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A SUMMARY OF TWO LOG-BOOKS, KEPT AT OADGWITH, 



RECORDING THE CAPTURE OP LOBSTERS, CRAYFISH, 



AND CRABS, FOR THE YEAR 1895. 



By RUPERT VALLENTIN. 



When I held the post of Lecturer to Fishermen under the 

 County Council of Cornwall, I drew up — at the request of my 

 Committee — a series of log-books, wherein those men who 

 accepted them could record the details of their daily catch of 

 fish, together with the surface temperature of the sea, a 

 thermometer being supplied for that purpose. The majority of 

 these books refer to drift and long-line fishing ; but two of 

 their number relating to Lobsters, Crayfish, and Crabs, were 

 given to two fishermen residing at Cadgwith, a small village 

 situate about three miles to the eastward of the Lizard ; these 

 were returned to me early in October, when the fishing for those 

 crustaceans closed. On making a careful summary of these 

 books, I at once saw that some valuable information had been 

 obtained ; so I asked for, and immediately obtained, permission 

 from my Committee to publish them. 



I may preface these notes by stating that this vUlage is one 

 of the largest on the coast of Cornwall where the capture of 

 Lobsters, Crayfish, and Crabs is exclusively followed. 



Should the weather appear at all settled, these men begin 

 fishing about the middle of March with a dozen crab-pots ; and 

 these are gradually increased till the full number, usually sixty 

 to each boat, is reached. 



There are, however, occasions when even the best judges of 

 the weather are liable to be deceived ; for I find that soon after 

 the fishing commenced, one of my informants lost thirty-two 

 lobster-pots out of a total of thirty-six, during an easterly gale. 

 In spite, however, of these drawbacks, the temptation to 



