At a time wlieu so many institutions, in Europe as well as elsewbere, 

 ai-e busily iuvestigating the seas and their auimal life, it will be a good thing 

 to call tbe attention to improvements on tbe fisbiug-gear employed in tbis 

 undei-taking. As my experience in tbese matters bave, presumedly, led to such 

 improvements, I sball liere mention tbem more closely. 



It was almost a matter ot' course tbat the naturalists by tiieir deep-sea 

 investigations at tirst imitated tbe fisbing-apparatus used by the fishermen: 

 tbe (Iredye, l'or instance, in all its many forms, is eertainly au imitation of the 

 oyster-dredge, and like tlie latter calculated onl}^ to catch smaller and not very 



rig 1. A double-trawl, (Alter llie rrince uf ilunuco.) 



quick auimals; tbe /raid, on tbe otber band, was introduced just to catcb the 

 larger and i|uic'ker auimals. Tbis also is originally an imitation of tbe fisher- 

 men's trawl, particularly tbe heam-trdiii, but in two things, uevertbeless, the 

 »scientific« trawl differs from tbat of tbe tisbermen: ■// is nutch smaller , and 

 it is usually double, i. e. made in such a way tbat it can tish whetber it falls 

 on one side or on the other (fig. 1). It was tbe Americuus wbo introduced the 



