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B.—Tue Puaice FISHERY. 
We are able to present here only a very brief sketch 
of the economy of the Plaice, and the reader who is suffi- 
ciently interested in this direction is referred to the very 
extensive literature which has now been published in 
Britain, Germany and Denmark. We propose to deal 
only with the methods in use for the capture of the Plaice, 
and with the causes of the apparent decline in value of the 
fishery, and the regulations which have been suggested for 
the future welfare of the industry. 
Round the British coasts the Plaice is fished for in 
three ways. It is caught by spearing, by means of stake 
nets and by trawling. Of these methods the latter is 
incomparably the most important. _ Comparatively tew 
fish are caught by spearing, and this method is only pur- 
sued in shallow waters and then to a very limited extent. 
Stake-net fishing is much more important, and is carried 
on at many parts of the coast on the foreshore between 
tidemarks where conditions are suitable. The net is 
about a yard in width and is of variable length. In 
Lancashire waters it may not exceed 500 yards in length, 
and it has a square mesh of either 6 or 7 inches in peri- 
phery. It is stretched on a row of stakes driven into the 
sand in a straight line, at right-angles to the direction of 
the tidal flow. It may be provided with pockets. Fish 
swimming with the tide are caught in the meshes and are 
removed when the net is “fished” at low water. At sea 
the Plaice is fished by means of the trawl. The trawl net 
is a conical bag of variable length. Its mouth is held 
open by means of a wooden beam on which the net is 
stretched, so that the open mouth is rectangular in shape. 
At either end of the beam are fastened iron frames, the 
irons,” the lower parts of which rest on the ground. The 
