F I S 
F I S 
F I S 
738 
cv ; the milts and roes arc particularly so at I 
that season. To prevent these bad effects, the 
natives fry them in oil, and afterwards salt 
them. The quantity of tins fish consumed ; 
annually in .the two Sicilies almost exceeds 
the bounds of calculation. From the be- I 
ginning of May to the end of October it is 1 
eaten fresh, and all the rest of the year it is 
in use salted. The most delicate part is the 
muzzle. 1’he belly salted was called taran- 
tallum, and accounted a great delicacy by 
the Romans ; its present name is surra. 
The rest of the body is cut into slices, and put 
into tubs. 
Turbot-Fisher?/. Turbots grow to a large 
size, viz. from 23 to 30 pounds. They 
are taken chiefly off the north coast of Eng- 
land, and others off the Dutch coast. The 
large turbot (as well as several other kinds of 
Hat fish) are taken by the hook and line, for 
they lie in deep water ; the method of taking 
them in weirs or staked nets being very pre- 
carious. When the fishermen go out to sea, 
each person is provided with three lines, 
which are coiled on a flat oblong piece ot 
wicker-work ; the hooks being baited, and 
placed regularly in the centre of the coil. 
Each line is furnished with 14 score of hooks, 
at the distance of. six feet two inches from 
each other. The hooks are fastened to the 
lines upon sneads of twisted horsehair 27 
inches in length. When fishing, there are 
always three men in each coble, and conse- 
quently nine of these lines are fastened to- 
gether, and used as one line, extending in 
length near three miles, and furnished with 
*2320 hooks. An anchor and a buoy are fixed 
at the first end of the line, and one more of 
each at the end of each man’s lines ; in all 
four anchors, which are commonly perforated 
stones, and four buoys made of leather or 
cork. The line is always laid across the cur- 
rent. The tides of flood and ebb continue 
an equal time upon our coast, and, when 
undisturbed by winds, run each way about 
six hours ; they are so rapid that the fisher- 
men can only shoot and haul their lines at 
the turn of the tide, and therefore the lines 
always remain upon the ground about six 
hours; during which the myxine glutinosa 
of Linnaeus will frequently penetrate the 
fish that are on the hooks, and entirely de- 
vour them, leaving only the skin and bones. 
The same rapidity of tides prevents their 
using hand-lines ; and therefore two of the 
people commonly wrap themselves in the 
sail, and sleep, while the other keeps a strict 
look-out, for fear of being run down by ships, 
and to observe the weather. For storms 
often rise so suddenly, that it is with extreme 
difficulty they can sometimes escape to the 
shore, leaving their lines behind. 
Besides the coble, the fishermen have also 
a five-men boat, which is forty feet long and 
15 broad, and 25 tons burden; it is so called, 
though navigated by six men and a boy, be- 
cause one of the men is commonly hired to 
cook, &c. and does not share in the profits 
with the other five. This boat is decked at 
each end, but open in the middle, and lias 
two large lug-sails.' All our able fishermen 
go in these boats to the herring-fishery at 
Yarmouth in the end of September, and 
return about the middle of November. The 
boats are then laid up till the beginning of 
Lent, at which time they go off in them to 
the edge of the Dogger, and other places, to 
fish for turbot, cod, ling, skates, &c. They 
always take two cobles on board; and when 
they come upon their ground, anchor the 
boat, throw out the cobles, and fish in the same 
manner as those do who go from the shore 
in a coble ; with this difference only, that here 
each man is provided with double the quan- 
tity of lines, and instead of waiting the return 
of the tide in the coble, they return to their 
boat and bait their other lines ; thus bawling 
one set and shooting another every turn ot 
tide. They commonly run into harbour 
twice a week to deliver their fish. 
The best bait is fresh herring cut in pieces 
of a proper size: the live-men boats are al- 
ways furnished with nets for taking them. 
Next to herrings are the lesser lampreys. The 
next baits in esteem are small haddocks cut in 
pieces, sand worms, and limpets, here called 
didders; and when none of these can be had, 
they use bullock’s liver. The hooks are two 
inches and a half long in the shank, and near 
an inch wide between the shank and the point. 
The line is made of small cording, and is 
always tanned before it is used. Turbots are 
extremely delicate in their choice of baits; 
for if a piece of herring or haddock has been 
twelve hours out of the sea, and then used as 
bait, they will not touch it. 
Fishery, Whale. For the natural history 
of the whale, the importance of the whale- 
fishery to Britain, and other particulars, see 
the article Bal^na. 
We shall here only remark, that the legis- 
lature, justly considering that trade as of great 
national importance, bestowed on it at differ- 
ent periods very considerable encouragement. 
In particular, every British vessel of 200 
tons or upwards, bound to the Greenland 
seas on the whale-fishery, if found to be duly 
qualified according to the act, obtained a li- 
cence from the commissioners of the customs 
to proceed on such voyage ; and on the ship’s 
return, the master and mate making oath that 
they proceeded on such voyage and no other, 
and used all their endeavours to take whales, 
&c. and that all the whale-fins, blubber, oil, 
&c. imported in their ship, were taken by 
their crew in those seas, there was allowed 
40s. for every ton, according to the admea- 
surement of the ship. 
It was afterwards found, however, that so 
great a bounty was neither necessary to the 
success of the trade, nor expedient with re- 
gard to the public. In 1786, therefore, the 
acts conferring the said emoluments being 
upon the point of expiring, the subject was 
brought under the consideration of parlia- 
ment; and it was proposed to continue the 
former measures, but with a reduction of the 
bounty from 40s. to 30s. In proposing this 
alteration, it was stated, “ that the sums 
which this country had paid in bounties for the 
Greenland fishery amounted to 1,265,461/. ; 
that in the last year we had paid 94,85S/. ; 
and that, from the consequent reduction of 
the price of the fish, the public at present 
paid 60 per cent, upon every cargo. In the 
Greenland fishery there were employed 6000 
seamen, and these seamen cost government 
13/. 10s. per man per annum, though we 
were never able to obtain more than 500 cf 
that number to serve on board our ships of 
war. Besides, the vast encouragement given 
to the trade had occasioned such a glut in the 
market, that it was found necessary to export 
considerable quantities; and thus we paid a 
large share of the purchase-money for foreign 
nations, as well as for our own people, besides 
supplying them with the materials of several 
important manufactures.” This proposition 
was opposed by several members, but was 
finally carried ;’and the propriety of the mea- 
sure became very soon apparent. At that time 
(1786) the number of ships employed from 
England in the whale-fishery to Davis’s 
Straights and the Greenland seas amounted 
to 139, besides 15 from Scotland. The propos- 
ed alteration took place the next year (1787); 
and notwithstanding the diminution of the 
bounty, the trade increased ; the number of 
ships employed the same year from England 
amounting to 217, and the next year (1788) 
to 222. 
The whale-fishery has of late years been 
considerably indebted to the introduction of 
a new kind of harpoon, called the gun-har- 
poon, which the Society for the Encourage- 
ment of Arts have exerted themselves to bring 
into general use. 
FISHING, in general, the art of catching 
fish, whether by means of nets or spears, or 
of the line and hook. That which is perform- 
ed by the net, spear, or harpoon, for fish that 
go in shoals, has been explained in the pre- 
ceding articles. That performed by the rod, 
line, and hook, is usually termed angling; 
see that article : and lor the particular man- 
ner of angling for the different kinds of fish, 
see their respective names. The following, 
however, require to be mentioned here. 
1. The barbel, so called on account of the 
barb or beard that is under his chaps (see 
Gyprinus), though a coarse fish, gives con- 
siderable exercise to the angler’s ingenuity, 
t hey swim together in great shoals, and are 
at their worst in April, at which time tln-y 
spawn, but soon come in season: the places 
whither they chiefly resort, are such as are 
weedy and gravelly rising grounds, in which 
this fish is said to dig and root with his nose 
like a swine. In the summer he frequents 
the strongest and swiftest currents of waters; 
as deep bridges, weirs, &c. and is apt to set- 
tle himself amongst the piles, hollow places, 1 
and moss weeds, and will remain there im- 
moveable: but in winter he retires into deep 
waters, and helps the female to make a hole 
in the sands to hide her spawn in, to hinder 
its being devoured by other fish. lie is a 
very curious and cunning fish ; for if his baits 
are not sweet, clean, well scoured, and kept 
in sweet moss, he will not bite ; but if those 
are well-ordered and carefully kept, he w ill 
bite with great eagerness. The best bait for 
him is the spawn of a salmon, trout, or any 
other fish ; or a piece of chandler’s greaves' 
which lias been boiled and washed; he will 
also take a large lob-worm ; and if you would 
have good sport with him, bait the places 
where you intend to fish with it a night or 
two before with tallow-chandler’s greaves; 
and the earlier in the morning, or the later in 
the evening, that you fish, the better it will 
be. \ our rod and line must be both strong 
and long, with a running plummet on the line ; 
and let a iittle bit of lead be placed a foot or 
more above the hook, to keep the bullet from 
falling on it : so the bait will be at the bot- 
tom, where they always bite ; and when the 
fish takes the bait, your plummet will lie and 
not choke him. By the bending of your rod 
you may know when he bites, as also with 
