94 SEA FISH ; 



wealth annually drawn from ocean's great treasury by 

 its means, prove a matter of interest to some of my 

 readers ; and few scenes are more stirring and 

 picturesque than seaning by moonlight in some wild 

 rock-bound bay or cove on the rugged coast of Corn- 

 wall. The pilchard fishery has, from very remote 

 history, been one of the principal sources of wealth to 

 the inhabitants of that county, the arms of which 

 are, a bar of copper, an ingot of tin, and, in a con- 

 spicuous place, the pilchard. "Tin, fish, and copper 

 for ever ! " say the Cornishmen. 



The pilchard, from some inexplicable cause, has of 

 late years become far less abundant than it used to be. 

 Incredible numbers were taken, even admitting of the 

 " take " being calculated by the thousand hogsheads, 

 where comparatively few are now captured ; and in 

 many of the old fishing villages large ranges of cellars, 

 which were used for bulking, salting, and expressing 

 the oil from the fish, are now either vacant, or 

 appropriated to other purposes. Three boats are 

 requisite to work a sean with, viz., the sean boat, 

 which should be built with long flat floors to accom- 

 modate the net, and a good entrance forward, length 

 about forty feet, beam in proportion; the "volyer," 

 of the same dimensions as the first ; and the lurker. 

 The first of these boats takes the stop sean, of about 

 222 fathoms long by 12 deep, well corked at the 

 head, and leaded at the foot ; the second takes the 

 tuck sean, as it is called, which is about 100 or 



