INTHODITTIOV— WAITE. 



13 



the tnnvl, .•iiid uiifortuiiiiti'l^- the lirst lime it \v;is jmt om'V, rocks 

 were encountered, and nutwitlistiuiding the fact that tlie frame 

 was constructed of iron bars thicker than a broomstick, the appli- 

 ance was broken and twisted out of all recognition. (Fig. 2, p. 23.) 

 This in itself was a small matter, and the duplicate on hand could 

 soon have been attached ; it was, however, evident that the 

 dredge had contributed so largely to the damage sustained by the 

 trawl on that occasion, that I could not again think of subjecting 

 it to similar undesirable possibilities. 



TOW-NET. 



Following our usual custom 

 when working within Port Jack- 

 son, the tow-net was at first let 

 out astern; owing, however, to 

 the comparatively great sjDeed at 

 which we trawled — 2| to 3 knots 

 — and especially in a choppy sea, 

 or with the current against us, it 

 was found that two men were 

 required to haul the net in. This 

 extra pressure, bringing the speed 

 up to four, or even more knots, 

 *' started " the material, and 

 eventually a net was lost owing 

 to the breakage of the tow-line. 

 In order to avoid this extra pres- 

 sure, and also to dispense with 

 the services of two ill- spared men, 

 the following plan was tried and 

 succeeded so well that it was ever 

 afterwards adopted. A boom 

 was run out for'ard from the up- 

 per deck and the tow-line passed 

 to the quarter, where a tripping- 

 line attached to the rim of the 

 net enabled nie to haul it up at 

 any time single handed. (Fig. 1.) 



In fine, bright weather, a 

 quarter-hour's run was suflicient 

 to quite fill the bottle with Saljxi, 

 Velella, Physalia, Jleditsa, Ptero- 

 poda, and other pelagic forms. 



When at anchor, I used a 

 cane-rimmed net, much lighter 

 material, and supported the neck 

 of the bottle with corks; it was 

 thus floated away by the cuz'rent 



