THE EDUCATION OF FISHERMEN 219 



munities. In addition, there is the famous Ecole libre de P§che 

 at Ostend, directed by M. I'Abb^ Pype, who himself does much of 

 the practical teaching. 



{2) The Ecole des Mousses de I'Etat, a Government school where 

 all boys are admitted whose fathers are, or have been, employed 

 in the Government service, i.e. on the mail steamers, or in the pilot, 

 customs or fishery services. 



(3) The Ecole Ibis (I'Ecole des pupilles de la peche). This 

 institution, the most complete of all the fishery schools in the 

 country, was originally a charitable institution founded in 1906 

 by the then Crown Prince for the purpose of educating the orphans 

 of fishermen. 



The Belgian Government encourages the apprenticeship of fisher- 

 men by the payment of premiums to skippers tor enrolment of boys 

 in the crews of fishing boats. 



The general aim of the fishery schools is to give the young fisher- 

 man or intending fisherman a thorough insight into all matters 

 concerning fishing and navigation. He is taught the use of the 

 chart, the log, the lead, the sextant ; the construction and manipu- 

 lation of the steam capstan ; the different kinds of fish, and where 

 and how to get them ; the making and mending of nets and sails ; 

 the laws and regulations to be observed by fishermen, elementary 

 hygiene and first aid and other matters. A short description of 

 M. I'Abbe Pype's school at Ostend is given, as it is decidedly worthy 

 of emulation. The premises are spacious and consist of two blocks 

 of buildings separated by a courtyard. In the smaller block the 

 lower part is the common instruction room, where the boys are 

 taught net -making and mending, sail-making, knots, splices, hitches, 

 bends, the rule of the road and ambulance work. The room is 

 completely fitted up with apparatus necessary for making and mend- 

 ing nets and sails ; there is also a large collection of charts and 

 instruments, such as sextants and logs, models to illustrate the rule 

 of the road and other apparatus. The upper room is mainly a 

 museum of fishery and maritime objects, but it also has apparatus 

 for class-instruction in navigation, and a large model showing the 

 nature of the sea bottom. In the courtyard there is a model of a 

 boat which serves for various exercises in rigging up tackles and 

 managing sails. The larger block of buildings serves for specialised 

 instruction and investigations, it contains also the administrative 

 offices. Here the boys are taught to tan and bark nets, and to 

 extract oil by boiling from fish and fish refuse. In a machinery 

 room are fitted up a donkey engine and a petrol motor. A donkey 

 engine, it may be explained, is a subsidiary engine used on board 

 ship for auxiliary purposes (such as pumping or hoisting in freight). 



