THE FISHERMEN 249 



per thousand cod, and 10 fr. (8s.) per hogshead of 

 oil. 



In the case of "engagement by the third," the net 

 profits are divided by three. One third goes to the 

 crew ; but the " gratifications " or additional sums are 

 counted in with the general expenses. 



Engagement " by the task " takes three forms : "engage- 

 ment by the last " (the last being two metric tons of 

 2,205 Ibs. each), practised at Gravelines, Dunkirk, and 

 Paimpol ; " engagement by the quintal " (a quintal 

 equals 50 kilogrammes of 2*205 ^ s * ea ch, or 110*27 ^8. 

 practically a hundredweight), which is customary at 

 Saint-Malo ; and " engagement by the thousand," a 

 form nearly obsolete. The last has not everywhere the 

 same weight ; at Paimpol it is equivalent to 2,200 

 kilogrammes of cod (4,852 Ibs.) ; at Dunkirk to 1,620 

 kilogrammes (3,573 Ibs.). As a rule 35 fr. or 28s. goes 

 to the captain, 25 fr. or 2os. to the mate, 22 fr. or 175. 7d. 

 to the " master," and 20 fr. or i6s. to the " curer." The 

 rest of the hands receive 2d. per fish caught. In the 

 case of "engagement by the thousand" the bo'sun or 

 dory-master receives 2 per thousand cod, and the bow- 

 hand 285. to 323. Before sailing, the owner will stipulate 

 for a certain weight per thousand. The thousand, for 

 example, will weigh 2,200 kilogrammes, or 4,852 Ibs., or 

 about 2 tons 3^ cwt. In the case of " engagement by the 

 quintal" some owners of Saint-Malo give the crew 

 4 fr' 75 P er 55 kilogrammes of fish caught. 



The charter-party is the contract entered into by ship- 

 owners and maritime inscripts. One must read one of 

 these contracts to gain any idea of their complexity. 

 Here are a few clauses from one of these documents, 

 which had its hour of celebrity. It deals with the 

 arrangement concluded last January, at the end of a 



