FISHES. 



as far north as Devonshire and the south coast of Ireland up to 

 October and November; no doubt those which have escaped the 

 innumerable nets spread for them. 



" The first sight from the cliffs of a shoal of pilchards," says Mr. 

 Collins, "is not a little interesting. They produce on the sea the appear- 

 ance of the shadow of a dark cloud, which approaches until you can see 

 the fish leaping and playing on the surface by hundreds at a time, all 

 huddled close together, and so near the shore that they can be caught 

 in fifty or sixty feet of water. Indeed, when the shoals are of con- 

 siderable magnitude, the fish behind have been known literally to force 

 the fish in front up to the beach, so that they could be taken in 

 baskets, or even with the hand. 



" With the discovery of the first shoal, the active duties of the look- 

 out, or ' huer/ on the cliffs begin. Each fishing village places one or 

 more of these men on the watch all round the coast. He is, there- 

 fore, not only paid his guinea a week while he is on the watch, but a 

 percentage on the produce of all the fish taken under his auspices. 

 He is placed at his post, where he can command an uninterrupted 

 view of the sea, some days before the pilchards are expected. 



" The principal boat used is, at least of fifteen tons burden, and 

 carries a large net called the ' seine/ which measures 190 fathoms 

 in length, and costs 120 sometimes more. It is simply one 

 long strip, from eleven to thirteen fathoms in breadth, composed of 

 very small meshes, and furnished all along its length with cork at one 

 edge and lead at the other. The men who cast this net are called 

 ' shooters/ and receive eleven shillings and sixpence a week and one 

 basket of fish out of every haul. 



" As soon as the ' huer ' discerns a shoal he waves his bush. The 

 signal is conveyed to the beach by men and boys watching near him. 

 The ' seine '-boat, accompanied by another, to assist in casting the 

 net, is rowed out to where he can see it ; then there is a pause and 

 hush of expectation. Meanwhile the devoted pilchards press on a 

 compact mass of thousands on thousands of fish swimming to meet 

 their doom. All eyes are fixed on the 'huer;' he stands watchful 

 and still, until the shoal is thoroughly embayed in water which he 

 knows to be within the depths of the ' seine.' Then, as the fish begin 

 to pause in their progress, and gradually crowd closer and closer to- 

 gether, he gives the signal, and the ' seine ' is cast or ' shot ' over- 

 board. 



"The grand object is now to enclose the entire shoal. The leads 

 sink one side of the net perpendicularly to the bottom, the corks buoy 

 the other to the surface of the water. When it has been taken all 



