SMACKS AND TRAWLS 55 



three pieces of elm had to be scarfed together and 

 secured by iron bands. This was the form most com- 

 monly seen on the Dogger when trawling had reached 

 its height. To each end of the beam an iron trawl- 

 head was fixed into a socket. A pair of trawl-heads 

 weighed from 360 to 400 Ib. These trawl-heads stood 

 in relation to the beam as the runners do to a sledge. 

 The lower part was quite flat, the front part being curved 

 and the back and top practically straight. The object 

 of the trawl-heads was to keep the beam about three 

 feet above the ground and so afford an uninterrupted 

 entrance to the net itself. The upper part of the net 

 was known as the back, and the bottom portion was 

 called the "belly." The front edge of the back, 

 technically called the "square," was fastened to the 

 beam ; but the " belly " part was extensively cut away 

 so as to form a sort of semicircle on the ground. The 

 middle of this curve or sweep, the "bosom," was thus 

 at a considerable distance behind the beam and in front 

 of the net, the distance, as a rule, being about equal to 

 the length of the beam itself. The ground-rope pro- 

 tected what might be called the lower lip of the net. 

 Generally the ground-rope was an old hawser " rounded " 

 or covered with small rope, which served two purposes 

 to make it heavier and to prevent chafing. But there 

 was a greater object than that to be served, and this 

 was to stir up the ground and so rouse the fish which, 

 as a rule, would immediately make their way into the 

 net, and, having once done that, there was little chance 

 of escape. It was essential that the material forming 

 the ground-rope should be old, so that in case an 

 obstruction was met and this very frequently happened 



