342 FISHES AND FISHING 



which is sufficiently fine to retain small fishes and 

 sufficiently strong to stand the strain of fishing. As 

 ordinarily constructed, it has a rectangular mouth 

 about 7 feet wide by 5 feet deep, a length of about 

 21 feet, and tapers to an opening of about 2 feet in 

 diameter at the cod end. The sides of the mouth are 

 laced on to stout wooden poles, and the net is kept 

 open while fishing by otter-boards (see p. 302), which 

 are joined by ropes to the head and foot of the poles. 

 A net of the size above described can be obtained 

 in Denmark at a cost of about 140 kroner (7 ios.), 

 and the poles, weights, and boards for about 65 kroner 

 (3 ios.). The material of which the Danish nets are 

 made is apparently woven of coarse linen thread and 



FIG. 217. PETERSEN'S YNGEL-TRAWL OR YOUNG-FISH NET. 



has about 125 meshes to the metre, costing 2 kroner 

 per metre. Similar nets made of Manchester " screw 

 cloth " have proved quite satisfactory and are much 

 cheaper, as about 50 yards of material at about 7d. 

 per yard are required and the cost of making up by a 

 sail-maker should not exceed i, thus reducing the 

 total cost of the net to about 2 ios. 



In fishing the net in deep water a heavy lead weight 

 (ordinarily about 40 pounds) should be attached to 

 the shackle fastening the spans to the hauling warp, 

 and the otter-boards must always be well weighted. 

 The net may be shot from a single block with a little 

 way on the vessel, and the otter-boards lowered 

 together, as, if properly weighted, they spread as soon 

 as they are in the water. 



