536 



NA TURE 



[October 21, 1922 



(xii. 251 ff.) and " Iliad " (xxiv. 80 ff.) in connexion 

 with similes derived from fishing processes. The very 

 varied theories are quoted and evaluated with skill, and 

 the author himself inclines toward the suggestion of 

 C. E. Haskins, namely, that the xkpa.% was an artificial 

 bait of horn. This controversy has been carried on 

 in the pages of the Times Literary Supplement, in 

 reviews of the book, and in letters arising therefrom. 

 The whole discussion, however, leaves one unconvinced 

 and still wondering. Since the controversy still 

 remains " fluid," I am tempted to offer yet another 



!. — The happy fisherman, attributed to the artist Chachry 

 From " Fishing from the Earliest Times." 



possible solution, to take its chance with those previ- 

 ously offered. Line-fishers on the coast of Western 

 Ireland employ a very simple and ingenious contrivance 

 to overcome the difficulty which arises from their hooks 

 becoming entangled in seaweed, when fishing is pursued 

 in rock-studded waters. It is desired to sink the baited 

 hook below the level of the weed layer, and the problem 

 is to pass it through the tangled and entangling mass. 

 To achieve this, at a short distance above the hook 

 there is attached to the line a crab's claw, which serves 

 as a stop. Still farther up the line a weight (or sinker) 

 of lead or stone is fastened, and between the stop and 

 the weight an empty carapace of a crab is loosely 

 threaded upon the line, so that it can slide along the 

 latter between the sinker and the stop. When the line 

 is cast out by the fisherman, the weight descends first, 

 NO. 2764, VOL. I io] 



dragging after it the line ; the water-resistance causes 

 the bell-like carapace to slip along the line as far as the 

 stop, so that it covers and protects the baited hook as 

 it is carried downward through the weed stratum. 

 Since the carapace is very light it probably floats away 

 from and uncovers the bait when the line becomes 

 stationary at the desired depth. Similarly, as the line 

 is drawn in the resistance of the water drives the bell 

 down over the hook and again protects it on the up- 

 ward journey. Now, substitute a selected bell-shaped 

 ox-horn for the crab's carapace and a slightly more 

 efficient form of this apparatus is 

 devised, which should serve the same 

 purpose admirably. 



The merit, if any, of my sugges- 

 tion is derived from the following 

 facts, (1) that the apparatus which 

 affords a seeming clue to the function 

 of the Ktpas is an actual one still in 

 practical use locally, and is very 

 possibly a survival from an ancient 

 type formerly far more widely em- 

 ployed ; (2) that the much-debated 

 " resounding splash " (cf. a-Tovaxr/a-e 

 Si \ifi\'>) in the Iliad passage) is 

 plausible as a description of the 

 effect produced by casting such an 

 apparatus into the sea ; (3) that it 

 is consistent with fishing from a head- 

 land on a rocky and weedy coast such 

 as, I believe, is characteristic of 

 southern Italy and of the region 

 King between Samos and Imbros, 

 the areas to which Homer's two 

 similes are applied ; (4) that it con- 

 forms with the picturesque descrip- 

 tion of the dive of Iris when she 

 " sped to the bottom like a weight 

 of lead, that mounted on the horn of a field-ox 

 goeth down, bearing death to the ravening fishes " ; 

 (5) that the Kepas /3oos dypavXoio which some com- 

 mentators, aver must imply the whole horn, and not 

 merely an object made of horn, would, for the purpose 

 I have suggested, have been practically entire, so that 

 the hook could be withdrawn into its protecting cavity. 

 A small hole drilled in the apex (through which to pass 

 the line) would be the only essential modification 

 required. The expression " mounted on the horn " 

 alone offers some difficulty ; " near " or " with " instead 

 of " on " would certainly have added weight to my 

 suggestion. 



The problems suggested by or dealt with in this book 

 are numerous, and Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Assyrian, 

 Jewish, and Chinese fishing methods and fishing lore 



