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 1G 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 certaiu 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 30 feet in length, though a few larger and smaller ones are 

 used. 



In addition to the boats that ha\ r e 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 Maiue; (4) the 

 "drag-boat" of Cape Cod; (5) the square-sterued, cat-rigged boat of 

 Southern Massachusetts; (6) the sloop lobster-smack 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 



TniS 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 tbe 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 tbe 

 employment of narcotics or poisons, explosives, &c. I shall consider 

 these methods under the foregoing heads. 



The boic and arrow. — It 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 degree, and in this respect equaling, if even 



"Dories built expressly for haddock fishing, where 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 rouudiug sides, but this form has not been so favorably received 

 bv our fishermen as tbe other with straight flaring sides. 



