108 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
fisheries of the coast. - These boats are flat-bottomed, with flaring sides, 
sharp bows, and V-shaped, oblique, projecting sterns. They are from 
12 to 16 feet in length (bottom measurement), different sizes being re- 
quired for the various kinds of fishing. There is but little variation in 
the models, although for. certain purposes* they are built somewhat 
wider and deeper than the average. 
The seine-boat that is used in the mackerel fishery is a modification 
of the whale-boat, and is sharp at both ends. It has been found admir- 
ably well adapted for purse-seining, as it moves easily through the water 
and at the same time has sufficient buoyancy to carry safely a large 
seine while being towed very swiftly by a vessel. The ordinary size of 
these is 36 feet in length, though a few larger and smaller ones are 
used. 
In addition to the boats that have been described, the following may 
be mentioned as being, perhaps, the most noticeable: (1) The square- 
sterned, sloop-rigged lobster-boat of Bristol, Maine; (2) the square- 
sterned ‘‘reach-boat”; (3) “double-ender” (a canoe-shaped boat), both 
this and the preceding being common on the coast of Maine; (4) the 
“drag-boat” of Cape Cod; (5) the square-sterned, cat-rigged boat of 
Southern Massachusetts; (6) the sloop iobabeeeninek of Long Island 
Sound; and (7) the surf-boat of New Jersey. 
The other forms of fishing-boats are mostly modifications of those 
that have been noticed, and it is scarcely desirable to make further 
mention of them here. — - 
C.—METHODS OF CAPTURE OF SEA-FISHES, AND THE CHANGES IN 
THIS RESPECT IN LATER YEARS. 
The different varieties of sea-fish and their varying habits and modes 
of occurrence involve the necessity of special or peculiar methods for 
their capture ; and the great diversity of implements and processes in 
use in different parts of the world is therefore not a subject of wonder. 
For the most part, however, nearly all the methods will fall under the 
head of the bow and arrow, the spear or lance, the line, the seine, the 
beam-trawl, the weir or trap; with some subsidiary means, such as the 
employment of narcotics or poisons, explosives, &c. I shall consider 
these methods under the foregoing heads. 
The bow and arrow.—lIt is probable that in the pursuit and capture of 
wild animals our savage ancestry first made use of the hand or foot, 
the power of running, the strength of arm, and the acuteness of the per- 
ceptions, especially those of sight and smell, which in all probability were 
developed to a very high deg gree, and in ay respect eae if even 

*Dories puilt depready for Bande ABhibie ates but little rowing is required, are 
not so sharp as others, carrying capacity being the chief requirement. The same may 
be said of those used by the fresh-fish companies in the larger fishing ports. A few 
have been built with rounding sides, but this form has not been so favorably received 
by our fishermen as the other with straight flaring sides. 

