EVOLUTION OF THE FRENCH FISHERIES 299 



the new industry, their neighbours across the Channel 

 and beyond the Rhine, assisted by their Governments, 

 were unremittingly building fresh steam trawlers and 

 selling their sailing boats, which they had no longer much 

 use for, at a bargain to the French. Before the year 

 1900 there were hardly a hundred steam trawlers in 

 France, and of these 20 were at Boulogne and 25 at 

 Arcachon. In November, 1907, their number had in- 

 creased to 200, while Great Britain possessed 1,000 and 

 Germany 500. On January i, 1908, there were 214 

 trawlers and 33 line-fishing vessels. Between May, 1908, 

 and March, 1909, 16 steam trawlers were launched, 9 

 from English yards ; while i was bought from abroad 

 and 5 sold, one of them to Italy. The impulse was 

 given ; unfortunately it has not lasted. 1 



Ill 



Thanks to the victory of its forerunner, the steam 

 fishing boat, the petrol boat quickly found a place. Nature 

 would seem to have given steam the part of a conqueror, 

 and it was the same with the railways as with the large 

 steam trawlers : what struggles against preconceived 

 ideas, traditions, and interests, before the first steam auto- 

 mobiles were free to travel the roads 1 About 1902, two 

 shipowners of Boulogne began to build a "mixed" 

 herring boat, the Jean. Since then the number of herring 

 boats, small trawlers and line-fishers has continually in- 

 creased. Trouville and Port-en-Bessin boast of several 

 motor-cutters. The crayfish catchers have adopted the 

 motor ; and a few of the tunny boats of Groix and two or 

 three shrimp-trawlers are propelled by petrol. Scarcely 

 three years ago the men of Gujan-Mestras, Audenge, and 

 Andernos used to hoist their sails at dawn, or when there 

 1 See p. 308, 



