PROTECTION OF DEEP SEA FISHERIES. 365 



of fishing vessels live. There are men now living who can 

 remember the time when no meat was allowed on board 

 at all, or at most only once a week. The fare, from the 

 commencement of the voyage to the end, consisted as a rule 

 of biscuits, herring, or other fish, when there were any to be 

 caught, varied by a piece of cheese, and water to drink, there 

 being only a small bogey stove just to warm the cabin ; 

 whereas now fishing vessels are supplied with tea, coffee 

 or cocoa, bread (biscuits for standby only), butter, cheese, 

 flour, potatoes, plums, currants, fresh beef, bacon, treacle, 

 vinegar, mustard, pepper, salt, preserved milk, beer at some 

 ports, and sundry other comforts, even to a cooking range 

 with oven, so that a baked meal may be had as well as 

 boiled or fried. It has been well said that a ship sailor 

 would often envy the fisherman of the present day could 

 he see him at his meals, and this without having any 

 agreement or scale as to what he shall be fed on. It 

 may be averaged that a fishing vessel's crew at the fleet 

 will cost from eight and six pence to ten shillings per 

 head a week at single boating or drift fishing the latter- 

 named sum or a little more, as these are more frequently 

 in port, and can consequently get fresh provisions in the 

 shape of bread, beef, vegetables, &c. 



To equip the vessel with her gear is the next thing. If Equipment 



with gear. 



she is a trawler there is not much to do. The owner finds 

 the net (though this varies at different ports and under dif- 

 ferent circumstances), which is in several pieces, as before 

 described. The duty of the crew is to reeve it up, and seize 

 it on to the ground-rope, afterwards fixing it to the heads 

 and beam. The ice, if required, is then got on board. In a 

 drifter where the owner finds the gear a portion of the 

 crew will go to the owner's store and load the carts 

 which are to convey them to the vessel ; the remainder 



