THE BE A M- TRA WL. 271 



takes less than three-quarters of an hour's steady work, 

 and in bad weather it may take two or three hours. The 

 long warp is coiled away down below as it comes in, and 

 the beam, having been swung alongside, hoiste'd up and 

 secured, the net is gathered in by hand until nothing 

 remains in the water except the cod or purse of the net, in 

 which all the fish are collected, those which had entered 

 the pockets having been shaken down into the purse as the 

 main body of the net was hauled in. Now comes the 

 exciting moment, and all hands have a look over the side 

 of the vessel to see what has been the result of the day's 

 work. If there are only a few fish in the purse it is lifted 

 in by hand and better luck hoped for next time. But 

 when, as often happens, there is from half to three-quarters 

 of a ton of fish, the bag is hoisted up by a tackle, and 

 before being lowered on board, the draw-rope, which has 

 been previously mentioned as closing the end of the purse, 

 is cast loose, and the whole quivering mass of fish falls out 

 on the deck. The scene is a remarkable one, for most of 

 the fish are alive and display such beauty of colouring as 

 can only be observed when they are just taken out of the 

 sea. The variety of fish is also frequently very great, and 

 twenty different kinds good, bad and indifferent may be 

 turned out after one haul of the net. At certain seasons, 

 and in particular parts of the North Sea, the catch consists 

 almosts entirely of haddocks, at other times plaice may be 

 the principal fish, or the vessel may have been working on 

 ground specially frequented by soles ; but in any case 

 there is sure to be a market for what has been caught, and 

 if soles or turbot fetch a higher price than the commoner 

 kinds, the latter are always more abundant. Sorting the 

 fish is at once proceeded with. The prime fish are picked 

 out and packed separately, and if the vessel is far away 



