36 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Feb., 



after being firmly bound on with fine twine. The ring 

 (w) for the attachment of the tow-line is of ith in. brass 

 wire, the ends of which are carried down within the cone 

 and soldered, at opposite sides, to the inner surface of 

 the copper hoop (p); all the connections and joints from 

 " n " to "^ " being carefully soldered so that nothing can 

 enter the net except through the meshes of the screen. 

 This whole arrangement was found to be light, conven- 

 ient and practicable beyond anything that I had used 

 before, or had seen used in the most experienced and 

 capable hands. 



By far the most efiicient service that can be attained 

 with this apparatus in most localities is accomplished by 

 sitting in the stern of a row-boat and towing the net by 

 its line (J)') held in the hand ; giving more or less line, or 

 causing the speed of the boat to be varied, according to 

 the degree of immersion required, suddenly slacking the 

 line for a second or two to allow the net to dive into a 

 weed bed when desired, or suddenly drawing it forward 

 enough to cause it to rise above some source of danger, 

 or away from patches of weeds when clear-water forms 

 are being collected, steering it to one side or the other of 

 the boat, or even drawing it to hand occasionally, in or- 

 der to throw it out into weedy patches at the side of 

 the boat's course. By such management, one can make 

 the apparatus almost an instrument of precision, and can 

 gain more of that exhilarating recreation that comes 

 with an exercise of care, adroitness and skill than he 

 would find in trolling for pickerel or in sailing a cat boat. 



The brass cone and its hoop at the mouth of the net 

 are heavy enough for most purposes ; but if additional 

 weight be required it may be added in the form of a lead 

 sinker, which is perhaps better than making the original 

 construction heavier, as it is capable of variation when 

 desired. A longitudinally perforated cylinder of lead, 

 13 mm. thick and 75 long, weighing 1-4 lb., as sometimes 



