252 FISHERMEN'S OWN BOOK. 



Fishing in Lapland, — The water is very clear at Hamerfest, in Lapland, 

 and one may see everything that goes on among the fish. A few feet down 

 you can see the young cod snapping at your hook \ a little lower down the 

 coalfish, and the huge plaice and the halibut on the white sand at the bot- 

 tom ; in other places the starfish, as large as a plate, and purple and green 

 shellfish of all sizes. The plaice is taken in the following manner : In 

 calm weather the fisherman takes a strong, fine cord, to which he has fast- 

 ened a heavy spear-head, like a whale harpoon. This he holds ready over 

 the bow of the boat, while another person paddles it forward slowly. When 

 the fish is seen at the bottom, the boat is stopped and the harpoon is 

 suddenly dropped upon him, and thus the fish is caught. In two hours the 

 fishermen will get a boat load. The halibut are caught with hooks. They 

 sometimes weigh 500 pounds, and if drawn up carelessly will overturn the 

 boat. In many of the mountainous districts the rivers swarm with trout, 

 the habit of which is to conceal themselves beneath the bowlder rocks in 

 the bed of the stream, venturing out to feed only at night. Men, each with 

 a heavy hammer, will enter these waters and strike one or two blows on the 

 stones, when the fish run from their lurking place, partly stunned, and are 

 easily caught. 



The Sea Cucumber, one of the curious jelly bodies that inhabit the 

 ocean, can practically efface himself when in danger, by squeezing the water 

 out of his body and forcing himself into a narrow crack — so narrow as not 

 to be visible to the naked eye. He can throw out nearly the whole of his 

 inside and yet live and grow it again. 



Swedish Popular Beliefs. — The teeth of large fish should be burnt, in 

 order to be lucky in fishing. 



One ought to tell no one when one goes out to fish, and not mention 

 whether one has caught many or few. 



Nor should any stranger see how many fish one has taken. 



When one rows out from land to fish, one must not run the boat against 

 the sun. 



Pins found in a church and made into fish hooks catch the best. 



If a woman passes over the rod, no fish will bite. 



Stolen fishing tackle is lucky, but the person robbed loses his luck. — 

 Thorpe's Northern Mythology. 



Salted Herring. — The art of salting and packing herring was discov- 

 ered in the fourteenth century by Beukels, of Biervliet, in Flanders, who, 

 after introducing it into his own country, went to Finland and established 

 it there, whence it spread to all the Baltic provinces. In 1856, Alexander 



