37 



No fishermen, not members of the 

 Flatsmen. \yhitstable Oyster Fishery Company 

 before the Act of 1896, are permitted to work on the 

 Company's ground, but there is a large body of men called 

 flatsmeri, not being members of the Company, who obtain a 

 comfortable living by dredging for brood, halfware and 

 ware, and selling them to the company at a price fixed by 



A Flatsman's Gear. 



those purchasers. These flatsmen can, of course, only 

 dredge over the public fishing grounds, to which the free 

 dredgers also resort for the same purpose. Of the flatsmen 

 it may be truly said all is fish that comes to their nets, for, 

 at the proper seasons, they dredge also for five-fingers, 

 mussels, whelks, and cockles, and find a ready market for 

 all, the five-fingers and mussels being bought up by farmers 

 for manure. 



