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of the previous clay's work. But the means which were so successful 

 then fail now, and perhaps for Jays to come; for the capricious crea- 

 tures will not take the hook, nor can all the art of the most sagacious 

 and experienced induce them to bite. 



Repeating, however, essentialljnhe operations which I have described^ 

 from time to time, and until a cargo has been obtained, or until the 

 master becomes discouraged, or his })rovisions have been consumed, 

 the vessel returns to port and hauls in at the inspector's whaif, where 

 the fish, many or few, are landed, sorted into three qualities, weighed, 

 repacked, resalted, and repickled. In two or three days she is refitted, 

 and on her way to the fishing ground for a second fare. Meantime the 

 owner, and all others who inquire "what luckV" learn from some wise 

 "old salt" (and there is always a Sir Oracle on board) how much hiowl- 

 edge the mackerel have acquired since the previous season. Having 

 been thus employed until the cold weather approaches, the smaller 

 vessels haul up, and their "skippers" pass the winter in cracking nuts^ 

 relating stories, and accounting for bad voyages or boasting of good 

 ones; while the larger vessels go south, and engage in freighting. 



The bait, which 1 have said is thrown overboard to attract the fish 

 to the surf ice, is usually composed of small mackerel or salted herrings 

 cut in small pieces. As economy and success alike require a careful 

 use of it, the master seldom allows otlier hands than his own to dispose 

 of it. It was formerly the duty of the man who kept the watch on deck 

 in the night to cut the bait on a block; but the hail-mill has taken place 

 of this noisy and tedious process. Nothing, certainly, in the lime of any 

 fisherman now living, has occasioned so much joy as its introduction. 

 This labor-saving, sleep-promoting machine, as constructed at first, was 

 extremely simple. It was a box which was made to stand on end, and 

 had a crank projecting through its side ; while internally it had a wooden 

 roller armed with small knives, in rows, so arranged that when the 

 roller was turned, the fish to be gi'ound or cut up should undergo the oper- 

 ation by coming between these rows of knives and others which were 

 arranged along a board that sloped towards the bottom. It has been 

 improved in form and efficienc}', and is in common use. 



The superiority of sound, strong, and well-furnished vessels over 

 those of opposite qualities, ma}'^ seem too apparent to require a word of 

 notice. Many poor ones are nevertheless employed, and so are poor 

 masters; but the misplaced economy of trusting either is becoming so 

 perceptible, that their number is rapidly diminishing. Yet I may be 

 pardoned for relating a single fict, illustrative of the folly of retaining 

 in use a solitary vessel that ought to be, or one master that seeks to be, 

 in a harbor during any of the gales which occur on our coast before 

 the equinox. A few years ago, between Mount Desert and Cape Sable, 

 there were one day three hundred vessels in sight of each other ; and, 

 as was judged, they were mostly mackerel catchers, meeting with moi'e 

 than the average success. The moderate breeze of the morning iiesh- 

 ened towards noon, and as night approached there were strong indica- 

 tions of a storm. A movement was soon perceptible tliroughout the 

 fleet, and it finally scattered and sailed away. The staunch vessels 

 which wvxv. controlled by stout hearts sought an offing; but the rest, 

 the shelter of the nearest havens. Two thousand men, probably, were 



