PILCHARD. 105 



fish then enter the nets freely, whereas in clear moonlight 

 they are shy ; and in very dark nights such is the brightness 

 of the briming, that the nets look like a wall of fire, and 

 deter the fish. 



As an object of adventure, the Pilchard fishery is popular 

 in Cornwall, and beyond a doubt the community is greatly 

 benefited by it ; yet it frequently happens that the success 

 is partial, and the price low ; and it may be questioned whe- 

 ther in any year the greater part of the seans obtain more 

 than their expenses : but when there is a profit it is com- 

 monly considerable, and in this lottery every one is led by 

 the hope of being among the fortunate. 



The following is a statement, perhaps nearly approaching 

 to the truth where absolute certainty is unattainable, of the 

 amount of property engaged in the Pilchard fishery in the 

 year 1827, when the bounty began to be withdrawn : — Number 

 of seans employed, 186 ; not employed, 130; total number 

 of seans, 316 : number of drift-boats, 368 : men employed on 

 board drift-boats, 1600 ; number of men employed on seans 

 at sea, 2672 ; number of persons on shore to whom the 

 fishery affords direct employment, 6350 ; total number of 

 persons employed in the fishery, 10,521 : cost of seans, 

 boats, &c, used in the fishery, 209,840/. ; cost of drift-boats 

 and nets, 61,400/.; cost of cellars for curing, and other es- 

 tablishments on shore for carrying on the fishery, 169,175/.; 

 total capital invested directly in the Pilchard fishery, 

 441,215/. The outfit of a sean amounts to about 800/.; 

 a string of drift-nets will cost about 61. ; the net and the 

 boat from 100/. to 150/. ; but this is used throughout the 

 year for the other purposes of fishing. The nets are sup- 

 posed to last about six years, and ought, of course, to pro- 

 duce their own value within that time, together with an 

 adequate profit ; but it is the complaint of the fishermen 



VOL. II. I 



