21 



driven by tlie current. — The pocket is one of the tliings in tlie seiue wliicli 

 must be shaped most accurately. It must be lougish, funnel-shaped, without 

 any folds, und with a mouth (at the farther end) which eau be extended 

 as more or less water runs through it. Therefore there must not he ani/ 

 tie in the mouth either, only meslies, which can be extended of their owu 

 accord, as the force of the water becomes greater while you go on. If you 

 stop, the pocket must coUapse, and so preveut the escape of the fish which are 

 already caught. 



A drawback to all sorts of fishing-gear on deep water is that the tow- 

 rope, which is always of steel-wire, does not go directly from the fishiug- 

 apparatus up through tlie -water to the vessel, as it is ofteu pictured (see for 



Fi;;. i*. A Double-Trawl (fpont-view). 



Tho dolted line shows the crow-foot in the unfavoiiralilc irøsitioii. ihe line fully drawn out shows the same 



in the tavourable position. (About the same scale as tig. 10.) 



instance Tunner: loc. cit. p. 365. & fig. 8); it is generally dragging along the 

 bottom in front of tlie gear, putting in motion the loose mud, by which all 

 shy animals are frigliteued away. (Comp. fig. 5.) Perhaps this matter ha.s not 

 been sufficiently considered, for I have nowhere seen it meutioned more 

 closely. If we imagine ourselves stauding in front of such a scientific« trawl 

 while it is working on the bottom, we shall see something like fig. 9 & 10, 

 where the dotted lines show the crow-foot \\i\h shackle and tow-rope. We see 

 immediately that the position of these lines is verv unfavourable, as they bar 

 a part of the fishing openiiig. (Jn low water, 2 — 5 fathoms, where the vertex 

 of the crow-foot does not touch the bottom, because we can liere take care to 

 veer out as little rope as uecessary, the ropes .sit, as shown by the fully drawn 

 lines in fig. 8 — 10. The fish perceive nothing at all till they are between the 

 arms of the seine, consequently till they are nearly caught; but on deep w^ater 

 when the vertex of the crow-foot touches the ground, tlie fish must swini over 

 the bridles of the crow-foot belore they get into the seine. Tiie fishermen's 



