ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
BULLETIN 12% 
A HEAVY CATCH OF MENHADEN 
Pound Net and Boat of Jacob Schnoor & Sons. 
being put in place. This is necessitated by the 
rapid growth of weed and low animal forms 
which collect dirt and rot the net. On shore 
the nets are washed clean if necessary, loaded 
into a wagon and then spread to dry on the 
meadows. Here they are carefully gone over 
and repaired, a task involving skill and patience. 
They must next be tarred, which is done by pass- 
ing them into a large pot and then over a grat- 
ing, which takes off the excess tar. They are 
again spread out and allowed to dry until needed 
to replace the nets off shore. 
All this handling makes for expense. The 
two sets of nets needed for each pound cost from 
$1500 to $2500. Seventy to eighty poles are 
needed at $2.50 apiece. New twine and ropes 
are constantly used for repairs; and so it is evi- 
dent that here, as elsewhere, upkeep takes the 
lion’s share of the profits. 
In Sandy Hook Bay, the location of the nets 
is determined to a large extent by the limits set 
by the War Department. Nets must be kept 
clear of the ship channels and cannot be placed 
profitably beyond a depth of about thirty feet. 
Leader 
FISHING BOAT INSIDE THE POUND, PREPARING 
TO BAIL OUT THE FISH 
Pound Net and Boat of Jacob Schnoor & Sons. 
They are grouped in lines of two to eight, with 
a few single ones scattered about where fish are 
known to run. 
The boats used to reach these nets are all of 
the same general model and dimensions. They 
are trom thirty to forty feet in length, eight to 
ten feet beam, and draw twenty-two to thirty- 
six inches. They have a narrow wash board 
some ten inches wide, along the sides, with a 
deck covering the bow and the stern so as to 
give a working platform. A narrow’ bench 
raised a foot or so above the bottom, runs along 
both sides for the same purpose. A closed cabin 
forward or aft houses an engine ranging from 
sixteen to twenty-eight horsepower, which drives 
them along at a rate of nine knots an hour. In 
this cabin is also the steering wheel and compass, 
so that the helmsman has direct control of the 
engine. Each boat has a mast set well forward 
with a gaff used as a derrick arm. The body 
of the boat is open so as to give maximum space 
for stowing the catch. They have a capacity 
ranging up to one hundred bushels, although 
when loaded down they can hold much more. 
They carry half a dozen bushel baskets in a 
DIAGRAM OF POUND NET 
Drawn by S. A. C, 
