OPEN TOW NET 189 



fifty or sixty meshes in a linear inch. The material is 

 rather expensive, and if cost has to be seriously con- 

 sidered, a muslin of the same mesh can be used, but is 

 not so lasting. Whichever material be used, the nets 

 should be handsewn with silk, not machined with 

 thread. After use they should be rinsed out with 

 fresh water, and hung in a good current of air. The 

 net is shaped like a cone, 3 feet wide in diameter above, 

 4 inches in diameter below, and 6 feet long. At the 

 top and bottom it is sewn securely into a stout band of 

 broad tape ; to the top band are sewn short pieces of 

 tape to tie it on to the cane frame ; through the bottom 

 band should pass a running tape, which will gather it 

 securely over the tin. The "tin" is best made of 

 copper, with a rounded flange round the lip, below which 

 the running tape grips. From the frame run three 

 " bridles " of stout cod line, about 3 feet long, spliced 

 together where they meet ; to these is attached the 

 tow rope. For the latter white yacht rope is best ; if too 

 thin it cuts the hands when wet. 



The net should be towed very slowly, but both pace 

 and mesh are decided by the sort of animals which it is 

 desired to capture. With a boulting-cloth of sixty 

 meshes per linear inch, about a quarter of a knot is a 

 good speed. 



In working from a small boat, 5 to 10 fathoms 

 of tow rope should be streamed, but from a ship 

 20 fathoms should be given, in order to clear the ship's 

 offal. If the ship be hove to, she will generally drift 

 fast enough to take the net out and keep it working ; 

 with a small boat, easy rowing, or the minimum speed 

 possible under sail, are enough. From a pier-head in 

 a big estuary or harbour, the strength of the flowing 

 tide is often almost too much ; the net should pull 

 5 to 10 pounds against a spring balance. A twenty 



