FISHERIES AND SEAL-HUNTING. 47 



few hours of an autumn day four fishermen catch sharks enough to 

 yield as much as 100 "pouds" (3,G00 pounds) of liver. The inhabitants 

 of Kola catch the shark under the ice. 



The small species of cod called Gadus virens is chiefly caught in July 

 and August, when it rises to the surface of the sea in enormous schools. 

 These small fish are caught like a large " carrelet," (a sort of square net 

 fixed on a pole,) or globe, which hangs down in the shape of a bag, sur- 

 rounded by a bolt-rope of the thickness of a finger. Every side of the 

 net is from 15 to 17 " sagenes," (105 to 119 feet) long, and the meshes are 

 an inch square. To the four ends long cords are attached, by means of 

 which the fishermen keep the globe up and extended. 



For this operation, four boats are required, each manned by three fish- 

 ermen. As soon as a school of cod approaches, the fishermen cast the 

 net into the water, first by the side of the school, and then they manage 

 to get it underneath. To effect this, the cords attached to the four 

 corners must be stretched evenly by the four boats. As soon as the 

 net is placed horizontally beneath the school, the fish are frightened by 

 yelling, striking the water with the oars, and by throwing stones into 

 the sea, so that the fish, desiring to sink to the bottom of the sea, 

 become entangled in the net which is below them. When this has been 

 done, the four boats lift up the net by a regular movement. This fishery 

 is very productive, each boat often receiving as its share about 200 

 " pouds" (7,200 pounds) of cod. 



The small fish mentioned above, which resemble the Osmerus cper- 

 lanus, and are used as a bait for cod-fishing, are caught with hoop-nets 

 30 " sagenes" (210 feet) long. The meshes of the bags of these nets are 

 so narrow that 44 of them make 7 square inches. When they have 

 caught with the hoop-net 6 "pouds" (216 pounds) of these fish, it is con- 

 sidered sufficient to bait about 3,000 hooks on the following day. 



Preparing the various products of the fisheries. — Among the various 

 kinds of cod, the Gadus morrhua and the Gadus virens are salted or 

 dried, according to the season, while the Gadus ccglefiuus is almost 

 always salted. The Hippoglossus maximus and the Anarrhicas lupus are 

 only salted without cutting off the head, as is done with the different 

 kinds of cod. 



The way to prepare the cod is as follows : The head of the fish is cut 

 off; then it is split open along the back, so that the vertebral column 

 adheres to one-half. Then the belly is opened, and the liver and entrails 

 are taken out j after which it is washed, and brought to the huts to be 

 salted or suspended on poles to dry. 



In the huts, the halves of the fish are laid out in rows, the side 

 of the skin turned back, and every row is covered with a thick layer of 

 salt, 



They generally reckon from 17 to 20 " pouds " (612 to 780 pounds) of 

 salt to 100 "pouds" (3,000 pounds) of cod-fish; and from 7 to 9 "pouds" 

 (252 to 324 pounds) of salt to 100 "pouds" (3,600 pounds) of "pilchoni," 



