248 Their Distribution and Prawn Fishing. 



House and the entrance of Colemouth Creek. At such times 

 from 3 to 5 gallons Avould be taken at a single haul. But this 

 could not be repeated the same day, for on being disturbed the 

 prawns quickly dispersed, and temporarily left the locality. 

 When the fishermen were fortunate in a catch of prawns 

 they sent them off to the London market by the Tilbury rail 

 from Leigh. It has been conjectured that since the formation 

 of Port Victoria (a terminal branch of N. Kent rail) the 

 prawns do not frequent the above Medway shore. This is very 

 likely, as change of shore line and rooting up of a weedy 

 bank there have materially altered the said place, at one time 

 most attractive in its prawn food. 



At Broadstairs prawns are taken along with shrimps by the 

 shove-netters.* The recess at St. Margaret's Bay (South Fore- 

 land) is another spot where they are annually taken. But the 

 chief centre of prawn-fishing in our District is at Folkestone. 

 There it is regularly pursued as a calling from May to 

 September ; some dozen to eighteen small boats being thus 

 engaged. f Thereabouts, as also along Dymchurch sands, shove- 

 nets are in use ; but the locally so-called " lock -nets " (veritable 

 hoop-nets or prawn-nets of West of England) are the recognised 

 instruments of catch at Folkestone. These hoop-nets are 

 simply conical bag-nets rove on a ring in many respects 

 similar to the Leigh dab-net, described later on and figured 

 hereafter in the Plate " Thames Fishing Nets." A cord crosses 

 the mouth, whereon pieces of fish, crabs or offal are strung as 

 bait.J A 3-rayed bridle is affixed to the hoop, to which a line 

 is hitched, this terminating in a bung-shaped cork. The float- 

 ing corks are covered with white cloth to render them more 

 visible at night time. By a long stick, forked at the extremity, 

 the cork buoy is jerked up and the net run home by line from 

 the bottom, where it lay with the prawns (and often crabs) 

 feasting on the bait. These nets are either used among rocks 

 or worked from a boat. 



* These nets likewise go by the name of "push-nets" and "strand-nets " else- 

 where. 



t According to the Government Inspector's Reports of successive years. 



i Buckland says "a fresh sheep's head" is the best bait for prawns (Curios 

 Nat. Hist.). 



