342 



FISHES AND FISHING 



which is sufficiently fine to retain small fishes and 

 sufficiently strong to stand the strain of fishing. As 

 ordinarily constructed, it has a rectangular mouth 

 about 7 feet wide by 5 feet deep, a length of about 

 21 feet, and tapers to an opening of about 2 feet in 

 diameter at the cod end. The sides of the mouth are 

 laced on to stout wooden poles, and the net is kept 

 open while fishing by otter-boards (see p. 302), which 

 are joined by ropes to the head and foot of the poles. 

 A net of the size above described can be obtained 

 in Denmark at a cost of about 140 kroner (£y 10s.), 

 and the poles, weights, and boards for about 65 kroner 

 (£3 ios.). The material of which the Danish nets are 

 made is apparently woven of coarse linen thread and 



Fig. 217. — Petersen's Yngel-Trawl or Young-Fish Net. 



has about 125 meshes to the metre, costing 2 kroner 

 per metre. Similar nets made of Manchester " screw 

 cloth " have proved quite satisfactory and are much 

 cheaper, as about 50 yards of material at about yd. 

 per yard are required and the cost of making up by a 

 sail-maker should not exceed £1, thus reducing the 

 total cost of the net to about £2 ios. 



In fishing the net in deep water a heavy lead weight 

 (ordinarily about 40 pounds) should be attached to 

 the shackle fastening the spans to the hauling warp, 

 and the otter-boards must always be well weighted. 

 The net may be shot from a single block with a little 

 way on the vessel, and the otter-boards lowered 

 together, as, if properly weighted, they spread as soon 

 as they are in the water. 



