NETTING. 107 



the distance dragged in a day the more satis- 

 factory would be the result. Some of the old 

 school of keepers employed on large estates, 

 whose experience has been gained in breeding 

 pheasants and trapping vermin, and who are 

 therefore confident that they know all about a 

 fishing keeper's duties, are the worst offenders 

 in this matter. They have been taught that 

 the less the labour bill for netting the more 

 they should be commended, but are quite 

 oblivious of the fact that the netting of a river 

 is undertaken and the expense incurred for the 

 purpose of effectually killing down coarse fish. 



Whenever the pace at which a net is travelling 

 is much faster than the current, the lead line is 

 sure to lift from the ground and the cork line 

 to dip below the surface, leaving two means 

 of escape, one above and one below the net. 

 When a net is being hauled ashore, undue 

 haste will infallibly raise the leads and liberate 

 some proportion of the fish enfolded or meshed. 

 Hence it cannot be too steadily and strongly 

 impressed on the head keeper in charge of 

 the work that the Italian maxim, " Chi va piano 

 ■va sano," applies, and he should ever convey 

 to his men the caution not to hurry while 

 dragging the nets, and to keep the lead line 

 well down and close to the bank when hauling 

 them. 



