22 I. IJIMA : HEXACTINELLIDA. I. 



thus effectually ensnare the bodies upon which they have hap- 

 pened to fall. Furthermore, a very frequent cause of objects 

 becoming entangled in the snoods seems to be the struggles of the 

 fish that have been hooked. As a matter of fact, I have often 

 observed some valuable specimen come up tied on to a snood at 

 the end of which was a fish. On this account, Kuma is in the 

 habit of baiting the hooks even though he be bent on capturing 

 such an unvoracious animal as the sponge. 



It is needless to say that the quantity of the catches is a 

 matter of luck, as much, I think, as when a trawl or a dredge 

 or a tangle is used. As often as not meters upon meters of the 

 line are hauled in without any sign of the baits having been 

 touched, indicating that that portion of the line did not reach 

 the bottom at all, or with indications of scraping against rocks, 

 the hooks carrying nothing and some of them being perhaps 

 straightened out. But then, there may follow a long section in 

 which almost every other snood has something on it. 



It would lead me too far if I were to give an adequate de- 

 scription of the mass and variety of animal forms that have been 

 obtained during the last seven years in the Sagami Sea by means 

 of the dabo-line, both as it has been used persistently and 

 systematically by ourselves, and also by the fisherfolk who with 

 it gain by-profit to their proper earnings. So far as the Hexact- 

 inellida is concerned, an idea of what can be achieved with 

 this fishing gear will be duely gathered in the course of this and 

 following contributions. As to the other animals obtained, let 

 it suffice to give here the barest sketch. 



As before mentioned, the dabo-line is primarily intended 

 for use in fishing for Bathythrissa dorsalis. At the same time 

 the other fishes caught by it are varied and numerous. In 



