THE OYSTER 



after herself, and the men arrange themselves to wind- 

 ward, one at bow, a second amidships, and a third near 

 the stern. The minutes being so precious to the fisher- 

 men, everything has been made ready while the boat 

 was still travelling ; the dredges fastened to their warps ; 

 a little wooden bucket placed near each man to hold the 

 brood ; and no time is wasted now in throwing in the six 

 dredges, two to each man. The upper end of every 

 warp, or coil of rope, is secured by being tied to a stout 

 block which lies on the deck, while, to prevent more rope 

 being paid out than will reach to the bottom, a short 

 bridle or regulating cord is tied from a cleat inside the 

 bulwarks to the part of the warp that is just above 

 water. 



Henceforward everything depends on the wind ; if there 

 is not enough the smack will not move, and the dredges 

 will be scraping thereabouts the same spot over and over 

 again ; if too much, she will rock and drift to such an 

 extent that no sooner have the men found a good "pitch' 

 than they are washed away from it. Give them a light 

 breeze and they are happy. 



The pulling up and landing of one full dredge requires 

 little experience, but a good deal of breath and muscle ; 

 the pulling up of twenty or thirty per hour demands con- 

 siderable staying power, and hands as hard as leather. 

 The rope, a good inch in diameter, must be hauled 

 straight up, hand over hand; to pause for breath is to 

 risk being pulled overboard, or, at least, to have the rope 

 jerked out of the hands by the tremendous weight at the 

 end of it. 



