308 ; APPARATUS FOR FISHlfrG. 



"dogs," and the smack returned to harbour with her 

 rigging covered with skeletons. Of six and a half score of 

 cod on the line only six fish were found alive. The clearer 

 the water the more danger there is from dogfish, as the 

 cod can then be seen at some distance when struggling on 

 the hook, and once having attracted attention there is little 

 hope of escaping their enemies. 



We have so far spoken only of the manner in which the 

 cod are caught, but a few words on their treatment when 

 they are brought into port may be of interest When the 

 smacks arrive at Grimsby with their cargoes of live and 

 dead fish, the cod are taken out of the wells by means of 

 long-handled landing nets, and are placed in wooden boxes 

 or chests, which are kept floating in the fish- dock ; and 

 there the fish are stored till they are wanted for the 

 market. Each chest is seven feet long, four feet wide, and 

 two feet deep ; the bottom is made of stout battens a short 

 distance apart to allow free admission to the water, which 

 also has access through the sides and ends between the 

 planks of which they are constructed. The top is wholly 

 planked over except in the centre, where there is an oblong 

 opening for putting in and taking out the fish, and which is 

 closed by a cover when the chest is afloat and in use. Two 

 rope or chain handles are fixed at the ends of the chest for 

 convenience in moving it about and hoisting it up from the 

 water. These chests will each hold forty good-sized cod, 

 or a proportionately larger number of smaller ones, and the 

 fish do not show any material loss of condition if they are 

 thus imprisoned for about a fortnight. As many as from 

 15,000 to 20,000 live cod are sometimes stored at one time 

 in the Grimsby fish-dock. But the time comes when the 

 fish are wanted for the market, and must be taken out of 

 the chests and sent away by rail. This happens every day 



