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of fishing in the Wye, Usk, and that system of rivers, is called 
stopping , or stop-net fishing. 
At the commencement of the ebb or flow of the tide, a large boat 
is moored by anchor, and fixed by long sharpened iron-shod poles 
in what is supposed, or rather by experience is known to be, the 
“ run of the fish.” A large bag net, on a frame of from 25 to 35 
feet beam, capable of being easily raised by the fishermen employed, 
is let out upon the side next the ebb or flow, so that the bag is 
carried out by the tide underneath the boat. The fisherman, with 
one arm, leans on the angle of the frame ready to act, and has the 
loop of a cord attached to the bag of the net round a finger of the 
other hand. The slightest interference with the net is felt by the 
looped finger, and when a salmon strikes the net is quickly raised, 
and the fish secured in the bag. At suitable states of the tide, 
numerous boats may be seen going out prepared to “stop,” and 
ply their precarious fishing. The stations are taken up by turns, 
some being considered more certain than others, to allow the men 
an equal chance ; for these fishings are generally sublet, the lessee 
of the fishery sometimes supplying boats and nets, paying the men 
according to the quantity of fish taken, or a certain agreed upon 
proportion of the price. It is a mode of fishing, however, far 
behind the present time and invention, and the boats and nets 
necessary for it must require very considerable capital. It is, 
moreover, uncertain, and occupies a large portion of time compared 
with the quantity of fish taken. There is nothing particularly in- 
jurious to the fisheries in the use of these engines if fairly employed, 
and any unseasonable or old fish may be easily set at liberty un- 
injured ; at the same time, several boats are sometimes set in line, 
and then they form greater barriers to a clear run ; but as it is 
only for a few hours at the flow of the tide, or after it has partially 
ebbed, that this kind of fishing can be practised, it can scarcely be 
looked upon as a serious obstruction. 
2. Cases of Poisoning by Goat’s Milk. By Alexander E. 
Mackay, M.D., Surgeon H.M.S. “ Marlborough.” 
On 27th November 1861, eleven wardroom officers of the 
“ Marlborough,” including the author, were simultaneously attacked 
with extreme faintness, nausea, bilious vomiting, and diarrhoea ; 
