BUX^LETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 5 



hibited were liiing to double lines, each being ^ of an inch in circum- 

 ference, while Mr. Walleui says that 2-inch rope when single, and 1-inch 

 rope when double, is the size commonly used at the Lofoten Islands. 

 Some of the nets are hung to lines only at the top and bottom, having 

 none across the end, while others have them on the ends as elsewhere. 

 This last method is said to have been recently introduced, and is con- 

 sidered an improvement when the line is a little short, so that the net 

 will be a trifle slack or baggy. About one-third of the net is taken up 

 in hanging; that is, if a net is 30 fathoms long, stretched out, before it 

 is hung, it will be about 20 fathoms long afterwards. They are hung 

 with twine about the same size as that of which they are made. The 

 end of the twine is first made fast to the hanging line, then hitched to 

 the upper part of one of the meshes, the distance between the line and 

 mesh being equal to one side of the mesh ; then back to the line again, 

 around which a clove-hitch is taken, thus forming one-half of a mesh, 

 as shown in Plate I. This method of hanging is thought by the IS^or- 

 wegian fishermen to be superior to an^' other for large-mesh nets. They 

 are generally prepared for use in Norway by tanning, and will last, when 

 so prepared, from one to five seasons. 



The nets are supported upright in the water by floats of wood, cork, 

 or hollow glass. At the Lofoten Islands, where nets are more exten- 

 sively used than elsewhere, the glass floats are preferred, it being said 

 that they replace to great advantage the old wooden ones, which failed 

 to prevent the nets from settling on the bottom. The fishermen from 

 Sondmor, however, who fish on banks where there is a strong current, 

 prefer wooden to glass floats, since, it is said, the latter are so much 

 more easily carried nway by the tide, causing the loss of many nets ; 

 while the principal objection to wooden floats is that they are so easily 

 waterlogged. But this is thought to be the lesser evil of the two, 

 since they can, at the worst, only sink to the bottom with the nets, 

 whence they may easily be recovered. From this experience of the Nor- 

 wegian fishermen, it maybe inferred that while glass floats are preferable 

 for general use, they are not so suitable as either wood or cork buoys 

 where there is a strong tide. Tlie glass floats are about 5 inches in 

 diameter, with a covering of tarred marlin or spun-yarn hitched over 

 them, to which is attached an eye. In this eye is bent the small rope 

 that holds them to the net. When so prepared for use these floats are 

 quite strong, and break far less frequently than might be supposed. 

 They withstand the pressure of water when submerged better than any- 

 thing that has been tried, but are sometimes filled with water — " drunken," 

 it is called — when set in deep water. Plate II is intended to show the 

 glass float and the way in which it is attached to the net. The small 

 ropes with which these are held vary in length fi'om 1^ to 6 feet. 



Oblong-shai)ed stones, from 3 to 5 inches in lengtli, are used for 

 sinkers. By exijerieuce the fishermen learn how large these should 

 be to sink the nets to the desired depth. From ten to twelve are fas- 



