322 APPARATUS FOR FISHING. 



caught. But there is an objection to the use of the trunk, 

 inasmuch as it requires some little skill, there being nothing 

 to prevent the escape of the lobster if it should take alarm 

 when the trunk is being hauled up, and the greatest care is 

 necessary just when the trunk is being lifted out of the water, 

 as then the lobster is especially liable to spring backwards 

 and escape. We were once told by an old trunk-fisher that 

 a tailor might work a creel, but it wanted a fisherman 

 to manage a trunk. It is only in parts of the East coast 

 of England that we have seen or heard of trunks being 

 used. 



OYSTER DREDGES. 



The special instrument used for collecting oysters is the 

 well-known dredge, which has everywhere much the same 

 shape, but differs somewhat in size, as may be seen in the 

 examples exhibited, according to whether it is to be 

 worked from an ordinary rowing boat, or by the small 

 vessels which dredge in comparatively deep water. It 

 consists of an oblong iron frame a few inches wide and 

 having one side, which comes on the ground, flattened and 

 turned forwards at such an angle as to enable it to scrape 

 the surface of the bottom without absolutely tearing it up. 

 The body of the dredge consists of a flat bag, the under part 

 of which is made of iron rings two and a half or three inches 

 in diameter and looped together with strong wire. There is 

 some variation in the construction of this iron network, as 

 may be observed in the Exhibition ; but the principle is 

 the same in all that of providing a strong under surface to 

 the bag, capable of passing over rough ground without 

 liability to injury, and with openings in it large enough to 

 permit the escape of any but fair-sized oysters. The 

 upper surface of the bag is made of stout hemp netting, 



