Crustacea. 103 



and a very pretty sight it is to see this little fleet of 150 

 vessels all working in and out of Leigh Creek together, 

 boats of all sizes, and sails of every cut and colour, and if 

 it be about sunrise or evening time when this happens, it 

 makes a most charming picture. 



Shrimps are caught all over the sands that lie in the 

 Thames estuary. The manner of catching them is this. 

 An apparatus is constructed in the following manner : A 

 frame of wood about six or eight feet long (it may be of 

 any size) is formed, and upon this is placed a net, in such a 

 manner that the net and frame, when complete, shall form 

 a long-pointed bag ; to the wooden frame is attached a 

 long rope, by which it is lowered to the bottom, and when 

 there dragged along by the motion of the boat through the 

 water. The edge of the wooden frame scrapes along the 

 sand and compels the shrimps to enter the net ; when in, 

 they quickly get back to the end of the pocket, where the 

 mesh is fine, and they are secured. Each boat is provided 

 with three or four of these little trawls. At Gravesend, 

 where there is also a large fleet of craft employed in 

 shrimping, they use a much larger description of net, and 

 each boat is sufficiently equipped with one of these. 



Shrimping boats must be provided with a well, in which 

 the shrimps are placed the moment they are caught. As 

 soon as they are taken from this well, on the arrival of the 

 boat at Leigh, they are placed in a copper of boiling sea 

 water and boiled at once ; when cool, they are forwarded 

 to London as quickly as possible. 



As many as 1000 gallons of shrimps are sometimes 

 sent to London in a single day from this place alone. 



Shrimps and Prawns, etc., in other Countries. Prawns at 

 Tunis are of great size, six to seven inches long. Tunis, 

 the ancient Carthage, was always celebrated for them, and 



