AMERICA'S FISHERIES 167 



of these traps, only three typical ones will be 

 mentioned. 



Brush weirs are commonly employed in Maine for 

 catching herring. They are usually located either at 

 a point of land that extends out into the water for 

 some distance, or in channels where the tide is strong. 

 The trap is a large circular or heart-shaped in- 

 closure constructed by driving posts into the bottom, 

 with smaller stakes between them. Fine brush is then 

 interwoven horizontally between the stakes in order 

 to make a primitive sort of fence. A long fence or 

 "lead," constructed of brush in a similar way, ex- 

 tending from the shore to the mouth of the trap, 

 deflects the fish into the pound. In order to remove 

 the fish from the weir, a net is placed over the mouth 

 of the trap, and the fish are captured with a small 

 seine. 



The pound-net is one of the most common forms of 

 gear used in the fisheries, being employed both in 

 fresh and salt water fishing. The usual type has a 

 long leader made of poles driven into the bottom 

 connected with coarse netting, which deflects the fish 

 into the first inclosure or heart. Once they have 

 entered the heart, the fish can only find their way 

 into the mouth of the crib in which they are cap- 

 tured. The bottom of the crib is covered with netting, 

 which may be raised when the fish are to be removed. 



In deep water, or where the bottom is rocky so 

 that piles cannot be driven, floating traps are used. 

 The framework is made of small logs, bolted and 

 braced together in one solid frame and is of the same 

 general design as the ordinary pound-net. The net- 



