228 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 
be about 20 fathoms long afterwards. They are hung with twine about the same size as that of 
which they are made. The end of the twine is first made fast to the hanging line, then hitched to 
the upper part of one of the meshes, the distance between the line and mesh being equal to one 
side of the mesh; then back to the line again, around which a clove-hitch is taken, thus forming 
one-half of a mesh. This method of hanging is thought by the Norwegian fishermen to be superior 
to any other for large mesh nets. The nets are generally prepared for use in Norway by tanning, 
and will last, when so prepared, from one to five seasons. 
The nets are supported upright in the water by floats of wood, cork, or hollow glass. At the 
Lofoten Islands, where nets are more extensively used than elsewhere, the glass floats are preferred, 
it being said that they replace to great advantage the old wooden ones, which failed to prevent the 
nets from settling on the bottom. The fishermen from Séndmér, however, who fish on banks where 
there is a strong current, prefer wooden to glass floats, since it is said that the latter are so much 
more easily carried away by the tide, causing the loss of many nets, while the principal objection 
to wooden floats is that they soon become waterlogged. But this is thought to be the lesser evil of 
the two, since they can, at the worst, only sink to the bottom with the nets, whence they may easily 
be recovered. From this experience of the Norwegian fishermen it may be inferred that while 
glass floats are preferable for general use, they are not so suitable as either wood or cork buoys 
where there is a strong tide. The glass floats are about 5 inches in diameter, with a covering of 
tarred marlin or spun-yarn hitched over them, to which is attached an eye. In this eye is bent 
the small rope that holds them to the net. When so prepared for use, these floats are very strong, 
and break far less frequently than might be supposed. They withstand the pressure of water 
when submerged better than anything else that has been tried, but are sometimes filled with 
water—“drunken” it is called—when set in 70 or 80 fathoms. The small ropes with which these 
are held to the nets vary in length from 14 to 6 feet. 
Oblong-shaped stones from 3 to 5 inches in length are used for sinkers. By experience the 
fishermen learn how large these should be to sink the nets to the desired depth. From ten to 
twelve are fastened to the bottom of the net at equal distances apart, being held in a double string. 
Large stones are used instead of anchors to hold the nets to the bottom. These weigh from 72 
to 144 pounds, the heavier one heading the current, and the smaller being on the other end of the 
gang, containing twenty to thirty-fgre nets. Besides these “mooring rocks” there are others of 
smaller size, which are held to the nets by a foot-line, one end being fastened to the stone which 
lies on the bottom, and the other to the rope that connects the lower part of the nets together. 
The larger stones are generally slung with rope, but sometimes with a band of iron around them, 
with an eye or ring to which the foot-line can be fastened. Iron anchors are not used, as the nets 
are liable to be torn on them should they settle on the bottom. 
Buoys of different kinds are used by the Norwegian fishermen, but, according to Mr. Wallem, 
at the Lofoten Islands glass buoys, having a capacity of about three to five gallons, are the most 
common. ‘These are generally egg-shape and are covered in the same manner as the glass floats. 
Sometimes a buoy is made by fastening several of the latter around a staff. The glass buoys of 
both kinds are employed in the trawl as well as the net fishery; they will rise to the surface again 
after having been under water for several days—an advantage not possessed by other kinds—and 
it seems that buoys of this description might be profitably used by our bank fishermen, who fre- 
quently lose large quantities of gear on account of the wooden ones bursting and filling with water 
when they are submerged to any considerable depth. Hard-wood iron-bound kegs are used by 
some of the Norwegian net fishermen. From two to four glass floats, such as are on the nets, are 
fastened to the bight of the buoy-line at different distances from the buoy, for the purpose of keep- 
t 
