266 REPORT OP COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [2] 



uet will be a trifle slack or baggy. About oue-tbird of the net is takeu 

 up in hanging; that is, if a net is 30 fathoms long stretched out before 

 it is hung, it will be about 20 iathonis long afterwards. They are hung 

 with twine about the same si;ic as tbat of which they are made. The 

 end of the twine is first made fast to the hanging line, then hitched to 

 the upper part of one of the meshes, the distance between the line and 

 mesh being equal to one side of the mesh; then back to the line again, 

 'around which a clove-hitch is taken, thus forming one-half of a mesh, 

 as shown in Plate I. This method of hanging is thought by the Nor- 

 wegian fishermen to be superior to any other for large-mesh nets. The 

 twine or uet webbing is generally prepared for use in Norway by tan- 

 ning, and will last, when so prepared, from one to five seasons. 



The nets are supported upright in the w^ater by floats of wood, cork, 

 or hollow glass. At the Loftbden Islands, where nets are more exten- 

 sively used than elsewhere, the glass floats are preferred, it being said 

 that they replace to great advantage the old wooden ones, which failed 

 to prevent the nets from settling on the bottom. The fishermen from 

 Soudmor, however, who fish on banks where there is a strong current, 

 prefer wooden to glass floats, since it is siii<l the latter are so much 

 more liable to be carried away by the tide, causing the loss of numy 

 nets; while the princi[)al objection to wooden floats is that they arc^ so 

 easily waterlogged. 15ut the latter is thought to be the less evil of 

 the two by the Sondmiir (ishermen, since the fioats can at the worst 

 only sink to the bottom with the nets, whence thej' may easily be re- 

 covered. From this experience of the Norwegian fishermen, it may be 

 inferred that while glass floats are preferable for general use, they are 

 not so suitable as either wood or cork buoys where there is a strong tide. 

 The glass floats are about o inches in diameter, with a covering of tiirred 

 marline or spun-yarn hitched over them, to which is attached an eye. In 

 this eye is bent the small rope that holds them to the net. When so 

 prepared for use these floats are quite strong, and break tar less fre- 

 quently than might be su[»posed. They withstand the pressure of water 

 when submerged better than anything that has been tried, but are some- 

 times filled with water— "drunken," it is called— when set in depths of 

 To fathoms or more. Plate 11 is intended to show the glass float and 

 the way in which it is attached to the net. The small ropes with which 

 these are held vary in length from 1^ to G feet. 



Oblong shaped stones, from o to 5 inches in length, are nsed for sink- 

 ers. By experience the fishermen learn how large these should be to 

 sink the nets to the desired depth. From ten to twelve are fastened to 

 the bottom of the net at equal distances apart, being held in a double 

 string, as shown in Plate III. 



Large stones are used instead of anchors to hold the nets to the bot- 

 tom. These weigh from 72 to 144 pounds, the heavier one heading the 

 «mrrent, and the snuiUcr being on the other end of the gang, containing 

 twenty to thiriy-tive nets. Besides these "mooring rocks," tliere are 



