths. On the 

 bottom the laths are sometimes nailed on the outside and sometimes on the inside of the cross- 

 pieces. The door is formed by three or four of the laths running the entire length, either near 

 the base on one side, or near the top. The door is hinged on by means of small leather strips, and 

 is fastened by a single wooden button in the center, or by two buttons, one at each end. The 

 openings into the pot, which in the case of those 4 feet long are two in number, one at each end, 

 are generally knit of coarse twine and have a mesh between three-fourths of an inch and 1 inch 

 square. They are funnel shaped, with one side shorter than the other, and at the larger end 

 have the same diameter as the framework. The smaller and inner end measures about 6 inches 

 in diameter, and is held open by means of a wire ring or wooden hoop. The funnels are fastened 

 by the larger ends to the end frames of the pot, with the shorter side uppermost, so that when 

 they are in place they lead obliquely upwards into the pot instead of horizontally. The inner 

 ends are secured in position by means of one or two cords extending to the center frame. 

 The funnels are about 11 or 12 inches deep, and therefore extend about half way to the center of 

 the pot. They taper rapidly and form a strongly inclined plane, up which the lobsters must climb 

 in their search for the bait. A two- strand tanned rnanila twine is most commonly employed for 

 making the funnels. Cotton is also used, but is more expensive and less durable. The smaller 

 pots have a funnel at one end only. 



The bait holder is generally a sort of spearhead of wood or iron, with one large barb, and 

 stands upright from the middle of the center frame ; it is from 8 to 12 inches long. The pots are 



