NOTES ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATION OF FISH NETS. 385 



edge of the net by means of the purse line and rings, as the mouth of a bag 

 would be closed by a puckering-string. The pursing is accomplished with the aid of 

 a heavy, bell-shaped leaden weight dropped over the side of the boat, and having 

 two blocks attached on opposite sides, through which runs the pursing line to the 

 boat davits above. But it is quite impossible to describe this operation intelligibly 

 without the aid of a sketch or model. When the seine has been pursed it is hauled 

 aboard the boats until the fish are gathered into the bunt, when the steamer comes 

 alongside and the fish are taken aboard by means of a bucket and derrick rigged on 

 deck for the purpose. 



This illustrates the principleof the purse seine. The difference in methods of appli- 

 cation in the other fisheries is chiefly confined to the boats and vessels employed. A 

 seine fashioned on this principle is said to have been operated off the coast of Khode 

 Island as early as the year 1826. It was a small net, and apparently was not a 

 marked success, as nothing more seems to have been heard of purse seines until about 

 1860, since which time they have been in general use. 



The pound, introduced into the commercial fisheries in Connecticut about the 

 year 1850, and soon afterward adopted by the New England fishermen, has come to 

 be very generally employed. On the Great Lakes it is found in the form which is per- 

 haps most effective where the use of a tunnel is practicable. The leader of the lake 

 pound is from 50 to 75 rods in length, the two heart webs each 9 rods in length, the 

 pot 30 feet square, and the tunnel, running from the end of the heart into the pot, is 

 of a length proportioned to the depth of water. The tunnel at the mouth is 30 feet 

 wide, and of the same depth as the hearts, tapering to about 3 feet square at the 

 small end, which extends 8 or 10 feet into the pot. The netting is hung in manila 

 rope one-half inch in diameter. All the parts are held in position by poles driven 

 into the bottom of the lake. The nets are set in the water varying from 15 to 75 feet 

 in depth, and in a few cases they have been made to set from 90 to 100 feet deep. 

 The upper lines of the leader and heart are even with the surface of the water. The 

 pot extends 3 or 4 feet above the surface. In some minor particulars, such as the 

 size of the lines, the opening in the tunnel, etc., the construction of the nets in some 

 fisheries may differ slightly from the description we have given. 



In the ocean pound, which has to contend with stronger currents and with floating 

 seaweeds, the tunnel does not seem to be practicable. In its stead a second small 

 heart is sometimes constructed, the converging point extending into the pot, leaving 

 an opening from 2 to 10 feet wide between the poles. 



In the weir, extensively used along the coast of the Eastern States, we have the 

 same principle differently applied — round pots or bowls taking the place of the 

 ordinary square pot, and the net being held in position by poles together with an 

 elaborate system of guy ropes and anchors. 



It is not practicable to give here more than these general particulars regarding 

 the pound. The details of its construction vary in a hundred ways, according to the 

 nature of the fishing-grounds and the ideas and whims of the fishermen. 



Gill nets are employed in the fisheries in great variety. In the large rivers flow- 

 ing to the ocean gill nets are used for the capture of those fish which ascend to the 

 head waters in the spawning season. These river drift nets are employed chiefly for 

 the capture of shad and salmon, and the methods of operation in taking the two kinds 

 of fish are much alike. The nets, fitted with corks, buoys, and bottom weights are 



F. C. B. 1893 25 



