40 SEA FISH OF TRINIDAD 
under the beam is a long way past them, and is steadily 
moving on, their fate is sooner or later decided by their pass- 
ing over the ground-rope and finding their way into the 
funnel-shaped end of the net, from which a small valve of 
netting prevents their return. The ground-rope is the part 
which directly bears on the ground, and to prevent the possi- 
bility of the fish passing under it, the rope should have some 
weight in it so as to ‘bite’ well, or press the ground closely. 
It is, however, always made of old material, so that it may 
break in case of getting foul of rocks or other obstructions as 
may be met with on the generally smooth ground, where the 
trawl can only be worked with advantage. If in such a con- 
tingency the rope were so strong and good as not to break, 
there would be serious danger of the tow-rope snapping, and 
then the whole apparatus might be lost; but the ground- 
rope giving way enables the net to be cleared and hauled up. 
The remaining part of the trawl, extending from the bosom 
to the extreme end, forms a complete bag, gradually dimin- 
ishing in breadth to within about the last 10 ft., which part is 
called the ‘cod’ or purse, and is closed by a draw-rope or 
‘cod-line’ at the extremity when the net is being used. 
This is the general receptacle for the various fishes which 
enter the net, and when the trawl is hauled up and got on 
board the vessel, the draw-rope is cast off and the fish all fall 
out on the deck. 
““The meshes of an ordinary deep-sea trawl vary in size in 
different parts of the net, diminishing from 4 sq. ins. near the 
mouth to 14 in. in the cod or purse. The under part of the 
net, being exposed to more wear and chafing than the upper, 
is usually made with stouter twine, and the purse being espe- 
cially liable to injury from being dragged over the ground 
with a weight of fish and perhaps stones, has some protection 
provided by layers of old netting called ‘rubbing pieces’ 
laced to its under surface.”’ 
A deep-sea trawl, such as now has been described, is there- 
fore an immense bag-net, the largest size being about 50 ft. 
the mouth and about 100 ft. long. The trawl is towed over 
the ground by the trawl warp, generally a 6 in. rope, 150 
fathoms long, and made up of two lengths of 75 fathoms each 
