1898] 



THE GREY MULLET FISHERY IN JAPAN 257 



sandy shore of a bay. The two bamboo sticks are held by two men 

 wading in the water, or by two boats. Thus the net is expanded 

 between them, special care being taken not to leave an open space 

 between the lower margin of the net and the ground. The net is 

 held obliquely against current. While the net is thus prepared, two 

 boats row swiftly and drive fish towards the net by means of a long 



Fig. 5. 



scare-cord held between them. When the cord touches the net, the 

 latter is quickly raised out of water to bail out the fish. The scare- 

 cord is made of hemp, and is about 900 ft. in length. It is provided 

 with numerous thin, small, rectangular pieces of wood (ea. 1 ft. by 

 2 ins.). They are slightly curved, and make a noise, and disturb 

 the surface of the water very much when they are drawn quickly. 



The stop net. — This is chiefly used in harbours to stop escape 

 of fish, either by encircling a shoal of fish, or by closing the mouth 

 of the harbour. This is generally accomplished with set-nets or 

 gill-nets. For the benefit of this fishery, a certain district is closed 



Fig. 6. 



to fishermen, and sometimes even to the anchorage of boats, during 

 a certain season. To allure fish to such a place, bran and mud are 

 mixed together and made into balls, which are distributed over the 

 ground. 



The drift line (fig. 6). — This is used from a boat in a brackish 

 lake. The line is made of hairs from horse tails, twisted together 



