THE TRAWL-NET, 57 



weather. The trawl-rope is seven hundred and twenty 

 feet in length, and six inches in circumference ; and to 

 this rope are attached the different parts of the trawling 

 apparatus namely, the beam, the trawl-heads, bag-net, 

 ground-rope, and span or bridle ; the whole being hauled 

 in and worked by means of a capstan. The beam, made 

 of heavy elm wood, is thirty-eight feet long, tapers at 

 either end, but is about eight to ten inches thick in the 

 middle. At each extremity is fixed an oval ring (or 

 " trawl-head "), measuring four feet by two feet six 

 inches. The upper part of the bag-net, which is about 

 one hundred feet long, is fastened to the beam, the lower 

 part being attached to the ground-rope, while the ends 

 of the ground-rope are brought round the trawl-heads. 

 These being allowed to fall quite slackly, the mouth of the 

 bag-net forms a semicircle when dragged over the ground. 



We trust the reader who has never seen a trawl-net is 

 now able to form a tolerably accurate conception of one. 

 He has then to think of it as fastened to the trawl-rope 

 by means of another rope, which is of about the same 

 thickness, and about double the length of the beam ; this 

 is the "span" or "bridle." Each end of the span is 

 attached to the beam so as to form a loop, and to this 

 loop is knotted the trawl-rope. 



The ground-rope is usually an old rope, as, in case the 

 net should encounter any obstruction in the water, it is 

 desirable this rope should break, and allow the remainder 

 of the gear to be hauled up. If the warp broke instead 

 of the ground-rope, the trawling apparatus would be left 

 at the bottom. 



The trawl-boat, while the net is out, sails along at the 

 rate of two to three knots an hour. 



