FISHING STATIONS— ENGLAND. 213 



The following- is the number of fishing boats which 

 were on the rea'ister in 1872 : — 



Guernsey is the only one of the islands whose 

 fisheries require particular notice, as it not only pro- 

 vides for its own necessities, but helps to supply the 

 Jersey and London markets. The fisheries are of a 

 varied description and include those by drift-net, sean, 

 trawl, trammel, and line. One of the most important is 

 the drift-fishery for mackerel. It begins at about the 

 middle or end of May, and lasts for ten or twelve weeks. 

 It is mostly carried on to the west of the island, 

 and at from 10 to 30 miles from the land; but in tlie 

 later part of the summer the mackerel appear nearer 

 home, and are then taken by the hook, very large ones 

 being frequently caught at that time — some of them, it 

 is said, weighing as much as two pounds and a half. 

 A fleet of mackerel-nets as used by the Gruernsey fisher- 

 men is from 1200 to 1500 fathoms long, but there is a 

 considerable additional length of netting included in 

 this measurement, as it is set slack on the back- rope or 

 " rawling " in the proportion of 135 fathoms of netting 

 to 100 fathoms of rope. 



There is a fine class of boats used for this drift-fishery, 

 and they are peculiar in both their build and style of 

 rig. They run from 27 to 36 feet on the keel, the 

 largest boats having 12 feet beam and drawing over 

 G feet water aft, with less than half that draught for- 

 ward. 



The rig of these boats (Plate IX.) is that of a fore- 



