578 FISHING NETS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE OTTER-TRAWL. 



the bottom-wing on the side where the break occurs, more slack given 

 to the square at the quarters, and the whole laced up again. 



Some of the finer details in the structure and fixing of the net may 

 now be pointed out. It will first of all be noticed that whilst the 

 head-rope is only 90 feet long, the length of the wings and head of the 

 square which fix on to the head-rope is more than 105 feet, that is to 

 say, 15 feet of slack must be distributed along the two wings. This 

 means that the square is stretched out in the centre as far as it can 

 stretch. The batings are consequently stretched out in the centre, 

 and likewise the cod-end. If we turn to the under part of the net we 

 find the same thing. The ground-rope is 120 feet long, but the length 

 of net to be attached to it is over 160 feet. This means that the centre 

 of the belly must be pulled up, even though plenty of slack is allowed. 

 Consequently, there is a strain down the centre of the net, both above 

 and below, from the front to the cod-end ; and this does away with the 

 necessity for having guy-ropes leading from the head-line and foot- 

 rope to the cod-end, which are present, as mentioned before, in the filets 

 de bosvf. 



On the other hand, the bag-formation at the sides, which the French- 

 men obtained by means of these ropes and the ears (anscs) in the 

 " cod-end " {cv.lignon), is given in the otter-trawl by a careful dis- 

 tribution of the slack along the sides. The top-wing and square 

 measured along the side are about 70 feet long; the bottom-wing to 

 which they are laced is 5 feet longer. This 5 feet of slack must be put 

 in somewhere, and as it is usual to allow the square two or three 

 of slack in order to relieve the strain on the net and put it on the 

 head-rope, we must distribute the 8 feet of slack on the bottom-wing 

 along the selvage of the top-wing. It would seem, therefore, as if the 

 meshes of the top-wing ought to be stretched, but, as already pointed 

 out, it has about 8 feet of slack along the head-line. The bottom-wing, 

 relatively to the head-rope, has consequently about 16 feet of slack net, 

 and relatively to the foot-rope it has more than 20 feet. The result 

 is that the net must bulge out to the side and also backward, and 

 this is the case with the under part of the net more than with the 

 upper. 



As we follow the lines of the bag of the net from the 120 mesh 

 towards the cod-end, it will be noticed that the inner sides of the 

 pockets really continue the sides of the net, and the opening under 

 the flapper is the termination. The remaining portions, formed by the 

 pockets and cod-end, are just as if they had been tacked on separately. 

 When the net is fishing, therefore, there is nothing at the sides to stop 

 the flow of water or cause an eddy, but a smooth passage right down 

 into the cod-end. The rush of water into the latter must be of 



