36 THE SILVERY HOSTS OF THE NORTH SEA. 



weight of hemp, allows a boat to carry double the 

 length of net formerly used. The substitution of 

 cotton for hemp will be seen to be of great import- 

 ance when it is noted that at the Lewis and Bara 

 fishing, in Scotland, last year (1882), there were 1,300 

 boats engaged ; so that at a moderate computation 

 they spread nearly 2,000 miles of netting, instead of 

 half that quantity ; and off Fraserburg, on a good 

 night, there will be 1,000 miles of net set. 



Yarmouth boats are considerably larger than the 

 Scotch, and carry more nets and hands. The original 

 cost of a first-class drifter of the largest size (Yar T 

 mouth), hull and spars, ready for sea, ranges from 

 1,000 to 1,200; to this must be added nets and 

 fishing gear, which increases her total by from 400 

 to 500 more. The same remarks apply also to the 

 Lowestoft boats, many of which, from the greater 

 number of herring buyers, frequent the Yarmouth 

 haven in preference to their own. These boats ave- 

 rage twelve hands eleven men and one boy each. 

 During the season of 1882 there fished from Yarmouth 

 some 400 Yarmouth boats of from 15 to 40 tons; 200 

 under 15 tons; 150 boats from Lowestoft ; 250 from 

 Scotland, and some 30 from other places, more than 

 1,000 boats, employing about 1 1,000 souls, and spread- 

 ing over 2,000 miles of net. Yarmouth boats carry 

 from 100 to 1 80 nets, which measure 30 yards by n 

 yards deep, with 32 meshes to the yard. Thus a single 

 boat, according to her size, spreads from I J to 3 miles 

 of net. 



In July the Yarmouth herring boats are busy 



