144 BRITISH FISH AND FISHERIES. 



parts of the coast. One mode is by bulters. 

 We must suppose a long rope, to which, at 

 given intervals, short lines of five or six feet 

 long are attached, at a distance from each other 

 of more than twice their length, to prevent the 

 entanglement of the hooks ; each of these short 

 lines or snoods is armed with a hook, and 

 above, the threads of the line are loosely ar- 

 ranged in parallel order, to prevent the teeth of 

 the fish from snapping off the hook and escap- 

 ing. In slack streams, this long array of fines 

 and hooks is deposited in the water, and se- 

 cured at full stretch with buoys, buoy-ropes, 

 and grapples. The main rope is shot across 

 the tidal influx, by which means the snoods 

 and their hooks are carried out from the bulter 

 line, and thus disposed in due order. Various 

 small fish, and whelks, limpets, etc., are used 

 for baits. The fishermen now wait the flow 

 and ebb of the tide ; they then examine their 

 lines, and disengage the fish held captives. 

 Sometimes a little cork is fixed about six inches 

 from each hook, to raise the bait a little above 

 the mud or sea- weed, thus presenting it more 

 conspicuously as a tempting morsel to the 

 fish. 



In other instances, various sorts of hand-lines 

 are used, each armed with two hooks : one 



