90 THE OCEAN. 



some of the Hebrides there are large pools for the 

 preservation of sea-fishes, hollowed out of the solid 

 rock, and communicating with the sea by narrow 

 clefts at high tide. Great numbers of Cod-fishes 

 are kept in these vivaria, and are fed with various 

 garbage, or the bodies of other fishes. The stock 

 is replenished by casting in such individuals as are 

 but slightly injured by the hook in fishing, while 

 small ones, or such as are lacerated, are thrown into 

 the same receptacle, as food for their more fortunate 

 brethren. There are two modes of capturing the 

 Cod with the hook : the one is with what are called 

 in Cornwall bulters, which are long lines, to which 

 are attached, at regular distances, other lines six feet 

 in length, each bearing a hook; the intervals are 

 twice the length of the small lines, to prevent their 

 intertwining: these are shot across the course of the 

 tide. The other mode is by hand-lines, of which 

 each fisherman holds two, one in each hand, and 

 each line bears two hooks at its extremity, which 

 are kept apart by a stout wire going from one to the 

 other. A heavy leaden weight is attached near 

 the hooks, and thus the fisherman feels when his 

 bait is off the ground. He continually jerks them 

 up and down, and is thus aware of a fish the moment 

 it is secured. Although this seems a somewhat 

 tedious process of fishing compared with the im- 

 mense draughts of the net, it is found in skilful 

 hands to be productive : eight men on the Dogger- 

 bank have taken eighty score of Cod in a day. It 

 is a heavy fish: Pennant records one which weighed 

 781bs., but this was a giant ; it was sold at Scar- 



