88 FISHEBMES OF THE CTNITED STATES. 



washed after the work of dressing the fish is finished. Men going on a long cruise provide 

 themselves with several pairs of these mittens. They may be bought in the shops for about 50 

 cents a pair, but are often made by members of a fisherman's family. 



(b) Cotton mittens. — These are similar in shape to the woolen mittens; t bey are made of pieces 

 of cotton drilling sewn together, and, like the woolen mittens, are white. They are used principally 

 for dressing mackerel in the summer season and handling the seines, being cooler and more com- 

 fortable in warm weather than those made of wool. The cotton ones cost about 25 cents a pair. 



(c) Rubber mittens. — These are sometimes lined with flannel, and when not so lined are made 

 very large in order to fit over the ordinary woolen mittens. They are used to a limited extent by 

 the winter fishermen and cost about $1 a pair. 



(d) Oil-mittens. — These are usually made of stout cotton drilling and oiled. They are used in 

 the same manner as the unlined rubber mittens, being worn over woolen mittens. They cost about 

 50 cents a pair. 



(e) Mackerel gloves. — These are made of woolen yarn and resemble mittens, except that the 

 forefiugers have separate coverings. By this arrangement greater freedom of motion is allowed to 

 forefingers of men who are eviscerating or "gibbing" the mackerel. 



(/) Hand-haulers. — These are tight-fitting gloves of woolen yarn, with long wrist pieces, 

 extending half way up the forearm, and very short finger and t liumb stalls. These are used by the 

 hand-line fishermen in the winter, being worn with the nippers, described below. The short 

 finger-stalls are supposed to facilitate the free use of the fingers in baiting the hooks. The hand- 

 haulers are not sufficiently common to be kept for sale in the shops. 



(<j) 'Nippers. — These resemble wristlets in general appearance, but are worn around then 

 lower part of the fingers instead of around the wrist. They are knit of woolen yarn and, like the. 

 mittens, are always white. They are used by all trawl and hand-line fishermen, but not by mack- 

 erel fishermen. They are held in the hollow of the hand, when the hue is being hauled, lor the 

 sake of greater ease in obtaining a grip. They are stuffed with woolen cloth in such a manner 

 that there is a narrow crease in the center between the two edges, by the friction of which the 

 hand is aided in its effort to retain a grasp upon the line. Nippers are for sale in all the shops, 

 and cost 50 cents a pair. Unlike all the other articles of clothing and hand wear, the nippers form 

 part of the outfit of the vessel and are included in the "stock charges," of which the crew pay 

 one-half. The only exception to this rule is the usage, which occasionally prevails, of giving a 

 suit of oil clothes, at (he expense of the vessel and crew, to an expert "Salter" for his services on a 

 Bank trip. A halibut vessel, expected to be absent, from port about six weeks, carries from a 

 dozen and a half to two dozen pairs of nippers, and the Grand Hanker carries a still larger supply, 



s ■times four or six dozen pairs. Large quantities of nippers are made by the fishermen's widows 



at Gloucester, lo whom this industry affords a partial support. These women also knit some of 

 the mittens, though the greater part come from the maritime districts of Nova Scotia and Maine. 

 Nippers are also made by the young ladies of seaboard towns for sale at church fairs. 



(h) Finger-cots. — These are separate linger stalls of rubber or wool worn by mackerel fishermen 

 upon the forefinger when hand-lining lor mackerel. They are kept in the shops and cost about 5 

 cents or 10 cents apiece. 



CARE OF CLOTHING. — The fisherman's wardrobe is seldom Stored in chests or trunks. The 

 number of men living in the cabin and the forecastle renders it unadvisable to (ill up the space 

 with furniture of t his description. The skipper, however, sometimes carries a chest, or ''donkey," 



as the fishermen call it. The oil clothes, which form the bulkiest portion of the fisherman's dress, 

 of which he carries two or i e suits, cannot be stowed away in a confined space, but are always 



