LINE-FISHING. 219 



the highest price given for that kind of fish. Haddocks are 

 stored and treated in a similar manner, but the supply of line- 

 caught haddocks is trifling compared with what is provided by 

 the trawlers. Some cod-fish are still brought home alive in 

 welled vessels, in the way described, whilst others of the fish 

 are crimped. They are first of all stunned by a blow when 

 they are caught, and then laid down in cases, from which they 

 are only removed in order to be crimped. 



Hungry codfish will seize any kind of bait, and great-lines are 

 usually baited with bits of whiting, herring, haddock, or almost 

 any kind of fish. For hand-lines the fishermen prefer mussels 

 or white whelks. White whelks are caught by a line on which 

 is fastened a number of pieces of carrion or cod-heads. This 

 line is laid along the bottom where whelks are known to abound. 

 The whelks attach themselves to the cod-heads, and are 

 pulled up, put into net bags, something like onion-nets, and 

 placed in the well of the vessel, where they are kept alive tiU 

 required for use. Another kind of bait used by the boat fisher- 

 men for hand-lines is that of the lug-worm. The "lug" is a 

 sand-worm, from four to five inches long, and about the thick- 

 ness of a man's finger. The head part of the worm is of a 

 dark brown fleshy substance, and is the part used as bait, the 

 rest of the worm being nothing but sand. The " lug " is dug 

 from the sand with a small spade or three-pronged fork. 



The principal fishing-grounds in the North Sea where cod- 

 bangers are employed are the Dogger Bank, Well Bank, and 

 Dutch Bank. The fishing-ground of the open boat fishermen 

 is on the coasts of Fife, Midlothian, and Berwickshire ; for had- 

 docks, cod, ling, etc., it is around the island of May and the 

 Bell Eock, Marrbank, Murray Bank, and Montrose Pits, etc. 



Some of the fishes of the Gadidx are extensively cured, as 

 the ling and hake, large numbers of which, are captured to be 

 bleached both for the home and foreign markets. Spain obtains 

 a great quantity of its cured fish from the Shetland Islands, 

 where a cod and ling fishery is carried on pretty nearly all the 

 year round, there being both a winter and a summer fishery. 

 In the summer time the fishermen proceed with their boats to 

 the smaller islands, where they encamp in little huts for a 

 few days, in order to carry on their business. They generally 

 remain out from Monday till Saturday, when they return home 

 to spend the day of rest with their families. As a general rule, 

 the men are very pious, and make it a point of honour to be 

 at home on " the Lord's day." 



