118 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



of all other nets. In the vicinity of Gloucester, where menhaden are 

 caught for bait, the purse-seine is also used. It need only be said that 

 it is an immense net, whicti when in use is a flexible wall of twine, sus- 

 pended by its upper edge, extending from 90 to 180 feet below the sur- 

 face, and from 800 to 1,500 feet long. This wall is made to encircle the 

 fish and then its lower edge is gathered up by a rope i^assing through 

 rings prepared for the purpose. The seine when i)ursed becomes essen- 

 tially a huge dip-net, from which the fish may be taken at the pleasure 

 of their captors. 



The purse-seine is said to have been invented about the year 1837 by 

 a native of Maine, who had been for some years employed as a hand on 

 a Gloucester fishing-smack. He conceived the idea of capturing mack- 

 erel in large numbers, and invented a seine which is substantially the 

 same as that now in use. Finding the Gloucester tisheraien unwilling 

 to experiment with his new apparatus, he carried it to Ehode Island, 

 where it was first put into use in the vicinity of Seaconnet for seining 

 menhaden. 



The first seine used north of Cape Cod was introduced in the year 

 1850 by Capt. Nathaniel Adams, of Gloucester, in the schooner " Splen- 

 did." Capt. Nathaniel Watson, of the " Eaphael," began using one the 

 same year.* 



The early seines were about 200 yards in length, 23 fathoms in depth, 

 and of 2.5 inch mesh, there being about 350 meshes in the bunt of the 

 seine. The twine used was much heavier than that used in the present 

 seines, and the whole net weighed six or seven hundred pounds. The 

 present seine, however, did not come into general use, as I am informed 

 by Mr. Marchant, of Gloucester, until about 1860. 



During the last eight years there has been greater change in their 

 size than during the ten years previous. In 1889 the nets were 160 

 fathoms in length, 700 meshes deep, the meshes being 2^ inches, and 

 would weigh about 400 pounds, being made of No. 9 twine (Hadley 29). 



Fishing in deeper water began in the years from 1869 to 1872 ; and 

 since that time a gradual increase has taken place in the size of the nets 

 corresponding to that which has already been described in the case of 

 the seine-boats. The popular size for seines in 1877 is 200 fathoms in 

 length, 1,000 meshes deep, the mesh being 2 and 2J inches, those in the 

 bunt being sometimes finer, the twine heavier. They are made of No. 

 6 twine (Hadley 16), and weigh about 700 pounds. The largest one 

 known to Captain Marchant is 247 fathoms long, and weighs about 

 1,000 pounds. 



In order to understand the method of working a purse-seine, it is 

 necessary that the manner of " hanging it " should be described. At 

 the top of the net is the cork-line, upon which corks are placed at dis- 

 tances apart of from 12 to 15 inches; two corks are usually put together 

 (which are designated in trade as numbers 2 or 3), and are 4 inches in 

 * Mr. Maddocks states that the first purse-seine was used on Chelsea Beach. 



