ON THE COAST OF BER-WICKSHIRE. 227 



lines ; in this case, ninepence is paid for each line every day it is fresh 

 baited. There is first the fisherman, secondly, a boy or g-irl to gather 

 the bait and put it on the line, and, thirdly, a woman to go to market 

 and sell the fish. Sometimes the whole earnings go to defray the 

 expense of bait. The limpets have become very scarce of late, from 

 the Eyemouth bait-gatherers coming to the rocks in the neighbourhood 

 of Berwick, and even sometimes to the rocks south of Spittal, and 

 filling their creels with the limpets upon them. The difficulty of pro- 

 curing necessary bait is from this cause increasing every year. 



It may here be noticed, that both the herring and haddock fishings 

 sometimes suffer very considerably from the ravages of dog-fish. 

 These pirates are seldom abundant when the herrings are in a compact 

 body ; but not unfrequently they occasion great destruction when a 

 shoal is first drawing in near the land. The havoc they make is such, 

 that they have been found to consume a dozen of barrels out of one 

 boat's nets in the course of an hour. They also are very destructive 

 to the nets when they get entangled. By their efforts to get free, 

 their hard fins tear the nets : there is reason to think that they also 

 use their teeth for this purpose. In like manner they make sad work 

 among the haddocks. Occasionally half of those that take the hook 

 have only the head left when they reach the boat. Sometimes the 

 tail is stumped awry ; sometimes a bite is taken out of the belly, and 

 at other times out of the back. A cod-fish sometimes comes up a mere 

 skeleton, stripped to the bone on both sides. They have their tastes, 

 too, like other creatures. A haddock is preferred by them before a 

 codling. 



3. Tiirlot. — Turbot is taken with nets. The nets are 150 yards 

 long, are corked along the ropes, have very large meshes, and are 

 set on sandy ground, such as the fish is known to frequent. They are 

 allowed to stand two or three days before being drawn up and taken 

 on shore. The nets are let down to the bottom, as the turbot, like all 

 flat fish, swims low, having an anchor or large stone at each end, 

 with a buoy floating above. The turbot is rolled in the net when 

 taken. This fish is not abundant about Berwick, but more would be 

 taken if the price continued good, when brought regularly to marlvct. 

 The fishermen naturally employ themselves in the way that paj^s them 

 best. 



4. Lobsters and Crabs. — Lobsters and crabs are taken in two ways. 

 The most common method is to employ a sort of case covered with 

 net, with a heavy stone in the middle to keep it steady on the ground, 

 and two round holes at each end. They are generally about three feet 

 long, and a foot and a half high. These are let down to the bottom, 

 pretty near the shore, with a string attached to each of them, which is 



