ALTERATIONS IN THE MODE OF FISHING. 181 



hanks at a distance from land, then to the borders 

 of the ice, and finally, to the sheltered situations 

 afforded by the ice, appears to have been fully ac- 

 complished about the year 1700, or from that to 

 1720. In consequence of this event, the plan of 

 prosecuting the fisheiy, which, previous to this pe- 

 riod, had undergone different alterations, now un- 

 derwent a material change. This change did not 

 only affect the manner of conducting the fishery, 

 but it likewise extended to the construction of the 

 ships, and the quality and quantity of the fishing 

 apparatus. When the fishery could be effected en- 

 tirely in the bays, or even along the sea-coast, any 

 vessels which were sea-worthy, however old or ten- 

 der, were deemed sufficient to proceed to Spitzber- 

 gen, and were generally found adequate to the pur- 

 pose ; especially as it was customary to allow the 

 spring to be far advanced before they set out, where- 

 by they avoided the inconvenience and obstruction 

 to the advance of the ships into fishing stations, 

 which is often presented by the ice in the early part 

 of the spring of the year ; and, what was of equal 

 consequence, they escaped those tremendous and 

 destructive storms, to which the whale-fishers in 

 modern times, who set out at an earlier period, are 

 constantly exposed. On account of the increased 

 exposure to the ice, new, or at least very substantial 

 ships became requisite ; and even these, it was 

 ibund necessary to strengthen by additional timbcKR 



