78 BRITISH INDUSTRIES. 



the owner, without any deduction for them from the 

 wages which are paid. 



Bait is an important item in the expenses of a cod- 

 smack ; it comes next on the list after wages, provisions, 

 and depreciation of vessel, and costs more than the 

 wear and tear of sails and rigging, great as that must 

 be, when a vessel has to keep her ground in all weathers, 

 for ten days or a fortnight at a time, through a great 

 part of the year in the rough waters of the North Sea. 

 Whelks, or " buckies," as they are called in Scotland, 

 are exclusively employed as bait on the long-lines in 

 these smacks. They are not only attractive to the cod, 

 but from their toughness they give a good hold to the 

 hook. The collection of whelk-bait is a regular trade, 

 in which many small craft of from about twelve to 

 eighteen tons N. M. are constantly employed ; yet great 

 difficulty is sometimes found in procuring a sufficient 

 quantity for the purpose, the demand for whelks, in the 

 London market especially, as an article of food among 

 the poorer classes, interfering considerably with the 

 supply of these shell-fish for the purpose of bait. A 

 large number of whelks is obtained from the trawlers, 

 but most of them are procured by special modes of 

 fishing for them. At Grimsby, the plan is by shallow 

 hoop-nets baited with refuse fish, and sunk to the 

 bottom in suitable localities ; the whelks, being carni- 

 vorous in their tastes, are attracted by the fish-bait, and 

 collect in considerable numbers in the nets, from which 

 they cannot readily escape when the nets are hauled 

 up. Another plan is by baited baskets covered with 

 netting at the top, except in the middle, by which the 



