338 FISHES AND FISHING 



spond. The middle net is twice as long and twice as 

 deep as the two outer ones, has a very much smaller 

 mesh, and is mounted very slack on the head rope. 

 The result of this is that a fish, coming in either direc- 

 tion, on striking the net, carries a portion of the 

 middle net through the large mesh of the outer wall, 

 and is thus trapped and held. For commercial pur- 

 poses, the walls of a trammel are ordinarily some 40 to 

 50 fathoms long, with a 9 or lo-inch mesh between 

 knots, and a depth of twelve to twenty meshes ; the 

 middle net is 80 or 100 fathoms long, but set on a head 

 rope of the same length as the walls, and has a mesh 

 of about 2 inches, and a depth of some fifty or sixty 

 meshes. The length and depth of the net and size of 

 meshes must be varied according to the probable size 

 of the prospective fish. 



A Scotch firm of net manufacturers has kindly sup- 

 plied the following estimate : 



" Trammel, 9 feet deep, barked and mounted on i5-thread 

 rope on bottom, and g-thread rope on top, corked and leaded 

 ready for fishing, is. 5d. per yard. Dimensions : two outside 

 pieces, 20 meshes deep, 9-inch mesh, 21 -ply cotton. Inside 

 piece, 120 meshes deep, 2^-inch mesh, 36/9 ply cotton." 



Like other fixed nets, trammels should* be used by 

 night ; they are not easy to dry properly, and con- 

 sequently liable to rot if not very carefully treated. 

 Moreover, cleaning a trammel after use on weedy or 

 crab-frequented ground is a task calculated to try the 

 patience of Job himself. 



In ordering any fixed net, the maker should be told 

 the purpose for which it is intended, as a clue to the 

 size of mesh required ; probably the mesh could be 

 best described by giving the size of fish anticipated 

 e.g., " East Coast herring," " spring mackerel," or 

 " pollack." 



