INTRODUCTORY. 7 



and daughters of the fishermen twisting lines and 

 making nets with a rapidity almost incredible to those 

 who had not seen the work going on. Trawl-nets are 

 still made by hand, and the best Manilla hemjD is now 

 frequently used for them ; but cotton is in favour for 

 lighter nets, and has also been introduced for fishing 

 lines. All the fisherman's appliances have undergone 

 improvement ; but machinery cannot do everything for 

 him ; he must still be able to fit out his boat and put 

 his gear in working order; he must be a sailor and 

 pilot at sea ; and he must have the peculiar knowledge 

 on which, of course, his success as a fisherman mainly 

 depends. The thorough-going fisherman is therefore a 

 man of many parts ; and such men are increasing in 

 number with the growth of regular deep-sea fishing, 

 and the general tendency of the more strictly coast 

 fishermen to go farther away from home. 



While on the subject of fishermen, we may say a few 

 words about our sea fisheries being what is popularly 

 called a nursery for the Navy. The idea is a very old 

 one, and perhaps at one time had a great deal of truth 

 in it ; but we believe it is a delusion to suppose that in 

 modern times fishermen will readily give up their inde- 

 pendent life for the strict discipline of a man-of-war. 

 The result of our inquiries around the coast a few 

 years ago, when fishing was not more profitable than it 

 is now, if indeed as much so, was that, notwithstanding 

 its many advantages, no service was so unpopular 

 among fishermen as that in the Royal Navy. It must 

 be remembered that although the fisherman goes to sea 

 and learns to handle a boat or larger craft in almost 

 any kind of weather, he, unlike the professed sailor, 

 does so only as a means of enabling him to carry on 

 another and totally distinct occupation. His legitimate 



