lO 



bark or tar the nets — the former being the means usually- 

 adopted. 



The action of the cutch infusion on the cotton, in the 

 operation of barking, is somewhat similar to the tanning 

 process in the manufacture of leather. It toughens the 

 thread, and, penetrating the fibres of the cotton, covers it, 

 so to speak, with a coating of cutch, and so renders it less 

 open to the action of the salt water. 



The tarring process has a somewhat similar effect on the 

 cotton, but is not frequently adopted, and for various rea- 

 sons, chiefest amongst which is the belief, or rather fact, 

 that tar so covers up the exterior of the cotton and hemp 

 of the netting and ropes, that faulty parts are indiscern- 

 ible, and oftentimes good nets are lost by reason of those 

 nearer on the roping giving way, or perhaps the rope itself. 



Other preparations are recommended and sold for the 

 preservation of netting, of which alum is the most useful. 

 I believe that if the nets were for a season or two dipped 

 in a solution of alum, instead of cutch, and afterwards 

 barked, the cotton would be made to last longer, the 

 expense of preserving the nets would be lessened, and a 

 general saving obtained on the expenditure necessary to 

 keep the nets in good order. 



As I have already stated, the usual number of nets used 

 by British mackerel fishers is 44, each net being lOO yards 

 long. 



The gear and construction and working of the nets, 

 however, differ in many ways, and I shall here endeavour to 

 point out which style has, over a period of twenty years, 

 been found to be tl>e most advantageous. 



Each net is 100 yards long, and from 100 to 130 meshes, 

 or 18 to 24 feet deep, and is usually made of 15-ply 

 cotton thread. When in use, the 44 nets are joined 



